HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Since Boxing day we have had quite a lazy week. We spent 2 days on Tamarama beach which is 5 mins from the hostel. Also spent a day at Bondi junction which has the biggest shopping centre in the southern hemisphere. From there we bought shoes and jewellery to dress up the clothes we already had for NYE. We also went to see "Happy Feet' at the cinema which was good. One night we went out for a meal with 7 others from the hostel to an Italian restaurant which was really nice and food was great. On the way there lots of people were surrounding a shop taking photos through the window. We couldn't get close enough to see who it was but presume it must have been Paris Hilton as she was due to be at a big NYE party in the city.

On NYE it took us 2 hours to get to the harbour front from the hostel. The main part of that was fighting through the crowds in the city, especially at the harbour where some people had been for 12 hours or more to get a good spot. When we arrived at Eastbank restaurant i ordered a bottle of wine for the night and our first course arrived quickly. It was an oyster on a shell of rock salt. I decided to try it but won't repeat the experience! I couldn't swallow it whole and chewing it reminded me of what the celebrities have to do in bush tucker trials on tv! We also had smoked salmon and a mini pizza which were lovely. Next course was duck and mushrooms with salad. Third course, crispy trout in hazlenut sauce. Main course, corn-fed chicken with a delicious garlic and pesto dressing. Last of all a huge slab of triple choc cheesecake. Yum!!! There were family fireworks at 9pm which were great. At midnight we all went out onto the harbour and watched some amazing fireworks. The theme was emeralds as it's the harbour bridge's 75th anniversary this year. Best fireworks i have ever seen. After that we were given a bottle of champagne, we managed about half of it! There was an Australian couple sat near us in the restaurant who got more and more drunk and were told to calm their drinking. Shortly after that he got down on one knee and proposed to her! We had a brilliant night and stayed back while the crowds died down to have a drink with the manager. We got a bus straight away to the hostel and after chatting to people in the hostel i went to bed around 6am.

New year's day we spent on Bondi beach which was packed again. Tonight we are booked on the 7pm coach to Melbourne, takes around 12 hours. Cheaper than hiring a car or flying and will save the cost of a night's accommodation. We stay in Melbourne for 5 nights in the city centre then start the 1st Greyhound coach journey back to Sydney. We are only coming back to Sydney as it's the easiest place to use to get to the Blue Mountains where we have booked into a hostel for 2 nights. After that not sure as yet but probably Byron Bay.

Hope you all had a great NYE and have a good 2007 x