Bondi Beach to Canberra

Bondi Beach to Canberra

I think I left off with the move to Bondi Beach and the forth coming Gay Mardi Gras. Mardi Gras was awesome! Kate was out and about in the city all day and I spent some time on the beach and then met her at Paddington Market on Oxford Street. The market was okay (Byron’s is better!) and there were a few vendors with really beautiful leather wares. After the market we headed down the street to the parade area, stopping in briefly at Sportsgirl (a clothing and accessories store) to use their “try me” make up samples, and then finding a spot near the barricades to watch the parade. It was about 4:45 when we claimed our spot and the parade wasn’t supposed to start for another 3 hours at 7:45. We were told to get their early if we wanted to be able to see anything and we were not taking any chances. At around 6 we started drinking (we had each filled out nalgene bottles with goon) and by 7 were just rolling. At around that time I went on a mission to find food and came back with a giant take-a-way container of beef nachos. My stomach hurts just thinking about them. I got back just in time for the parade to start and for the next 2 hours I saw some interesting things… nothing like men in eyeliner and tights, let me tell you, Haha. It was definitely worth the long wait. Afterwards we headed up the street to meet up with up with Paula, an Irish girl we’d met in Queenstown, NZ, and couple of her friends. We all went down to a quiet corner of Sydney to a little pub and just sat and talked for a few hours. Eventually, we headed back to Oxford street and caught the bus back to Bondi.
On Sunday it rained ALL day and it was yuck. We hit up the markets in the morning before the rain started, but after that just stayed inside all day. I did go for a run in the late afternoon in the pouring rain. The rain was coming down so hard at one point that it was stinging my face. I was drenched after about 5 minutes. It felt great though, the temperature was perfect, and I figured that of all the people in the world who have ever visited Bondi Beach and done the Eastern Beaches walk between Bondi and Bronte a very very very select few of them have actually seen it in weather like that. With the wind blowing quite hard the surf was really crashing against the rocks below and the spray was coming up pretty high too. We finished the goon that night and tried to go out in Bondi Beach. But it was a Sunday night and everything was closed except the Bondi Hotel and they were charging the stupid Sunday surcharge of an extra 10% or something. Garbage. So after 2 drinks we asked the bouncer if there was anywhere else to go in Bondi on a Sunday and he said World Bar in Kings Cross! The place we’d been on Thursday night causing trouble! So that was the end of our night, since it was still raining and we didn’t want to take the bus into the city.
The next day the weather was still a little crappy but I did the full Eastern Beaches walk to Coogee beach and back anyways. There was part of it that goes through this massive cemetery on the hillsides overlooking the ocean. With the overcast skies and crashing waves below it was really eerie. That night was our last night in Bondi and Sydney. We decided to make it count and go back in to Kings Cross. We started off the night in our dorm room with a bottle of wine each and the Will Ferrell Best of SNL DVD. Magical. Then we caught the bus into the city and went to O’Malley’s Irish Pub for some live music and beer. When Kate went off the bathroom she told the two guys standing near us to “keep my friend company.” They ended up being really cool and we hung out all night. One was from England and only in Sydney for about 48 hours because he was actually staying at a friend’s in Melbourne. The other was from small town Ohio but lived in Thailand and was only in Sydney for the night as well. They had met in their hostel room at BASE. Oh Base. Somehow we ended up in Sydney CBD with these guys, I guess it was the free beers they kept buying us? When we decided we’d had enough and it was time to go home, the guys of course told us to “just come stay at base with us tonight.” HA! That didn’t happen. We made it back to the street where the bus could be caught and Kate bought pizza and I had a bite. Bad choices. When the bus rolled up I was bent over, trying to make myself puke but couldn’t. We boarded the bus and the end of the world sort of happened. First Kate threw-up in her hands and down her shirt and in her lap. A few minutes later I threw-up in my hands/on to my legs and shoes. We blame it on those awful boys and the rickety bus ride. When we got back to the hostel I immediately went into the shower and rinsed my shoes and bag (oh yeah, my bag was in my hands when I puked into them) and then showered. I had put the contents of my bag on my backpack and when I returned to the room couldn’t find my phone and thus convinced myself it was lost forever and went to sleep sad. I found it on top of my backpack in the morning. Wreaking of vomit, we made our way to the Greyhound depot in Sydney CBD the next day and got on a bus and made it to Canberra. Kate’s Uncle picked us up and since then it has been a relaxing time in a beautiful home. We’ve been enjoying delicious food and drink, and the luxury of a washing machine!
We hit up the National Portrait Gallery and National Gallery of Australia yesterday, both maginifcent! Then met up with Uncle Jon for a treat at the 'chocolate place' in the CBD: Koko Black. I had the best iced chocolate Mocha of my life! haha I went back to the house after that and stabbed myself in the palm while cutting open an avocado. I was concerned for a few minutes until it stopped bleeding. It's fine now.
Last night we were off on an overnight bus to Melbourne. The ride went by fast for myself and I figured I slept for about 6 hours of the possible ~9.
When we arrived at around 8:30am we walked for like 8 blocks to our hostel, got a sweet deal b/c of our Byron connections, and then took a 3 hour nap.
The first night of Melbourne March Mayhem starts tonight in celebration of Friday the 13th and the eve of my Birthday! YAY!