Hi everyone,

Firstly I'll start by saying a huge sorry to you all for the massive delay in updating the site. Since we arrived in Sydney a month ago now life has been pretty hectic. I'll try to keep this update as brief as possible although as you will see, we have been busy little bees....

After arriving from my trip to Alice Springs and Ayres Rock, my first priority was to find us a place to live as staying in the hostel was not an option long term as it was v expensive especially compared to Thailand prices. Now this was a saga and a half and at one point I really thought we would never find anywhere. All the places I looked at were complete holes, honestly you wouldn't even put your worst enemy in there. Carly arrived a few days later and after an emotional reunion at the airport we both set about finding somewhere. Luckily the next day we saw a place, took it and moved in the next day - phew, one less thing to worry about! We have ended up in a modern apartment in the suberb of Waterloo/Surry Hills and it is about 15 mins on the bus to the city or 30 mins walk. It's also a close bus ride to the beach so it's an ideal location. We are sharing with a couple, Paul is English from Liverpool and Jennie is from Finland. We were also sharing with a candian girl, Tracie however she has moved out now. The other bonus is that our place has it's own swimming pool, spa, steam room, sauna and gym which we can use as much as we want and yes, we have been making the most of the facilities!!

The next thing on the agenda was to find jobs. Carly registered with an agency so she can work as a midwife over here. At frist they were pretty unreliable, cancelling her shifts at the last minute however she is fully into the swing of it now and is actually working right now. I, on the other hand have found it quite stressful and frustrating to find something. I decided to get a Project Manager job (doing what I did at home) but just as a contractor and before I arrived everyone had said how easy it would be. There are loads of jobs out there and I am fully capable and qualified to do them but no one was giving me a break. As with home, agencies were promising the world and then never getting back to me. There were times in the last month when I thought I was never going to get something and with rent to pay it was extremely frustrating to say the least. Well thankfully, I think I have now found something, a contract role that i wanted so hopefully I can start next week, it is just pending references. Thanks to everyone for your support (you know who you are) and thanks for listening to me going on!!!

Right that's quite enough of the work saga now onto the fun stuff we have been doing...much more interesting.

So after being in Syndey for a week, we had a familiar and very welcome face from home come out to see us, Lauren (Carly's little sis, for those that don't know). We both went to the airport to meet her. Carly couldn't sit still as she was so excited and we both shed a tear in anticipation before she even arrived!! She finally came through and was greeted by us with balloons saying "welcome to Australia", more tears were shed and then two became three for the next 3.5 weeks.

With Lauren's arrival we set about doing all the touristy things (we hadn't had a chance to do any of it due to flat/job searching) so it was great to finally go and see all the famous landmarks. The first day we went to this little white building, yep folks, the famous Syndey opera House. When I had arrived in Sydney, we flew over it but this was the first time we had seen it in the flesh. It was a strange feeling, almost surreal to be standing in probably one of the most famous harbour's in the world with the Opera House on one side and the Harbour Brdige on the otherside. It was a gorgeous day so we clicked away with our cameras. Next, we took the open top sightseeing bus around the city. This was a great way to see all the city sights such as Darling Harbour, Hyde Park, Kings Cross and Oxford Street. There are many similarities to England, especially with the names of the streets and parks, spot the link with London!!! That evening we went for a good old curry, our first in Sydney, mmm!!!

Over the next few days, we visited many of the other famous parts of Sydney, we took the a signtseeing boat around the harbour (another oppertunity to take yet more pictures of the Opera House and Bridge), Bondi Beach (saw Linz and Grant's old pad), Botantical Gardens and Mrs Macquaries point (Carly took us to the spot she spent New Years Eve last year with Linz and Grant etc). We also went up the Sydney Skytower which is the highest public tower and gives 360 degree views over the city. We went up at dusk so we could take pics of the city at day and night.

Carly and Lauren then took at trip up to the Gold Coast for the next week. Unfortunately I stayed behind in Sydney to find work. Seperate update to follow from Carly shortly....

