The Blue Blue Mountains
After months of procrastination to check out the lovely mountains that are home to my new home, Sydney, I booked a day tour with some friends and was finally ready to mark another thing off my bucket list here in OZ.
The day started with my girlfriend and I getting picked up by our lovely tour guide butt smack early in the morning. I will still in the “I want to kill everyone” phase of the morning.. which. well, is all mornings, actually. Regardless, I hadn’t had my coffee and that alone already put everyone in the Michelle danger zone. Being the first two people for pick up, we were able to get first dips on the seats (thank god) cause it was the midget of a van. Our group included a total of 12 people from all over the globe! A few Germans, Austrians, Koreans, Brazilians, English, and then us awesome Americans.
We drove for about an hour out of Sydney, passing through cities I’ve heard mentioned before but never knew exactly where they were located. It wasn’t till we got to our final pick destination that the tour took a turn for the worse.. double time.
We arrived at IBIS hotel in Olympic Park to pick up a few more Brazilians. Once we got there, we all noticed an extra body and no seat. Apparently the hotel over booked the tour, so 1 person had no seat. As they started getting upset and the tour guide got on the phone to work it out, another truck came by and side swiped our van. I think I was in the middle of looking for gummy bears that fell in my bra when I heard the loud BOOOOOOOOOOOM, followed by the sound of glass shattering on the floor. Everyone in our van was fine, but the smart guy who was driving his truck with his window down had a bit of a different story. His face was completely cut up from the mirror crashing into him. And our side mirror had also seen better days.
So wonderful, first stop on our tour we are already leaving some people behind and putting others in the hospital!
Luckily we had a spare mirror in the trunk so we juts swung by a shipping warehouse and taped that sucker on .. that’s right, taped!!! I felt so bad for our stressed out tour guy that I suggested I would buy him some beers on our lunch break. That was until I was a reminded by my smart friend that he was indeed my driver…
Now for the long drive up to the mountain. Luckily our tour guide Jason, was quite entertaining, and boy oh boy did he enjoy talking! He spent the next hour teaching us about the history of the blue mountains, current events and stories. Key Facts I learned:
– Why they are Blue
– The stories of the three sisters
-Road construction sucks
– And that my A.D.D is getting worse because I only listened for 5 minutes out of 2 hours
Our first stop was checking out some waterfalls. It was probably the smallest cutest waterfall I’ve ever seen. From the waterfall we check out the Three Sisters and Scenic World. This place consisted of beautiful scenic rides in all different directions painting a gorgeous picture all around you. A skyway, railway, and cableway ride were three different spectacular ways of view all the scenery. We went on a nice hike through the rain forest where I confirmed the Germans are taking over the world (they.are.every.where.) and then ended the day with a nice boat cruise home watching the sunset and enjoying a beer. One day is not enough time to explore all the Blue Mountains have to offer, but I think that day tour was a perfect introduction for these mountains that cry blue.
Melbourne Cup Day
Friends in Australia have been telling me about this day since the day I arrived in this country. Melbourne Cup Day!!! Melbourne Cup day blah blah blah! I can honestly say we have nothing like is back at home. Melbourne Cup day is the day of the.. wait for it.. Melbourne Cup! And is actually a public holiday in some states believe or not. In Sydney, the norm is to work half a day, and then spend the rest of the day drinking and celebrating this holy day of a horse racing at the pub with mates and co-workers. I do not fully understand this holiday… or why its a holiday… or why people wear those stupid things on their heads, but hey! I am not going to complain!
IT ALL SCREAMS FUN!
Our office reserved the roof top of a nice bar in the Sydney where we had all you can drink (always a great idea) and eat while enjoying the party. I have to say being on glass number 4 of champagne by 1pm on a Tuesday is just odd, Especially with my Tinder profile on my head. Let me explain..
