City Beach Motor Inn Sydney

... with the spectacular vista of Sydney Harbour flanked, without obstruction, by both the Opera House and Sydney Harbour bridge. Spectacular. Really, truly, brilliant. I'd say I was speechless, only for I wasn't. Quite the opposite in fact. Couldn't shut up. Colm was rather pleased that his journey had the required effect :)


Arriving at Colm's in Manly provided more eye-openers. He's in great apartment, in a spectacular ...

... We found a flat & we moved in. Nicki & Maeve had met another girl called Isobel so all 4 of us moved in together. The flat was not a palace by any stretch of the imagination. We asked the landlord if we could paint it, as you can see from the photo's we got a yes, we painted for 3 days & it made a huge difference. I feel settled now I have a flat, it is so nice just to chill in your own space but I actually really miss travelling & arriving somewhere ...

... great bar and met up with our former housemates Juan Pablo, Pablo, Stu and Jim. The night ended up getting a bit messy as we ended up at a Colombian Salsa party and getting back to Ems place in the early hours - it's not like we have to catch a flight in a few hours or anything.. er doh!

Thanks Em, missing you loads already xxx

... pictures of the bridge, the Opera House and the botanical gardens. I also spent a very nice Sunday with Ruth, Becs and Dave at Manly beach eating fish 'n' chips and ice cream; Chocolate and Vanilla since you ask. The main day trip I went on was to the Blue Mountains around an hour away from Sydney. The Blue Mountains are a stunning group of rocks and waterfalls at high altitude that we were ably shown around by our wise-cracking Aussie guide. He'd often get into all ...

... from Sydney! Well i got in Manly around 11 and started the hike up the coast, north this time and had plans to get all of the way to the Narrabeen lakes which i would later find is a good 12 miles away! So anyways, i begin the walk, make my way around this Queenscliff coast and there are just tons of rock, not really a walking path, you're just assumed to follow the rocks along the coast untill the next path! Well its beautiful and i want a picture with it, so i ask a local lady that is ...

... to touch it’s back and not to pet it’s head, or it might attack us.

We also saw lots of other weird animals, such as a albino kangaroos, crocodiles, wombats, white feathered looking peacocks…etc. Felicia got too close to a den of Kangaroos, and the leader of the group stood up and challenged Felicia to a boxing match, just like in the cartoons. We were told later that they could kill humans if they wanted to, and if ...

... I pass with flying colours having had zero alcohol in over 24 hours and quite proud of it. Next stop is changing room - we dawn the rather groovy Ghostbusters-esque attire. I'm beside a very annoying Coloradan woman who refuses to take off her scarf even though it is not allowed ("This ain't coming off - my next is the one place when cold makes me really uncomfortable"). I'd like to suggest she go up with no underpants and see how her neck feels then. She ...

When I arrived in Sydney the weather was overcast and rainy. The driver of the bus I was supposed to take asked me for a bus voucher which I didn't have (and wasn't supposed to need I found out later.) But he took me without a voucher. On the way there, we almost got rammed by another bus, then my bus went over a large bump and lost a tire to the trailer we were ...

G'day Australia!











We arrive in to Sydney Airport on time at just after 9am local time and get through security and customs with no problems. After a quick freshen up and change of clothes (after the cold weather in Tokyo, Sydney was definitely an improvement) we jumped in to a taxi to Britz Rentals where we would pick up our hotel for ...

... Reflecting on my time in Oz I found this country vast and full of natural wonder. It was a veritable outdoor playground rich in diverse climates and distinctive life. Being that I only got to see the Eastern seaboard, thus missing out on great sand deserts, the outback and sub-arctic landscapes (not to mention Melbourne), I felt like I only scratched the surface of what Australia has to offer. As for the cities, they have a distinct feel that’s not quite European ...