OK, day 5, sorry I've been so slow to update but the days are so long and I'm so busy! I can't remember when I last updated, I think I was going to go to Sydney for the day??

Friday: I caught the train to the city centre and walked down to Circular Quay through Pitt Street which is the main street leading to the harbour... The harbour is buzzing with people, tourists (mainly Japanese - you can't get away from them!!) and people having coffee's / lunches in their breaks from work. Had a look at the Opera house and took lots of pictures (computer is being slow at uploading them so hold your horses everyone!) then walked right around the Botanic Gardens before having a sit down and eating my lunch there in the sun :-) I sunbathed for a bit, reading my book and watching all the stupid office workers that run around the gardens in their lunch breaks, it's nearly 30 degrees so I don't know what posesses them to do such a thing!! I then walked right to the other side of the harbour to the bridge and climbed one of the pillars (a lot cheaper than doing the bridge climb and the view across Sydney is just as good) before crossing the Harbour Bridge and having a bit of a wander on the "other side". I then had a quick visit to Darling Harbour which is back on the Quay side of the bridge before catching the train back. I was walked out but had a thoroughly enjoyable day!

Saturday: Today I went with Steve and Bob to Manly, we caught the ferry from the Quay and sailed across the harbour to the most beautiful beaches! It was absolutely awesome, we walked all along the sea front in the blistering sunshine (there were a couple of people getting married on the beach and as nice as it must have been I don't envy all the women wearing long dresses and the guys in long trousers!) It was a nice relaxing day, we went for fish and chips and I saw the largest prawns I have ever seen in the shop hahaha there is a picture that I will get on here when the PC stops being so slow!! Steven dragged us round all the shops (yes mum, he's an even keener shopper than me!) and we just walked down the beach before heading back. There was a quick turn around before we headed out to the theatre to see a new Austarlian musical called "hatpin". It was good, but a bizarre story for a musical! It's based on a true story from the Victoian ages when single women used to pay people to have their children because of the social stigma associated with having children outside of wedlock. The main character is one of the women that gave her baby boy up to a couple that took, in total, over 30 children in to "care" but were found guilty of killing all of them by putting a hatpin through each of their ears. Horrid!

Sunday: Today we went up to the Blue Mountains for the day which were absolutely incredible. On the way Bob dropped me and Steve off at a zoo type place so I could see the quola's! They're so cute! All the pictures will be on soon hopefully do you can all see them... Then we headed to Leura (pronounced loo-ra) which is a quaint little town in the mountains that reminds me of Jersey and guernsey actually... Wes topped there for lunch and then headed into the touristy bit of the mountains to get some good pictures etc... They are so incredible, the pictures don't sum up what they are like in the slightest and they are so named because of all the gum trees that produce this vapour that creates a blue haze over the mountains... We also took a quick ride on the worlds steepest railway that basicaly runs vertically down the side of the mountain! It was bizarre! After that we popped in to see Steve + Bob's friend Jeff who owns a little tea shop in the mountains and is absolutely crazy! He took me up to see his bedroom above the tea room which is done up in all Victorian style decor, it's crazy!

Anyway, my fingers are sore from all this typing so i'll be quick to finish off! Oh, the bank blocked my card bwecause I used it in Hong Kong even though I'd let them know I was going away, how ridiculous! All sorted now though, it was easy to get it reactivated... Tomorrow I'm going to go to the STA here in Newtown to see what they recommend about going up the coast to Whitsundays / Fraser Island / Cairnes etc so will let you know in due course!

Hope everyone's well and it's not too wet in GB lots of love xxxxx