Day 108 to 115 - Sydney to Canberra to Palm Beach to Sydney...

An exciting week of getting burnt on Manly beach, watching Tangled outdoors at Sydney Olympic park, drinking shots out of a tea pot, and launching the Chinese New year festival could only get better with a girly road trip to Canberra.

I finally took advantage of the 3 day camper van rental that I won and my flat mate and I hit the road. 5 hours, a picnic in a car park, and a lot of snacks later we rolled into the Capital of Australia. Luckily Australians drive on the left so all I had to worry about was the transition from driving a tiny manual car with a sat nav to driving an automatic beast of a machine being directed by Holly and a map that was too small! We only got lost once, or twice... truthfully I lost count how many times :-/ but it was an amazing trip. Canberra is stunning! In the centre of the city the Parliament house rises up and facing away from it you look out across the river to the stunning War Memorial. Our excitement was evident to anyone watching us roll down Parliament hill and chasing the birds. Then later we calmed down and just took in the breath taking view over the lake where we set up for the night.

Sadly Holly had to get back for work so after exploring the remainder of Canberra we hit the road again (ABBA CD at the ready) and back in Sydney I swapped flat mates and took off for Palm Beach (yes it is where Home and Away is filmed and no I don't care so I didn't bother doing any sightseeing). We simply pulled up to the beach, ran along the water front, stared at the stars, and chilled out in the van with chocolate and a dvd. It was another awesome night followed by a day visiting as many beaches as possible on the way back down the coast.

Day 101 to 107 - Sydney, still...

To quit, or not to quit. That has been the question on my mind this week?

Working at the bar on Darling Harbour has been, and is still, amazing. Working at the bar/restaurant in the centre of the city, however, has not been great. The minute I set foot back in the bar to start my first shift I felt the life get sucked right out of me (and not in a fun i'm obsessed with vampires kinda way). The people there, however polite and friendly, are all zombies, and the customers are not only uptight and rude, they don't tip! :-0 Not wanting to be a quitter my immediate reaction was to get over it, man up, and carry on. Then a friend reminded me I didn't come to Australia to "cope", I came for the experience of a lifetime, and this place just didn't fit into that plan...

This week I have also made a list of all the things I want to see and do before I leave Sydney, and I have started diligently ticking them off. A friend and I went to the Sydney fish market, and oh my goodness it stank! I like the smell of fish but I still had to let myself adjust. We then moved onto Woolloomooloo - best name for a place ever! - and checked out the jelly fish at the wharf :-) . Woolloomooloo is nice but personnally I would say it's name is the best thing about it. I also spent a morning at Balmoral beach with friends, sipping iced mocha's on the beach front, and revelling in the family atmosphere that so many places we have been to are lacking. Then later today we will be going to the Powerhouse museum and we might even see the Harry Potter exhibition :-) yaaaaay!

Day 84 to 100! - Sydney

Coming to the end of another week in Sydney I can say that it was again full of many up's. However, this week was also full of some downs. Don't get me wrong, the week has been amazing but I have to be honest about the whole experience, and the huge wave of homesickness I got on Wednesday was not a fun experience. That said, I have the best flat mates I could have hoped for (and people at home) and they pulled me right out of my self-indulgent missery.

On the more positive side of things, this week was kicked off with a trip to the beach for a friends birthday, and a giant chocolate rice crispie cake with melted marshmallow for decoration. It's possibly the easiest and the best cake I have ever made. I have then also been job hunting, which was surprisingly easy, and got myself 3 trials in 3 different bars. The 20 CV's I printed off were a bit of a waste since I only handed out 6 before deciding I had enough offers and could stop for the day :-). The first trial was great. For someone who hasn't ever worked in a bar/pub or anything even close to that, and who had put on her CV that she had worked in a bar/pub (I know... slap my wrist), I was pretty nervous. Turns out... it's not that hard. The second trial was even better, and technically wasn't a trial at all, after an hour of working they just gave me the job and 12 hours later I finished my first shift. It was fantastic... the people are lovely, the pay is good, and when I flash the customers the huge smile my Mum loves so much they tip very well ;-) .

On a final note... it's day 100 of my travels. Oh how time flies when you're having fun! :-D