Hey All:

Well I just got back from a very fun weekend in Sydney. It was alot of fun. There were 7 girls from Eau Claire that went for the weekend. I first boarded a plane and rode an hour and a half down to Sydney. When we arrived, we took a shuttle to our hostil. It was called the Wake Up and it was a very nice hostil, very comtempary and clean. We then got a bite to eat and then played some cards and then went to bed.

The next day we woke up very early because we got to have a tour of the Opera House. It was a good tour, I didn't know that there were atleast 4 different theaters in the Opera house...I thought that there was only one big theater. After the tour, we went to the Botanitical gardens, it was very pretty. After that we had lunch in a little cafe by the bridge and then because I needed tennis shoes for the next day.....and guess who didn't bring them....I went looking for a cheap pair of shoes. I found a 30 doller pair and as you will soon see..........they were quite amazing;) After that we went back to our hostil and got ready for a nice evening in Sydney. We had decided to get dressed up and go to a fancy dinner and then maybe catch an Opera at the Opera House. The resturant that we found was really nice and the view of the Opera house was amazing!!! After dinner, we had to rush over to the Opera House to try and get tickets to see and Opera that night. You see, we had to wait until 7:00 to see if we could get the tickets at a student rate......just 55 dollars....half the price of a normal ticket. Well, we were extremely lucky because not only did they have 7 tickets available, but they were also together. We were in the last row but it was really cool to witness........and besides it's not any day that you can say that you saw an Opera in the Sydney Opera House!!! After the opera, we went back and slept because we were all very tired.

The next day we again woke up very early and went on a tour through the Blue Mountains. It was a very beautiful day, and pictures can not even begin to describe the beauty of them. I did throughly enjoy the day........and for Miss Sward........I even got to see the Sydney Stadium where the 2000 summer olympic games were held....and also saw where the torch was held and were the athletes stayed........pretty cool huh?!?! Dont' worry, I took pictures;) It was a very fun and beautiful day in the Blue Mountains!!

Today I woke up again early and went to the Sydney Aquarium. It was a cool experience, but I do have to say that the one in Maui was better. But I'm glad that I went.........they had a stingray that was a wide as I am tall.......and even sharks that swam over me in the under water tunnel..it was pretty cool!!! After that we took a shuttle over to Bondi Beach. It's the beach to visit in Sydney. It was a nice beach, but it was very warm..........but now i can say that I've been to Bondi Beach!!! After that I had to pack up all of my belongs and get ready for the train ride back to Lismore. Oh and did I mention that it's a 12 hour train ride. Yep, through the night and all..........I arrived back in Lismore at around 4:30 in the morning the next day..........good times;)

It was a great weekend in Sydney and as you can tell it was pretty jam packed!! And I didn't even get to do everything!!

I hope that everything is well in the Northern Hemesphere........

Allison the Sydney Conquer

P.S. Sward, I got your letter..........pretty much amazing.........that's all I have to say about that!!! You beat my parents in amount of things sent;)