Australians have many weird traditions and one of the weirder ones is called Christmas in July. It was the pubs that started this tradition to earn extra money in the quiet period (the Australian winter which runs from May to August) and now every 24th and 25th of July you can go to any pub or restaurant to eat Christmas dinner, drink Christmas drinks and get into the spirit with Christmas decorations. We decided that there was no reason to miss out on a nice Christmas dinner, so on the 25th we headed to an Irish pub called Scruffy Murphy's and had dinner there. We got served ham and chicken slices with mashed potato, a true Irish feast.
I always try and buy cheap clothes while I am traveling and in Sydney they have an outlet mall called the DFO (Direct Factory Outlet), so one of the last days in Sydney I took Annina with me and went shopping. We both ended up buying loads of stuff and I hope I can fit everything in my backpack. Sydney also has a famous market called "Paddy's Market" and for some reason I never went there during my time living in Sydney. But now I had no excuse anymore so we went there to hunt for presents and souvenirs. Paddy's Market was crowded and filled with booths selling everything you can imagine.
During my six week stay in Harbour City Backpackers before I moved to the apartment I went out partying a lot. Especially Thursdays were a good night because the hostel has a pub crawl for only 10 dollars. Now that we were back in Harbour City it was a great chance to once more go on the pub crawl and have a great night out. For those 10 dollars you get as much beer as you can drink during two hours at the first pub, then a free drink at both of the next venues. Basically it's a night out that only costs 10 bucks. A few of the many people that I met during my first time in Harbour City were still there and it was nice to catch up with them. Both me and Annina had a great evening and I will miss the pub crawl and Harbour City Backpackers when I am back home.
There is a spot not far from Harbour City where the best pictures of the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge can be taken together. If you see both icons together on a postcard or similar it is from this spot that the picture originated. We both agreed that we couldn't leave Australia without visiting this place and take our own photos. So one afternoon we decided to go for a walk and do it. I think going in the morning would have given us better photos because in the afternoon the sun was right in our faces. We made the best we could out of it before continuing our walk around the Botanical Gardens and coast.
I am writing the end of this blog post while sitting at McDonald's. We have already checked out of our hostel and are just passing time before we take the shuttle bus to the airport. Like I already mentioned in my previous post my flight departs from Sydney at 16:40PM and I arrive in Gardermoen on the 5th of August, 11:00PM. I fly back the same way I came, through Bangkok and London. With this post I will end my Australian Adventure. I am proud of myself for actually keeping my promise and keeping this blog alive through all of my travels. I didn't think that would happen. I thank everyone that has been reading and commenting, you are the reason I could do it. I have added a few pages with information that are accessible from the menu right under the headline of the blog. Feel free to comment there as well. Below this post are the last few photo albums that I have not yet posted, so enjoy those while I am flying home. See you all at home, Audun out!
East Coast: 29. June 2010 - 20. July 2010
http://picasaweb.google.com/fatsheep/EastCoast
Sydney 4: 21. July 2010 - 04. August 2010
http://picasaweb.google.com/fatsheep/Sydney4
There is a spot not far from Harbour City where the best pictures of the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge can be taken together. If you see both icons together on a postcard or similar it is from this spot that the picture originated. We both agreed that we couldn't leave Australia without visiting this place and take our own photos. So one afternoon we decided to go for a walk and do it. I think going in the morning would have given us better photos because in the afternoon the sun was right in our faces. We made the best we could out of it before continuing our walk around the Botanical Gardens and coast.