Week 28 - WA - Mia Re-united

It's always nice to re-unite with someone you travelled with in a completely different place so I was really looking forward to seeing Mia and spending time with her again. When I met her and waved Joanne and co. off we popped in to the travel shop and I met Shelley, Mia's mum. Everyone was so welcoming and I quite quickly felt like I was at home (except for the scorching heat and rather beautiful surroundings!)

After dumping my stuff we headed out to Petra, a cafe which was a short drive away. Mia's best friend Emma was able to get me some work there as her mum and dad co-own it. So I went to meet my new boss and find out what my shifts would be.

We then popped in to where her sister Abbey worked - Simmo's, an ice cream place to die for. This ice cream is the stuff to eat. Wow.

In the evening we gathered some picnic stuff together and headed to Bunker Bay - a beach just down the road. We spent the evening sitting on the beach, having a swim and eating chicken salad sarnies on the balcony of such a beautiful beach house. Shelley's friend does some cleaning there so we were able to go and use it for the evening! The view was stunning, especially as the sun set and the moon rose. Oh and just so you know - I was the first to get the red spotty dress made in Vietnam, and then Mia copied me. But then I followed her, so we're square.

A great start to my few weeks of my new home in Dunsborough :)

Week 27 - WA - Izzy says my name! Well, almost...

I'm horribly annoying in this clip but Izzy is far from it. It's a little dark and to one side, so turn your head to the left and turn your sound up and listen out for Izzy saying my name for the first time. Almost...

TONY'S PIES

Tony eats his pies all on their own,

For this Jo and I did tease,

We told him pies are actually much better known

With mash, gravy and mushy peas!

But he didn't back down and persisted in saying

That eating pies on their own are the best,

So we took the tip and stopped with our joking

And put Tony's solo pie eating right to the test.

We bought our meat pies from a bakery store

Then sat down and started to try,

We did have to admit that we could have had more

But without mash, peas and gravy they were simply too dry!

Week 27 - WA - My week with Jo, Tony and Izzy Pop xxx

So I was a little tired from the previous couple of weeks, and obviously from the previous night where i'd been 'dragged' out by Joanna and Valerie (kicking and screaming.) And so tired for me usually means a little emotional. I was so excited to see Joanne. Quick family history for anyone reading who doesn't know who i'm going on about. Joanne is my cousin. She has a sister Sarah (hellloooooo Sarah). But they're more like sisters as we're all so close (plus Mel my sister. Hey smell!) Joanne is engaged to Tony (a kiwi) and they have a gorgeous little tot called Isabella Poppy. 11 months. So I walked off the plane and was just walking looking for a sign to the baggage claim, and Jo called my name and came running over. Wow didn't realise just how emotional I was. I completely bawled my eyes out. But not just a few tears. I'm not sure you understand. I was almost a little embarrassed as I couldn't stop. Once I eventually did and got my backpack, we went off to the car. I couldn't believe how much Izzy had grown. She was only 4 months old when I last saw her. Gorgeous little girl.

We got to Sharon and Brendan's house, friends of Tony and Jo's, and I was introduced to 7 month old Maddie as well. She was also very cute as she was oh so plump. Anyway they were all off to a wedding and I was to babysit so was shown all the ropes and told when to feed who what dinner etc. And then they were off. The babies were fine and I had fun getting to know my gorgeous little cousin. We watched dirty dancing. I didn't put baby in the corner. HA. Classic.

The next day we went to a BBQ and sat by the pool in the gorgeous house that it was being hosted in. The day before Tony and Sharon had a bit of a bug and their tummies were not feeling normal. They'd been sick etc. Luckily it hadn't got anyone else. Yet. So we were at the BBQ, and I was catching up with Jo, when she turned a bit green and was also not feeling well. I was still ok and tucked in to the BBQ... someone had to eat it! On the way home, Izzy went a bit quiet and then chundered all over the car. I was still ok but concerned for the yacking family around me. So we all had an early night in the hope that we'd still move on down south the next day as planned.

