It's official

I am officially Sydneyized. Along with the Cadbury egg and kangaroos, seeing the opera house was number one of three musts. I just got back and what a weekend...

First, we were lucky enough to get a ride up to Sydney with Nichole's RA, so forget about paying for a train all the way up. We did take a short train into Redfern, Sydney where one of Charlie's friends picked us up. How completely different from Bathurst! City lights and a million and one cultures everywhere.

We ended up staying in this humongous old house that is owned or was owned by the Salvation Army. There are 24 rooms in this all-girl house and it's now used for students. Most importantly, it was free! Charlie lived there last year when she went to uni, so she knew several of the girls and we found some empty rooms to sleep in.

The first night we were there (Friday), I decided to try Chinese again. Delicious. There's a big difference between Asian restaurants run by non-Asians and those run by Asians.

The next day, we got up early and went to the Metro (a shopping center) for a few things and then Rose drove us to the beach. I think she's the scariest driver I've ever met. Most drivers in the city seem to be pretty bad, but this girl gave me white knuckles from gripping the seat. I don't know which is worse -- to sit up front where you can see how long it takes for someone to slow down or to sit in the back where you can only feel how long it takes for someone to slow down. Even the girl who drove us to Sydney almost gave me a heart attack going around the curves. But obviously I lived.

We were also going to meet up with Charlie's boyfriend, Luke, but didn't get enough time. I met him a week ago when a bunch of us went out to dinner and he laughed at me because I didn't understand the rules of the AFL (Australian Football League). I gave him my take on rugby along with some other here-and-there things and he later told Charlie, "That blonde American is random." Ha ha.

After the Metro, we took the bus to the harbor. As soon as I saw water, I squealed and then I noticed the edge of the opera house. I almost fell out of my skin. Nichole told me not to scream. It was one of those "I can't believe I'm actually here" moments. It was really hot, but everyone was standing around, taking pictures. You can't actually go into the opera house unless you're seeing a show, but the outside is just as interesting. The Harbor Bridge is right next to it. You can pay to walk on the very top of it, attached to some kind of cable so you don't die.

Across from all that was a botanical garden. It was too hot to be walking around much more, but there was a kiddie train that I hopped on for a picture. Then I got mildly yelled at for trying to sit up front. Of all things...getting disciplined for trying to sit on a kiddie train.

Anyway, I bought a Veronese chocolate gelato and that made it better. There was also some guy standing on a bike at the top of this pole thing doing tricks. He was pretty good, but it took him forever to get past the guilt trip for people who don't pay him and actually stand up on the thing. I bought a $5 sarong instead. Much more versatile.

Finally, we headed to Bronte Beach, which is right by Bondi Beach ("Bond-eye"), a huge tourist attraction. Bronte is smaller, though, and ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS. It was like one of those pictures you see in a fancy frame on the wall of a restaurant with a name you can't pronounce. I'd never been to the Pacific before and it was COLD. I got sloshed around a few times, too, because I was standing in the break when I got in the water and every time I stood up, here came another wave. I'm sure I got 10 points for grace from the lifeguards. Ten points and a load of sand in my pants. Hey, exfoliation is key.

Then Nichole and I headed up the side of this cliff that took my breath away. I could have stayed there all day, but the others aren't the biggest beach lovers and we had to head back to pick up something for Charlie. We only got to stay about an hour, but we'll be back. Doesn't it figure that the ones lucky enough to live 10 minutes from the beach rarely go there?

Saturday was also Mardi Gras here and five other girls from the house and myself all went out dancing at The Retro. We took the bus into town, but a couple of us were hungry, so we stopped at McDonald's before heading to the club. I had no idea Micky D's was so far from the place, so as soon as Lucy got her burger and I got my sundae, we RAN about three blocks to get there. We wanted to get there before 9 because it was free and afterwards, it was $20 to get in. (People start early here). We arrived with the wind-blown look and two minutes to spare.

It was SO much fun. For the first half of the night, they played 80s music, and I have to say the best part of the night was the whole building yelling the lyrics to "Livin on a Prayer" by Bon Jovi at the top of their lungs.

Then Lucy's friend called and we again walked three blocks to go pick her up. By this time, the borrowed shoes were absolutely killing my feet, so I walked the whole way barefoot. Pretty disgusting, but I washed them afterwards. :)

This morning, everyone slept in. We had plans to go back to the Sydney Harbor to take the ferry, but we had to catch the train earlier than expected. Another reason I must go back.

The ride back to Bathurst took forever, although the whole trip only cost us $12.50 so I can't complain. The actual road time takes about three hours, but first we had to take a train from Sydney to Blacktown, then a bus to Lithgow, wait an hour and another bus to Bathurst for a total of six hours. Thank God for the iPOD. It started hailing while we were on the bus, but before the bad weather, it was beautiful. You could see it raining in the distance, but the clouds closer to us were Hollywood white and pink and blue.

All in all, I'm guessing I only spent about $60 the entire weekend, including food, bus fares, train tickets and a few postcards. Not too shabby if I do say so myself.