Sydney

Arrived in Sydney with me waiting to be harassed by customs for a spec of dirt on my hiking boots as Niall had kindly ensured me would happen only to find they were actually lovely and nice. "Welcome to Sydney, another Irish capital" said one official. We met Rob and Nathan in the airport and headed off in the blazing heat to Rob's Gaf over Sydney harbour bridge with glimpsing views of the Opera house! It really is kind of trippy to be in a place so iconic after all these years of seeing it on the TV, it is like entering a storybook in some way and it feels like an excellent dream.

Sydney is indeed beautiful and Rob and Lisa live in an estate just like Ramsay St. so all was going as expected and after meeting Nathan and Sophie who were really excited about meeting us we headed off to Bondi Beach. The beach is an amazing sight of really fine golden sand and really fine golden people with crashing waves and plenty of surfers. We only really got a chance to take this photo before the cloud in the background erupted into thunderous rain and we spent the next hour trying to find shelter in the suddenly overcrowded coffee shops.



We ended up going to the Chocolatier and Patisserie called Zumbo's that I had read about to get some deliciously expensive macaroons which are probably some of the best in the world with real unusual taste combinations.

After a delicious risotto that Lisa made back in the gaff and some tasty beers me and Niall relaxed into some jet lag which was like the feeling you have after being three days at a festival and you've had feck all sleep but you aren't actually hungover. Fuzzy brained and time confused we went to sleep.