The next morning everyone felt a little better. We chilled out until the afternoon and then waved Sharon and Maddie goodbye and headed down to Dunsborough. 3 hours later and we arrived and got settled in to a caravan park. I thought i'd just text my friend Mia (who I did the Cambodian orphanage with) to see if we were close to her. Turns out we were less than 5 minutes from her house. We couldn't have planned it better! So that evening, after a rather expensive fish n' chips from a place called 'Squidlips' (which, by the way didn't even serve pickle or mushy peas. Or gravy) she came down to the caravan site and I had a quick catch up with her. I would be going to stay with her when Joanne etc. went home so it was just a quick hello. The caravan park wasn't the best. It was quite anty, and Izzy managed to pick up alot of blackness on her knees as she explored the inside. So we decided to head on further south the next day. To Margaret River. The scenery as we drove was stunning. Big fields, and beaches etc. Just stunning. I already preferred it to the east coast. We got to our new place to stay. It was so lovely. A cabin but a well posh one. The bath even had a jacuzzi function that I was highly excited about. My Sydney hellhole hostel hadn't had that. Mouthful. Not unless the button for it was under the clump of hair that grew hairily around the drain each day... So the next couple of days we spent hanging out on various beaches (with the flies. Wow they're so annoying. Tony managed to swallow a couple. Yuk. But they constantly tried landing on your face and there were just so many of them. Room 101 that's what I say.) One day we went for lunch with some more of Jo and Tony's friends. We met them at a winery and had such a delicious lunch. I felt a bit twitchy throughout and not quite 100%. It wasn't looking good. Literally as I handed over my 50 bucks to pay for my lunch, I had to run to the loos and was sick. All of it. So yes I may as well have flushed $50 down the toilet. The bug had got me. Eventually. I'm still the strongest though as I held out the longest.

And before we knew it, it was time to head back again. Jo, Tony and Izzy were heading back to the UK in a few days (BOOOOOO) and I was off to live with Mia for the month. I was pleased to almost achieve getting little Izzy to say my name. I did almost have her walking on her own as well. She only needed one hand to steady herself. I really wanted to see her do a first something as I'm missing it all but never mind! She did almost say my name. Almost.

So back to Dunsborough. We stopped at a bakery so they could get some lunch, and I called Mia to see where she was. Turns out she was in the shop next door, haha! So she was already there to pick me up and take me 'home'.

And then it was bye bye to my family. I was ever so sad and had had such a nice time. Thank you Jo, Tony and Izzy Pop. Can't wait to see you again. Izzy, stop growing til I get home. Cheers.

Week 27 - Leaving Sydney (for now)

So in between all the Christmas and new years eve celebrations I kind of just walked about Sydney and relaxed in the parks or on the beach. I didn't want to do too many sights as my friends from home are coming over soon so wanted to wait to do stuff with them. I saw Valerie a few times. One day we headed over to Bondi beach. It's the famous beach to go to on Christmas day and is where all the brits hang out. It was even packed when we went and that was nearly a week after Christmas. We even had to queue to get on the bus. But like a 30 minute wait in queues. Ok ok so i'm not moaning. I do realise that i'm complaining about a mere queue to get on a bus to go to a beautiful beach whilst you're sitting with your vests and wooly socks on in minus freezing temperatures. Sorry i'll move on.

