A Very Hungover Day at Bondi Beach.

A throwback... I'd like to say mine and Meg's day out to Bondi Beach went without a hitch. The plan was to leave early, get two buses down, do the Bondi to Coogee walk, visit the baths and to go paddleboarding but I think it's safe to say things didn't exactly go to plan. We were hungover. Very hungover. The two buses were (understandably and sensibly) substituted for an Uber, meaning our trip took 15 minutes instead of an hour and, instead of dropping us off at the beach front, we were dropped off in front of McDonalds. A strawberry milkshake, fries and one of the best Burgers I've ever had in my life (no, seriously. Mcdonalds in Australia is amazing) consisting of a beef burger, different types of cheese, guacamole, tomatoes, bacon, caramalised onions, mushrooms and lettuce (I am actually drooling) later, we were ready to hit the beach... And do absolutely nothing. We just lay there in our hoodies, taking in a bit of vitamin D and feeling a bit sorry for ourselves, but we were still fit and able enough to truly appreciate the views, reflect on how lucky we are and to dip our toes in the sea. 

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... 

Exploring Sydney & Meeting Ryan Gosling.

I could have included the Royal family, Rebel Wilson, Brad Pitt, Harold from Neighbours and many other celebrities in the title of this post, but the babe that is Ryan Gosling just holds a special place in my heart, and me including his name definitely wasn't clickbait... Taking a photo with a waxwork figure of someone at Madame Tussauds still counts as meeting them, right?? As well as visiting Madame Tussauds, we also visited other tourist attractions such as two different aquariums (which I liked), the zoo (which I hated and was awful) and, my personal favourite, the Sky Tower, where we were treated to a 4D cinema experience before visiting the tower itself, with 360º views of the city. We also visited Hyde Park (I swear everywhere in Australia is just named after places in England. #ORIGINALITY), the ANZAC Museum, which was incredibly moving, St Mary's cathedral, where we got to witness the joy and randomness that is Christmas in July, Cadmans Cottage (the oldest building in Sydney), and quite a few museums, my favourite thing to do when visiting a new place. My favourite was the Powerhouse museum, mainly because I'm a geek who loves anything and everything to do with Science. Who else would take a photo with a giant periodic table just because she knows it off by heart (I'm still proud of that)? They also had a fashion exhibition on at the time, meaning they were combining my two favourite things: fashion and science. It was so fascinating to find out all about Isabella Blow's work and the years she spent mentoring Alexander McQueen, even if it did come to a tragic end.