I had a fantastic time on my trip to Sydney! It was really great to be able to spend time with Debbie & Bev and Katrina. The only bad part about it was missing Matt.

Here's what I did on the trip:

Monday 27th December 2004
Took an early flight down to Sydney, and arrived at around 8am. Exchanged Christmas presents with Aunty Debbie and Bev. Went to see the Lord of the Rings exhibition at the Powerhouse museum. It was fantastic! It was such a shame that Matt couldn't be there, because he would have loved it. They wouldn't let us take photos in there, either. Still, it was really cool to see all the costumes and armour and weapons and props from the movie up close. After seeing the Lord of the Rings exhibit, we also looked at some of the other things they had in the museum. It was a lot bigger than it seemed at first glance, and we were in there for quite a while! We had a quiet night that night at Debbie and Bev's place.

Tuesday 28th December 2004
On our second day in Sydney we decided to visit Luna Park. Debbie, Bev, Mum, Paul and I caught the train and met Katrina and her friend Heather there. Aunty Debbie bought us unlimited ride passes, so we got to go on anything we wanted (I chickened out on a couple though :P ). Paul and I went on a ride called the 'Tango Train' with Aunty Debbie, which was hilarious because I couldn't hold on and kept squashing Paul and Debbie. It was a lot of fun though!
After Luna Park, Mum, Debbie and Bev went home and Paul, Trina and I went to Star City Casino (I think Paul was itching to lose some money!). Paul was playing the Blackjack tables, but Trina and I weren't interested in losing $10 on every hand, so we wandered over to roulette. Now, this was our kind of game! We played together, splitting costs and winnings, and ended up going home $50 each richer! Paul didn't do quite so well though...

Wednesday 29th December 2004
On this day Debbie and Bev had to go to work, so Paul, Mum, Trina and I went shopping and to the movies. Mum saw 'The Phantom of the Opera' and Paul, Trina and I saw "Meet the Fockers". I also bought myself a jumper because I had been freezing in Sydney since I got there! It was the middle of summer! I am never travelling without packing for all seasons again.

Thursday 30th December 2004
This was one of the most fun things I did in Sydney. On this day, we went on a Jet Boat ride around the harbour, which was a present to us from Aunty Debbie and Bev. I thought it was fantastic! It was pretty cold and overcast that day, but we wore waterproof (mostly!) jackets, so most of the time we weren't too cold.

Friday 31st December 2004/Saturday 1st January 2005
Spending New Year's Eve in Sydney with Trina was fantastic! We started the night with drinks and nibblies at Trina's with a few friends. We played a drinking chess game, and watched the 9pm fireworks from Trina's window. She has a fantastic view of the city from her apartment. You can even see the bridge... if you stand on her balcony and lean over. By the time we left for the city, we had had quite a few drinks, and eded up leaving later than we had intened to. We caught a train to City Hall, but were running so late we took taxis to Garden Island. We got there with a few minutes to spare, and had an awesome view of the bridge. The fireworks were great, but we were a bit disappointed withe the "disco ball" thing. All in all, it was a fun night.

Sunday 2nd January 2005
Bridge Climb!!
The coolest thing we did on our trip to Sydney was climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge. We got up early, because our climb was at 7:15. When we got to the BridgeClimb place, they gave us a breath test and we had to get changed into very trendy grey overalls. We had to take off jewellery, watches, etc (I kept my engagement ring on, though - I couldn't bear to part with it!). They also gave us harnesses, hats, and hankies (which we had to tie around our hands). But before we could climb the actual bridge, we had to do a bit of training! We practiced hooking on our harness, and also walking up the ladders and walking along catwalks. Then we got given headsets so we could her the guide, and we were on our way!
I had expected the climb to be really difficult and scary, but it wasn't like that at all. The heights were not scary to me because I knew I was safe, so I could just enjoy the view! We stopped lots of times to take photos and also so the guide could tell us facts and stories about the bridge and when it was built. It was really interesting and meant that we stopped so often I didn't get puffed at all. It was fantastic standing at the very top of the bridge! (It actually looks less high from up there than it does from the ground!). The time flew by and before we knew it we were back on the ground.
I bought some of the photos (will upload them here if I can get them scanned), and also a T-Shirt so I can prove to the world that yes, I did climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge!