So something to make you not so jealous of my mooching and beach relaxing is the hostel I was unfortunate enough to stay in. Being the busiest time of year, it was hard to get something booked. I had to pay from 23rd December through to 4th January to secure my bed there. I was in a smaller dorm that the last time so was only sharing with 9 people as opposed to 11. Grreat. And i got myself a bed near the window and it was a bottom bunk which in my opinion is the better bunk to have seeing as most of them don't even have ladders. Anyway. All was going ok until I got up to the kitchen. Now i know I'm travelling and have to expect the worst, but I couldn't understand why the kitchen was just in such a mess. Not just messy, it was filthy. I didn't even want to eat cereal from any of the bowls. Everything was just caked in dirt and filth. So I went and complained. I hate to be the one to complain but i was paying too much money anyway for such a crappy place to live for a couple of weeks. They looked shocked at the fact the cleaners hadn't been in that day. I pointed out I thought it was maybe more than one days dirt filling the fridges. I even offered to do it myself for some cash but they said no. Dammit. Nice try though. And i obviously mentioned the cockroach i'd spotted in one of the draws. It was the start of a bit of a nightmare. A day or so later the kitchen still hadn't been cleaned so I complained again. Eventually it got done but it didn't stay too clean for too long. I bought myself a mug and a scourer so I could at least be in safe knowledge that I was drinking nice clean, bacteria/disease free tea. The day after that I was chatting to a couple of sisters in my dorm. They were from Holland. One of them asked if I had bed bugs, which I was not aware that I had if I did. She showed me her bites and was covered head to toe in bed bug bites. It was awful. So then I was paranoid. And quite rightly so because that night I got bitten as well and saw them marching all over my bed. It was not fun. For the bedbugs maybe. They were having some sort of party. but I hadn't invited them so it was back to reception in the morning. I requested our beds got steamed and he said he'd sort it. Later on they came up with cockroach and bug spray. They didn't have steamers. So they spent the afternoon stripping the beds and spraying. It's making me itch just thinking about it. So that night the bugs were gone but my exzema came right up from all the chemicals in the spray. So then it was off to the pharmacy in the morning to get some cream for that. The following evening I was up in the dirt caked kitchen tip toeing around so my flip flops (or as australian's call them 'thongs') weren't getting stuck to the floor, trying to get my salad fixed up without touching too much. I'd said hello to a guy standing in the kitchen as I entered it. He was from New Zealand and i'd had a chat with him a couple of days before. He was a little creepy and I noticed he stared at me a bit too hard when I came across him. I also figured that he was high on drugs alot of the time. So anyway when I said 'hello' to him he just stared at me with his wide drugged eyes and more than usual pale face. As i fixed my salad I felt him staring at me and was a bit creeped out but just carried on. Then just as I looked round I watched him flip right on his back and have a massive seizure. Eyes rolled to the back of his head, blood spewing out his mouth. Luckily a load of people came and rallied round him and did all that was needed (calling the ambulance). But then he stopped breathing. Someone managed to bring him back though. I suddenly didn't feel hungry anymore and thought it was inappropriate to continue fixing my salad and open up my can of tuna. I would have had to step over him a few times. So I put my stuff back in the slightly cleaner fridge and headed out for some fresh air. It was all a bit of a shock. By the time I got back they'd locked the kitchen. I sighed and went to the communal room to just sit and watch some tv but was put off by the sick that was absolutely everywhere. This point was the very first time in my travels so far that I just wanted to go home. I do miss home but in a healthy way, not a sad way. Except for this very moment. It was a build up of the week's events and I wanted to just go home.

But that's what friends are for and the next day Joanna cheered my up somewhat. Not sure how she did it as she firstly showed me Max's funeral (max from Hollyoaks died. I missed that. Tragic). So she showed me that, then showed me something so gross on youtube that I WILL NOT relay to you because it's just too disgusting to repeat, and then showed me some game that scared the living shits out of me. Thanks Joanna, you actually did somehow cheer me up. Somehow. Maybe next time just a nice movie and some chocolate will do though!

And then my last night came. And it was a Friday night too so Joanna said I absolutely HAD to go out. My flight to Perth was at 8am the next morning so I said I'd go out but maybe only til midnight. Valerie came as well and we all had a great night. I also ended up bumping in to a couple of the Preston girls that I met back in Thailand. We hung out with them at the 3rd moon party I went to. So great a night that I didn't end up hitting the sack until 4am. Oops. I got an hours sleep though, that's enough right? Wrong. The journey over to Perth was pretty tough. Didn't help I had a hot guy sitting next to me on the plane. Sod's bloody law. I'm pretty sure I fell asleep with my mouth open at one point. Score! I couldn't quite believe this part of the trip was already here though. It had always seemed so far away, and now suddenly it was January 2009 and I was about to see the first bit of family I'd seen in 6 months...