We all partook in a homemade fascinator contest where everyone had to make their own silly head thingamajig for under 10 bucks. My work and I have this on going dating Tinder joke as I accidentally sent a “reply all email” to the whole company once about a date and made a huge fool of myself. It’s like, Helen Keller wrote a dozen books and here I go emailing the CEOs of my company about Tinder Dates…
Since then, they have all been pretty involved in my dating, my Tindering, and all the nightmares that go along with my love life, or lack there off. OBVIOUSLYYYYY It only came natural that this is what inspired my facsinator. It took me hours to make, and I had to be very strategic when trying to transport the thing to work. It was made completely up of Starburst and licorice so it melting before the time I wore it was very likely. I put it in a nice bag wrapped it with ice packs, and transported it very carefully only the train, just like transporting a heart for a heart transplant. Maybe even more dangerous 🙂
The day was filled of fun, dancing and mingling! My horse came in second which means I won 2nd place money through the company pool. For some odd reason I thought it would be a brilliant idea to through all the money up in the air like some type of type of Tinder fascinator wearing pimp, and of course lost all my money around the venue.
Ironically, a co-worker that next day came around the office giving out fancy chocolate with money he said found on the floor from Melbourne Cup Day….
Overall the day was a blast. I really felt the Aussie culture that day, even if by culture I mean “drinking” and “betting”. It was fun and probably the best Tuesday work day I have ever had!
Well Hello Again Bondi Beach
We meet Again..
Well after 6 months in OZ I am back living in Bondi Beach, which is where I first began my journey for those who have been following from the beginning. Things are much different this time around in this city. I am no longer scared of spiders and cockroaches.. I am no longer getting hit by cars every time I cross the dang road, I gave up trying to spot Julian Wilson, and yes, I do actually see Australians now.
A friend of mine has been kind of enough to let me stay at her beach front apartment while I await my move in date into the place I found in the city. She is American as well, which has been awesome because she hunted down an American coffee maker here and we enjoy our nice cups of REGULAR coffee each morning. I have been in Bondi for about a month now and my opinion of it has molded and formed a bit deeper as I am finally able to see more of the city, the culture, and girls butt checks! I finally get what the whole Bondi Beach vibe is all about. Its very hipster.. very hippie.. very organic.. very gluten free.. very super foods.. and very naked! Topless tanning has become my new favor hobby on the weekend along with beach runs, and checking out the beautiful men, I mean men, crap… beach! I walk from the beach to the junction everyday to get some exercise in the morning, and then jump on a train that takes me straight to my building in Martin Place. It definitely beats taking the bus from Dee Why, but it still not the commute I am looking for…
Next week I move into my new flat I found located in Pyrmont!! It is located directly across from the Casino here in Sydney, soooooooooo either I need to start making more money or we could have a small issue on our hands 🙂 Also, my new room-mate is a pole dance instructor and we have a pole in our living room.. looks like I may learn some skills in this country I never planned on 🙂 I am currently on a 6 week break from school to focus on the new promotion I just received, which entails a lot more work.. silly how that always seems to be the case! My company has also begun my sponsorship process, so if all goes the way I really really need it to, I should be fully sponsored and legal to stay in Australia forever! Or at least, a very long time 🙂 I thought Id keep this one a bit shorter, as I have so much going on the next 6 weeks. Now that I am a free bird, the fun is about to begin!!! Hunters Valley, Stereosonic Music Festival, Thanksgiving, Christmas in Fiji, New Zealand in January, World largest speed date on a train, and the rest of my ongoing horrible dating saga all to come shortly. I haven’t dated since the semester started so have a lot of shame and regret to catch up on or, what I like to call research and development 🙂 I also currently have 6 posts waiting in my cue, so its safe to say my readers will soon be very happy very and I am going to be very very busy:)
Till next week
<3
Ace stories to read. I especially liked the Blue Mountains segment. You had such better weather than when I was there – we couldn’t seea thing from the first couple of scenic lookouts!
Aww thats too bad!And thank you! 🙂
Sounds like you are having a great time. This years Melbourne Cup was the first time I had to work on that day in years. Not the same watching it on TV at work! Beautiful photos of the Blue Mountains.
Thank you and I did! 🙂 Looking forward to next year. Dont work on it next year!! 🙂