I spent the week doing boring job searching and going to interviews however I did find time to have some fun too. My friend Shaz (who i met at Alice Springs) took me under her wing and looked after me. Since I arrived we have enjoyed a couple of nights out on the town in Sydney (she reckons she never drank before I arrived - mmm, I don't believe you Shaz - I mean that doesn't sound like me leading people astray and drinking does it????) We went to the Opera Bar, underneath the Opera house and to The Rocks (cool little area right by the bridge) and also a night out in Oxford Street (this is the gay area of Syndey and is quite an eye opener!!) Shaz has also got me going to Salsa dancing lessons, which is great fun and I am really enjoying it. We also enjoyed a house party in our flat on the Friday night, check out the pics of the evidence that was drunk!!!!

So the girls arrived back in Syndey a week later. On the Friday night, another familiar face from home arrived in Sydney. Carly's friend Jo and her family arrived as they have emigrated out here. We went to their house for a few welcome drinks. It was lovely to see them and Carly and I now have our adopted family!!!

On Saturday night, we had another night out, enjoying the backpacker places....Good old Scruffy Murphy's and the Three Wise Monkey's. Both places were a really good laugh and we met up with some girls Carly and Lauren had met on the Gold Coast.

Sunday was a very exciting day and something I had been looking forward to doing since we arrived in Sydney, The Bridge Climb. We decided to do the twlight climb as you go up in the daylight, watch the sunset and then come down in the dark. When we arrived they get you into all the gear and take you through all the safety procedures. I was a little nervous about it being so high and thought I might be scared so I ended up being first in the group behind the instructor. You have to line up and are attached to the safey rope the whole time. We started the climb and the first bit was the worst, climbing along a narrow walk way and then up some vertical ladders. Surprisingly it wasn't scary and once we were on the bridge it was awesome. We stopped at various places along the way so we could have photos taken, you are not allowed to take anything with you. When we reached the top, the sun started to set, it was absolutely spectacular and the views were amazing. We were really lucky as it was a pretty clear evening, the colours in the sky were beautiful and we had more phots taken. Our instructor was very knowledgable and told us this story about how only one man has fallen off the bridge and survived. Apparently the force of hitting the water below is like hitting concreate and it is a miracle that he survived. After the climb we met Jo, Rob, the kids, Shaz and the girls from the Gold Coast and we went to this restaurant where you cook your own steak on a barby.

We were now into Lauren's final week and my word it had gone quickly. On the Monday she went on a sightseeing day with the girls from the Gold Coast. On the Tuesday morning she took her own life into her hands and did a sky dive - arrrgh!! It was an early start and Carly went with her. She wasn't very nervous until she was in the plane waiting to jump. Before she knew it, she was free falling through the air and then the parachute opened and she cruised down to the ground. She got a dvd so we watched it that night. It looked awesome although I'm still undecided of whether I'm going to do it or not later on in our trip!!

Lauren went off the the Blue Mountains on Wednesday whilst Carly and I were job searching. During the rest of the week, Lauren and I spent some time shopping (well Lauren was buying, I was window shopping). We also went to the beach a couple of times. Calry was working and sorting some bits and pieces out with Jo.

On the Saturday, we did the Coogee to Bondi coastal walk. There is a pathway that you take and walk from one beach to the other. It was a gorgeous day and a really enjoyable walk. i'm not to sure how far it is but I think about 7kms. The scenery and the little bays are gorgeous, with clear blue sea and golden beaches. That evening, we treated ourselves to a nice meal at the famous Doyles seafood restaurant that overlooks the Opera House and Harbour Bridge. We then went to the casino. Unfortunately we didn't bet but just watched others winning!!

On the Sunday, we caught the ferry over the Manly. Again it was a gorgeous day and we relaxed on the beach. We also found time for a spot more shopping in the market there. Lauren took carly out for an early birthday curry that night.

Monday and Lauren's final day. We went to the Aquarium and to the city for Lauren's last minute shopping (honestly, that girl can shop!). In the evening, we went over to Watson's Bay which is a lovely little bay, full of many rich people with boats. You can see views of the city as well.

Tuesday morning came and it was time to say goodbye. Lauren, thanks again for a fantastic few weeks, it really was a pleasure having you around (although, we do have a lot more room in our bedroom now :-)!!!

Well that's about it folks, hope you are all still awake! Carly and I are now going to be enjoying the 'normal' life again for a while. Both of our birthdays are coming up so i'm sure we'll be back soon to tell the tale of our antics from that!!!

Until then, take care and we miss you all loads.

Love

Claire and Carly xxxxxxxxxxx