One to Remember.

You can't fly halfway across the world, all the way to Sydney, and not visit what are quite possibly the most touristy destinations in the world: the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge. I wouldn't say they were my favourite places that we visited while in Sydney, but I do think that they are worth the visit, even if it's just to say you've done it. We opted not to do the bridge climb and chose instead to walk around the botanic gardens, mainly so that we could sit in Mrs Macquerie's chair (which is bloody hard to find and even now I'm certain we didn't actually find it, we were just sat on a random rock), from where we got a great view of the bridge and Opera House together. As it was Winter in Australia, the day started off pretty cold and damp, but the clouds soon burnt out and we were left in short-sleeved t-shirts, so decided to head to the Chinese Garden of Friendship. After all, Meg and I have been best friends for seventeen years, so I'd say we're qualified to go there... While we, like most, did admire the architecture and beauty of the gardens, we did also spend an hour pretending to be Mulan. Good old Disney... 

Hiking in a Tropical Rainstorm - Singapore #5.

It's official, after my trip to Singapore, I could survive on a deserted island with crazy rain and smoke monsters like the one in LOST. I've done it all. I've had my hair bobble break and had to tie my hair up with a piece of string I found in a tree, and I was even running on a treetop walkway through the jungle when it suddenly started to rain, heavier than I've ever seen, so much that I could barely see and had to shelter in a tree (100% had to refrain from shouting "JAAAAAACK". Kate Auston, eat your heart out)...  Before I let my imagination run wild and imagined just how I was going to kill a polar bear, my aunt and I visited the Botanic Gardens & Orchid Garden of Singapore. I don't know a lot about flowers and plants, but I can tell you that it was beautiful. We actually chose to go on what was the hottest and most humid day of the week, so just seeing the words 'cool house' was enough to help me ignore the sweat dripping down my neck and send me to a happier place. One too many selfies were taken but, with such a perfect backdrop it was hard not to...

A Weekend Hike

I think it's safe to say that I've had a pretty amazing and adventurous weekend. After a hard day (and week) at college on Friday, I headed to my friend's, Saoirse, house. We had some lunch and a bit of a gossip before doing some homework. By homework, I obviously mean drawing on each other and doing no homework whatsoever, but it's the thought that counts, right?! Afterwards, we headed to our dance class. It was a little different this week as it turned into a Gymnastics class! I made Saoirse and a few of my other friends fly by balancing them on my feet, and I was feeling it ever so slightly by the time we got home!

That night, Saoirse slept at my house where we tucked into a massive feast of homemade curry with all the typical side dishes and some Milka chocolate. We also watched Les Miserables before having a relatively early night, as we were both so exhausted from our previous week of exams.

Feeling refreshed and ready to start our day, we got up this morning at about 10am. This was actually quite early for me, considering it's the weekend, but late for Saoirse. We had some toast and coffee (which I ended up spilling all down myself) before deciding to go on a hike! We eventually left at around 12:10 and weren't expecting to be back for a long while but, we're clearly fitter than we previous thought, as we back in just under three hours.

I technically live near the top of the mountain we were planning on hiking up anyway but to get there, you have to first walk down the mountain and then alone to get to the actual track that leads to the cross, which is officially classed as the summit. It is pretty much all up all but was no where near as hard as I thought it would be. I even ran some of the way! I was actually rather proud of myself, haha.

I don't think there's many people that truly appreciate the beauty of Álora, which is where we live. We definitely didn't anyway. Or at least we didn't until today when we walked through fields of flowers in the bright, blazing sun and looked down upon the views below us. The further up we climbed, the better the views seemed to get and the further we were able to see. Unfortunately, it was caterpillar season, so we had to watch out for them as they are poisonous but, other than that, our minds were completely at ease!

Our destination!

...Or at least we were until Saoirse 'hit the deck'. A man started running in the opposite direction to that, so I put my dogs on their leads just in case, and we took to one side while he stuck to his. After he had passed, I turned my back for one second to let my dogs of their leads when BANG. I turned around to find Saoirse sat in a ditch, having tripped over. The obvious thing to have done at that moment in time would have been to help her up but no, I had to have a good laugh and take a few pictures and then I plucked up the energy to help her back to her feet! 

buttercups

having a quick sit down after having helped Saoirse to her feet

and then we were on our way again!

Everyone seemed to be out in force, making the most of the beautiful, sunny weather. We met numerous dog walkers, runners, families out with their children and a Norwegian couple who asked us for directions. We gave them said directions and sent them off... in the wrong direction. We were later told by a Spanish couple that set them right that you could have gotten down the way we'd said, but it was rather dangerous and not recommended. oops. Maybe we're not the best people to ask for directions.

celebrating

The summit is from the whole of town and from below, it looks like a wooden cross but unfortunately it is a gravity-ridden, white, plastic one. Saoirse and I did have a good wonder how some people had managed to shimmy their way to the top of the cross and somehow spray-paint their names on there! Once at the summit, we had a nice lie down in the (dirt) grass, had a long drink and took lots of photos, both of us and our surrounds! Here are some of my favourites:

I've recently had to start wearing glasses. I had to take them with up and ended up having to actually put them on so I could appreciate the view!

Having spent about half an hour at the top, we decided it was time to go back down and we decided to try and be a bit more "speedy" about it instead of just wandering aimlessly. After all, this was a hike we were supposed to be on, but it obviously didn't stop us from taking even more photos. 

On the way back, it was my turn to carry the rucksack. This meant I now have an iPod, camera, camera case, glasses, dog leads and the bag. I am a true professional. 

Once we were about 10 minutes past the summit, we found that someone had drawn the Devil's sign on the ground. I found it a bit odd and then as we continued down, we kept finding arrows! This went on for over a good kilometre before they came to an abrupt stop. It was very strange.

Our final stop was an almond blossom forest, where we each took a few pictures before walking the last few kilometres home. Once home, it was time for a well deserved sit-down, a drink and some lunch! It was about 4pm by the time we got home, so we deserved it. 

I had such an amazing time and my legs don't actually even hurt (yet)! I really enjoyed and would like to try and do this more regularly, especially with the weather before so nice. Let's see what Saoirse has to say about that...

What did you all get up to this weekend? Have any of you being enjoying the sun? Let me know in the comments below!