To 2006 and Beyond

Well, the week after Christmas was amazing, just like every day here. It mostly consisted of lying on the beach, swimming, drinking, and more lying on the beach. If we were really ambitious and it could get quite busy, which could mean a trip to the pub or interent cafe. The weather was gorgeous everyday. One day my friend Steve drove us up to Palm Beach, which was incredible. So I did get to see more than Manly beach, although Manly is now one of my favorite places on earth. I also got to meet some of my cousins, the Sigmunds. I visited their house in Cherrybrook, which is a suburb of Sydney. They were really nice, I got to stay in their gorgeous house, eat great food and stay in a real bed. I also went out with my cousin Nicole and her friends, it was really nice. Thanks guys!

The night before New Years Eve I cooked dinner at Alister Ross's house, and we sat out on his amazing blacony that can see the ocean in two directions. On New Years Eve we hung out at the beach, then caught the ferry into Sydney later in the afternoon. The plan was to catch another ferry to a place called Meilson's Point, but the day had just been too hectic, so we missed the last one. We were standing in Circular Quay, which is right between the opera house and the bridge, so we decided just to stay there. We found a spot on the ground, and proceeded to drink among thousands of other people who had found a place in the harbour to watch the two fireworks shows, at 9pm and midnight. The first show was really good, but it is the midnight one that is unreal, we ran down so we were standing right under the bridge, with fireworks going off in all directions. They went off over the harbour, from the water, from the bridge and behind it. It was a really great New Years.

The next day I had to leave to fly to Perth, and although flying on New Years Day is not ideal, I was happy to be where it was air conditioned, because it was 43 degrees in Sydney that day. When I got off the plane I met a girl named Monia from Switzerland who was staying at the same hostel as me, so we hung out for two days going to the beach and walking around. Everthing was closed for the holidays, so I really didn't get to see much of Perth.