Week 26 - New Years Eve in Sydney!!

Obviously being in Sydney we wanted to see 'the fireworks'. Along with the 2 million other people who were due to rock up there. I wanted to spend it with my pal Joanna as we've got quite close as friends. Jo was working until the evening though, so the plan was for me and Valerie (who I met on Fraser Island) to go queue up to get in to the Botanical Gardens (where you see the fireworks from) and then when Jo was done she'd come find us. Yes, well. We got to the gardens at midday and there were already such queues. We queud for 2 hours in the scorching heat, carrying our heavy picnic load, and then decided that actually Joanna wouldn't even be able to find us if she even got in to the park later on. There was another 3 hours of queing to go so we bailed and went and chilled out in the park all day, with our picnic and our box wine and music. It was such a nice day. As the evening fell we got all excited (except for when swarms of bats circled above us. We were not so excited about that) and then were evenetually joined by Joanna and Natsuco, her flatmate. We chilled there for a bit and then headed to Jo's friend's house nearby, who happened to have a rooftop view of the harbour bridge! The fireworks were amazing. I only thought I should have filmed it as they were finishing up. Doh!

And then we partied all night long and I eventually got back to my bed at about 6am.

But it didn't stop there. 4 hours later I got myself up and over to Joanna's and we had another celebration to see the UK new year in. The London fireworks were ok too I guess!

And then we spent New Year's Day lying down because that's pretty much all we could manage...

Week 26 - Christmas in Sydney

Walking about Sydney it really didn't feel like Christmas at all. I thought i'd be a little bit sad that I wasn't with family, but as it didn't feel like Christmas I wasn't! Think it was down to the heat pretty much. Since when is it sunny at Christmas?! Felt very bizarre!

I'd been invited by Michael and co. to spend Christmas with them which was really nice. So Christmas eve I got myself over to Newtown, where they live. I popped in to church. It was a kiddies Christmas mass which nice. All the kids up the front listening to the priest talk about what it's all about. He was asking what good qualities Mary had and one little tot put his hand up and said in a nice loud voice 'SHE WAS A VIRGIN'. Love kids. So yes that was nice, and actually it was only then that it did feel more like Christmas and I did get a bit teary that I wasn't in church with my mummy.

So then I headed to meet the gang and we had a few Christmas eve drinks in town. Something I never do as we usually have a traditional Polish Christmas eve every year. And then to bed.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS!!

Christmas day. We all opened various pressies that we'd been sent from home. I'd opened up a couple already because I couldn't quite wait. I always thought I was quite patience but obviously the child in me got the better of me! But I do have a good excuse to opening the pressie early. Err. Wait, what was it again... oh yes. It was in my hand. There. That's a good enough excuse. And I only opened it a week early. Anyway. Thanks Mel for my gorgeous necklace and going to the trouble of getting those pics in it. And thanks for looking after Spot and Ellie. And all my clothes which I keep seeing you in on Facebook. Have I got any clothes left in my wardrobe? Anyway anyway. Thanks to all for all my pressies and cards. Was really nice to have stuff to open up. So once that was over and done with Becky made us all a lovely Christmas dinner. Turkey with all the trimmings which was great as I didn't think I'd have that this year! And then the sun came out! It was really cloudy up until then. Hot but cloudy. But then the sky completely cleared and all the clouds disappeared. So we jumped in the car and headed to the beach. Bronte beach. Things were in full swing when we arrived. BBQs, picnics etc. So then we just relaxed on the gorgeous sand. And how odd being on the beach on Christmas day.

And when the sun went to bed we headed home to open up our secret santa pressies. We'd had to wait until Vanessa (Michael's girlfriend) arrived as she's been with her family. But yes we were all patient and waited and all opened up the presents when we got in. And then i made everyone watch my skydive video and then headed back in to town to my hostel.

Was a really great day. Thanks for having me over guys! :)