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Albany - Part 2
So we've come back to sunny (actually one of Australia's least sunny spots!) Albany to do a few weeks light labour in exchange for free rent, free internet and few other bits, over Christmas and New Year...it feels good to be somewhere nice with nice people knowing that we'll definately be here over the festive period and that we are going to be here for a while and so we can unpack our bags properly too! What's even better is that we are getting a private room - for free!! So we celebrated on our first night back by getting drunk!
The first day on the job and we are shown the ropes; where everything is, how to clean things with what chemicals, blah blah, get acquainted with the hoover and the boys toilets etc. We also meet the other hostel owner (Dinah) who is also really friendly and says that we can use her car to go out whenever she is here at work and we're off! Nice or what?! The week flies by and we meet 2 other people who we are working with here; they are also really nice. We do some reception training and soon get in to the swing of things!
Chrstmas Eve comes and we have to go shopping to get the food for the hostel BBQ on Xmas Day...as we are cooking it! We prepare some of the food too on Xmas Eve whilst watching Xmas movies and trying to make it feel more like Xmas because it doesn't much; what with the sunshine etc! Christmas day morning arrives and we put on our santa hats, shorts, t'shirts and bikini's!! The champagne & strawberries are already open when we get downstairs and so we start the day properly! We also follow this up with some toast and then at 11am we all eat home-made dim sum, which one of the Korean guests has made for everyone in the hostel!! They are gorgeous. We then organise everyone in to vehicles to get to the beach! We spend a lovely couple of hours at the beach...I mean it wouldn't be Christmas Day if you don't sunbathe on the beach and have a little swim in the sea (with santa hats on still), then a game of footie on the beach which resulted in a few big bruises on my legs! We return to the hostel to cook the BBQ for 35 hungry (and slightly drunk) guests - it's very busy be all goes well and we sit down and eat our meal too. The rest of the day involves drinking, chatting and relaxing, calls back home...until bedtime.
The period between Christmas and New Year is a lively one with the hostel really busy and full everyday, and with lots of fun and laughter. New Years' Eve comes and it's actually a really nice change that we haven't made any plans - or felt pressured in to making any plans...we just get changed in to our best backpacking clothes and sit in the garden for the BBQ (with our supply of booze!). There are plenty of people also there, around 20, and we have a fun evening drinking until just before midnight. Then we take a walk down to the jetty to watch the fantastic fireworks over the harbour...it's really cool and then we stumble back to the hostel for more champagne, drunken phone calls back home and fun! New Years' day is a little bit painful as usual - but not too bad!
Another week or so goes by without much to report; a few trips to the beach and lots of cleaning! We now find ourselves sitting down for our 11.30am coffee break with our fellow work colleagues to dicsuss all of the gross and disgusting things we have discovered that morning...we are now all very comfortable with each other talking about pretty much everything you can imagine!! We decide to spend some of our Xmas money on a treat and buy tickets to a Jazz & Blues 1 day festival at a winery...it's a beautiful setting and the music is really good - theres lots of wine flowing and lots of dancing - it's a great night (you would have loved it Mr Percy - it was right up your street)!!
More days go by and we visit some more places; we go to Two People Bay with Marcus & Pernilla; Goode beach with the boys where I show them who's boss at beach football; Frenchmans Bay; the beautiful Little Beach and a bike ride to Middleton Beach; 9 holes of golf for Jo, etc etc!!
As time passes we can now clean the whole hostel in 2 hours with our eyes shut! We spend more time going to the beach and sitting in the back garden; invariably drinking a cold beer and reading a book. Last night we also went to another concert at the same vineyard as the jazz & blues concert, but this time it was to see "The Waifs" and "Ani di Franco". Thw Waifs are from Albany but have 'made it big' and Jo is quite a fan of Ani di Franco too. The concert was excellent, and so was the picnic we took and ate as we sat on the grass watching the concert - it's such a beautiful setting for the gig.
We are really sad to leave Albany and the safeness of our little homely hostel but we are ready to get back to some more hardcore travelling again! We have booked our tour for Ayres Rock and our accommodation for Ayres Rock and Alice Springs, and we have our bus ticket out of Albany so off we go again!...:)
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