Sydney

My last weekend in Australia, as you already know, was spent in Sydney! Because the only Sydney that I had seen before this weekend was
the airport, I did not know what to expect.

We left Newcastle at 8:30 in the morning to catch the long two and a half hour train to Central Station. To my surpise, the ride went fairly quickly. Nathan and Tom slept for the majority of the ride, while Jana, Hannah and I listened to music. Hannah's friend Diego met us on the train as we approached Sydney. When we arrived it was only 11 and nothing was going right thus far. We were unable to purchase tickets at the Newcastle station, and had to sneak our way behind strangers to escape the exit
in Sydney. After that mess was sorted out successfully, Nathan said his goodbyes again (he had made a speach at the BBQ we made for him the night before) as he departed
for Melbourne.

Our next mission was to find a hostel. This task was much more difficult then it seems. After our third try, we finally found a hostel called Wake Up! that had one room available. We dropped our bags off and got ready to explore the massive city. We got on another ten minute train to Milsons Point. The beautiful area on the oter side of the Harbor Bridge was a fantastic place to begin our explorations. We had great views of the Bridge, Opera House, and the city! We also went to Luna Park, a place very similar to Coney Island! We then walked
over the bridge back into the city and over to
the Opera House. It was a great but long walk. We manages to see a majority of the downtown area during that afternoon. After a long but fun-filled
day, we went back to the hostel to e ready for the evening. We went for a quick Thai dinner and then went to meet Hannah and Diego's other friend, Max from Austria. We all had a great time together!

On Sunday, we all went out for breakfast. After, I met up with an old friend from Saddle River Day, Jared Suresky! It was great to seem him after a few years! What a coincidence too because he is her studying abroad. After a great lunch, I met up with an old friend from camp, Margot Harley! It was awesome to see her as well! We took a dive to Bondi Beach, a popular destination in the Sydney area. After a few hours, I met back up with my CVA friends and we went to see the world's largest IMAX and then relaxed at a cool park before having to head back to the train station. We finally made it back home to Newcastle at 10 at night.

We were exausted from our busy weekend on Monday morning and did
not do a lot of work Monday! It was funny though...and we were all onthe same page. Weeding was the last thing we wanted to do. Today we got lucky! It is a rainy day so... Day off! So here I am in Gloria Jeans coffee shop on my iPhone typing this! Today we are seeing the Social
Network which should be great!

You will next hear from me from New Jersey!! Three more days of Aussie adventures to come!