When we arrived at the house we met Jans little cousins Josh and Jake who were real characters, and Jo and John, friends from England who were staying since emmigrating. Clare insisted that we head out for dinner and we went to the RSL for some top notch Chinese food. It was so nice to catch up.
We spent Friday with Jo and John. John has been unemplyed since emigrating and so had plenty of time to show us the sights ;) We caught the train in to the centre and as we arrived in to the harbour area we were gobsmacked by the view of the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge ahead of us as we exited the underground and were excited to see the landmarks we had only ever heard about or viewed on postcards.
The Sydney Opera house proved to be as astonishing as we had anticipated. It literally left us speechless and we were amazed at how far we had come around the world.
The morning was spent exploring the waterfront and catching the local Ferry boat around to Darling Harbour where the four of us enjoyed a delicious steak sandwich and chips at a bargain $10, thank you Pontoon! A short walk over the bridge took us to The Maritime Museum where we walked up the countless steps to the top of the lighthouse for a delightful view.
In the afternoon we headed to Manley Beach to hunt around in souvenir stores and catch a setting sun over the waters full of surfers.
Back at 'The Rocks' Sydney Harbour, Jo and John took us to the oldest pub in Syndey for a quick drink before parting ways and leaving us two girls to wander the city at night. After bumbling around the local market stalls, chomping on liquorice and trying to avoid scoffing too many goodies, we had whet our apetite just enough for a drink under the bridge at a bar with a prime position high above the streets. We bought the most expensive apples and bottles water known to mankind with a grand total of $13 (8.60 GBP) WTF! After deciding not to spend ridiculous amounts walking the arches of the bridge like so many other tourists do, we settled on a gentle stroll instead and got just as good a view of the night time skyline. Coincidentally it was the weekend of the Vivid light show, in which the city became a canvas for light, music and ideas, the centrepiece of course being the Sydney Opera House on which a projector cast an array of brightly coloured patterns.
On Saturday morning (after oversleeping massively) we cooked everyone a proper fry up breakfast, eggs, bacon, sausages, hash browns; the full works. Our plan for the day was to attend Josh's party at laser siege. The afternoon was spent chatting at 'the grown ups' table, munching on delicious snacks and getting in a few arcade games including personal favourites, pin ball and Mortal Combat ("FINISH HIM!"). There's no rest for the wicked and straight after the party we had a quick coffee before catching the train to Vivid lightshow with all of the gang. We saw more buildings with multicoloured designs shining all over them and the Opera House was again a kaleidoscope of colours and patterns, the kids loved it. It was a lovely evening with the Doughties roaming around admiring Sydney at night. Some glow sticks had been left over from the boys party which were joined together to make leashes for them, the streets were packed with people and both of our maternal natures emerged as they weren't allowed more than arms distance away.
Sunday was to be a big beach adventure. We'd planned a tour of the best beaches in Sydney, stopping by Marubra, Coogee, Tamarama, Clovelly and finally Bondi. Even the big kids in the group were excited at the pospect of a McDonald's breakfast stop on the way. The weather was fine and warm with blue skies, we all took off our shoes and walked along the beaches daring to dip toes in the reasonably chilly waters edge.
When we reached Bondi we set up camp on the Beach and most of the group stripped down their bathers and went rushing in to the surf (for all of 10 minutes.) You can't be at Bondi Beach and not go for a swim. We bothed grabbed a child under the arm (Josh and Jake that is) and launched them somewhat reluctantly in to the waves.
Whilst changing back in to our dry clothes we were approached by a TV crew and asked if we would mind being on the Australian Embarrassing Bodies "Down Under." As ever we went along with it and ended up questioning Dr Sam about reapplying sun cream after swimming and other riducilous things that we will be cringing about for a long time to come.
Jan's Family Evening:
Freddy and Clare had arranged a family meal at the Endeavor. It was a big night for me as the whole Doughty family were due to come. Uncle Lenny, grandma, my cousin Katrina and her son's, my cousin Kylie and her daughter Sky.
Nearly five years since my dad passing away I was prepared for this to be an emotional evening and it was. It was incredible to see my granma that I hadn't seen since I was a very little girl, even if she wasn't quite sure who I was anymore. Uncle Lenny looked so much like my dad that it took my breath away, seeing my dad's family who had emigrated to Australia when he was just a young boy, and being so interested in his daughter and the life we had been living across the oceans from them up until now was very touching. Kylie and I talked about how we had, had a photo of one another in the living room throughout our childhoods, a cousin I never thought I would get the opportunity to meet. Susie played camera-woman extraordinaire for the evening as she patiently took snaps of the family all together. In the space of just a couple of days it felt as though I had gained a whole new family and I know my dad would have been over joyed for me to spend time with his brothers and their families. I even learned a new nick name for my dad, 'Blue Eyes' his brothers called him this when he was younger, they thought he could do no wrong in the eyes of their mum. This evening felt as close as I'll ever get to being with my dad again, he would have been so proud of our adventures and the visit to Australia, it was a night I will never ever forget.
Monday morning was an early start and Freddy kindly gave us a lift to the airport to catch our long haul flight to Singapore. We hope to be able to come back to Australia again for more than a whistle-stop tour next time. Sydney is just the beginning!
Peace and Love,
Jan and Susie.
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