Monday 3rd January 2005
We spent a quiet day at Debbie and Bev's place, because this was the day Paul and Mum had to go home! After I said goodbye to them and they went to the airport, I went back to 's place with her. We had a quiet night watching DVDs and eating spaghetti bolognaise and fondue (I gave Trina a fondue set for Christmas). I am still working off those calories in the gym!

Tuesday 4th January 2005
On this day Trina and I decided we would drive down to Jervis Bay and stop along the way at a few places. So, of course, when we work up in the morning, it was raining. We decided to go anyway, but didn't stop anywhere (exept Maccas for breakfast). We visited Jodi and had lunch with her, then went down to the beach. I was amazed by the beautiful blue water, but we didn't go swimming, because even though the weather had cleared, it was still a bit cold, also there had been sharks there the day before. But it was nice to walk along the beach and look at the beautiful water!
That night we went to the Husikisson Fair, which was very small (read:lame) but we had fun anyway, and we went to the movies.

Wednesday 5th January 2005
After staying with Jodi for the night, Trina and I made our way back to Sydney, but this time, because the weather had cleared, we were able to stop at some nice places along the way. We went to a lookout called Cambewarra, and also to a nice little organic winery. Our last stop was Kiama, but the blowhole wasn't 'blowing' so to speak, and we didn't really feel like waiting around all day for the tide to change, so we had a short walk and took a few photos, and headed for home!

That night Trina and I went out for Indian at a restaurant called Banjara. I ordered the butter chicken (decided I would play it safe - after all I'm not known for being able to handle spicy food!), and it was delicious! The only problem on the night was this photographer who came up to us. He asked if we would like a photo, and I wasn't sure what was going on so ended up saying yes. Then he started asking us how many copies we wanted (at $25 bucks each!). I am such a sucker. Ended up buying one. I don't even look nice in it!

After dinner we went to a Gelati place, which was fantastic! I ordered passionfruit and raspberry sorbet. Yum!

Thursday 6 th January 2005
Trina and I had been bitten by the Roulette bug, so we decided to go to the casino again. I know, this sounds as though it could end in tears, but I tell you, Roulette is the coolest game ever! We put $20 into the machine (we play the computerised version) and then took it out when the total reached $120. A quick $50 each profit! So we didn't actually end up spending that long in the casino, because we thought it was best to quit while we were ahead. We went shopping to spend our money but didn't end up getting much.
There was plenty of evening left, so Trina decided to show me Sydney at night. We drove down to Luna Park, which looks so different at night time! We looked out at the city lights and the Opera House reflecting on the Harbour.

Friday 7th January
With showing me more sights around Sydney without either of us having to spend too much money in mind, Trina took me to Watson's bay, where we did some nice walks and looked around. There was a beautiful view of the water on one side, and if you turned around, you were looking at the harbour and the bridge. It was very nice.
That night we hired out some DVDs and watched them over a few (maybe a few too many!) drinks.

Saturday 8th January
This was my last day in Sydney - I was due to fly home that afternoon - and I woke up with a TERRIBLE hangover. I was feeling quite seedy indeed - lucky the flight wasn't until the afternoon! I helped Trina tidy up a bit, and the morning flew by (possibly because much of it was spent sitting down with my head in my hands waiting for the room to stop spinning). We went and said goodbye to Aunty Debbie and Bev, and then before I knew it, it was time to go to the airport, and my holiday in Sydney was over. It was sad having to say goodbye to Trina - it was so good spending so much time with her (when she comes up here I have to share her with her family!), but I had missed Matt a lot while I was gone, and was really looking forward to see him. I took my flight home (and said no to the glass of wine they offered me!), and before I knew it I was home, and back in Matt's arms!

It was a fantastic holiday, and I had a great time. A HUGE thank you to Aunty Debbie, Bev and Katrina - without you my holiday wouldn't have been as wonderful as it was. If anyone is interested in seeing more pictures, I am currently working on my Sydney scrapbook!