Sydney is named after an old wooden ship.

Yes well, let me first apologize for not posting in a week but I have been on some adventures as of late.

We took the train from Lawson to Sydney some seven days ago. Sydney as you may not know is most certainly not the capitol of Australia but merely its most famous city. Anyway, we got on the train (my first proper train trip) and rode the two hours into the city. It was new years eve so naturally there were some drunk on the train and we were lucky enough to see a women drinking beer and a man passed out in the middle of the aisle at the front of the car. He was actually sleeping for so long that another man began to sketch him in his notebook which I found quite amusing.

We arrived at Waverton (where our friends Kc and Alison live) got off the train and immediately stepped directly on what appeared and felt to be the surface of the sun. We walked up to their flat which had two balconies and a ridiculous view of the Harbor Bridge and cracked a beer with her roomates. We sat on the balconies for some time, drinking Pure Blonde beer and talking about the idiots that were trying to park on the streets below. By about four o'clock we may have been drunk and craving food so they proceeded to make Sausage Sizzle. I was skeptical of these things considering they looked an awful lot like hot dogs but after they were placed within a fresh bread roll and smothered in grilled onions I was onboard for many, many more. Needless to say that a rogue "snag" as they are called may have saved my life the next morning but I digress.

We left the flat at some time before nine o'clock to watch the kiddie fireworks over the bay. We wanted to go into the city further for a better spot but once we turned the corner out of their apartment parking lot and spotted police we figured that trying to carry three eskies (coolers) to a alcohol free zone may be more of a gamble then we wanted to take that day. So anyway, we decided to post up just outside their complex in a private courtyard of sorts. Look at the end of the Sydney album on facebook for location pictures. At this location we could see the entire harbor and almost half of the Harbor Bridge so we decided that this may be the spot to end all spots and began to drink heavily into the night.

Now I need you to imagine the last five firework shows that you have seen. Put those together, add a bridge some decorate tall ships and a heap of building with firework shooting guns on them and that was the show that we saw that night. I attempted to take pictures which are also up on facebook but they surely do not do it justice. You can however look the show up on youtube and watch what transpired.

The rest of the night can only be described as a classic 80's montage of drinking and shenanigans which culminates in people sleeping in hallways clutching a couch cushion and festive party hat. I awoke sometime later (8 am for some reason) and learned that I was the first to attempt this feat. I snagged a glass of water and a rogue sausage from the barbie of the day before. I would later learn that we would be heading to the beach that day and began to gather my mind for what lay ahead.

Most stayed behind but some left with us to go to the beach. It was called Bundeena Beach in the Royal National Park (the second national park in the world apparently). Hot and sunny is an understatement 90 degrees I would guess. We sat on the beach, fell in and out of consciousness and laughed about the women who can fit into a bikini but should not necessarily wear a bikini. I learned of squirting sponges in the tide pool and stingy bits in the ocean that make Ted's skin turn red and irritated. I can best describe the setting as  Greek themed. I don't really know what that means but I didn't bring a camera and there were lots of sailboats and big houses and island looking peninsulas.

We left the beach and proceeded to drive down the coast on Lawrence Hargrave Drive. Google map that road, its a pretty cool drive to make if you like turning and shifting an unbelievable amount. We stopped for a bite to eat which I will touch on later and made our way back to Sydney. We stayed the night again at our friends house (much less eventful considering we were all zombies) and then made our way back into Sydney to Darling Harbor and Rachel's sister Emma's flat.

I think I will talk about the next leg of Sydney after a break. Please enjoy this post.