So its now Boxing day and i've officially had my 1st xmas away from friends and family! the whole thing was very surreal really but i'll start from the beginning. Since i've been in Sydney i've just been chilling, relaxing and tanning on the beach! I moved out of the hostel after being there for 2 weeks and moved into an apartment with some people i'd met in the hostel. Its a 2 bed apartment but there is 7 of us staying there so it can be a bit cosy at times but it makes the rent cheaper and works out much cheaper than a hostel would have been. I've still been hanging around the hostel tho to see my friends that were still there. I had a really amazing day on Monday (22nd) so I'll fill you in on that 1st. I'd stayed up late sunday night to watch the football, liverpool arsenal finished at 4.30am! So I had a nice lie in and then headed to the beach along with some mates from the hostel. Now normally I dont really go in the sea as the waves are scary! but i was with rob who used to be in my room and he said he'd look out for me and not let me drown!! So i go in the sea and he's telling me i should dive under the waves to miss the swell, eventually i plucked up the courage to do this and he was right, this made it much more fun as it meant i wasn't just been battered around by the waves which is what normally happens to me! So that was my first achievement of the day! Later on, the boys are talking about going to play poker that night and i really want to do something so decide to go along witht them, at first i said i wasn't going to play but that would of meant i would have been sat at the bar on my own so i say that i'll play but they need to run me thru the rules. So on the train on the way in to the city i get a 15min poker lesson and then i'm thrown straight in! now i must add this a proper poker night, posh tables, chips etc etc. I'm so nervous but try and pretend i know what i'm doing, John sits next to me and helps me with the chips and the betting etc and gradually i start to pick it up! some people there are really serious but most are just there for fun so they dont mind telling you what to do. anyway the boys play quite aggressively and lost fairly quickly and by some miracle i end up being the last 1 in from our group. I won a couple of hands which was quite exciting but i was getting a bit scared so i was quite happy when i lost! After poker we played pool and I proved to be pretty good at that as well, potting lots of balls! 2nd and 3rd achievements! We went out to a club after this and had such a good night. That was probably one of the best days I've had in Sydney so far!!

So onto Christmas! We went on a boat cruise on xmas eve which was really nice, we got food and drink included so had a really good time sailing round the harbour for 3 hours. After that we went to a club called the Gaff and saw in xmas day there! Xmas day therefore started with a hangover but we recovered from that by going out for dinner. Unfortunately our kitchen isn't equipped to cook a xmas dinner so we went to a nice italian and had amazing pizza! Not quite the same as home but hey! miss your dinner so much mum! thinking about xmas dinner made me homesick for the first time in months, hope you all had a lovely day and missed me lots, and i hope tigger got some turkey!!! So after pizza we had icecream on the beach and then started drinking (again). All the backpackers in Sydney seem to come to Bondi for xmas and everyone sat on the grass above the beach drinking. Sounds strange but it was really good fun, everyone was just having a laugh. A memorable xmas to say the least. very strange and a bit sad when you think about home but it was a really good day. Didn't really feel like xmas but hey it was 25odd degrees and i was sat on a beach till 3am drinking wine - cant complain! Today i've just spent the morning recovering and sorting out the house! Am going to give my liver a break now till New Year i think. As its Boxing day i'm obviously thinking about everyone in Lincoln. Happy Birthday Grandma!! Hope you all have a lovely day, i know you'll be having an amazing meal and i'm very jealous!! ok, love to everyone! Hope you've all had a lovely xmas!! Dont get too cold!! haha. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx