Tuesday 29 July 2014

Forty two weeks down... part 2...


Continuing on from my last post, my friends and I got up bright and early and headed to Gloria Jean's for a coffee while we waited for thrifty car hire to open.

Once we got our ford focus we tried to head out of Melbourne (easier said than done) to join The Great Ocean Road. I would suggest doing The Great Ocean Road in summer as the weather made it quite cloudy and wet, which made looking out the window harder. 

Our first stop was Geelong, which is the second largest populated area in Victoria (Melbourne of course is the first).

We walked along the beach and stopped off at a restaurant called Sailors Rest for brunch. I had Eggs Benedict with hash browns and bacon. I cleverly managed to drop my eggs all down my dress. So after a quick dress change we were ready to head off again...


We carried on the Great Ocean Road and stopped off at places on the way such as Torquay, Lorne and Apollo Bay.


We listened to our homemade CD's while driving along taking in the most beautiful views. Well until it all went wrong...


We thought we may have missed the twelve apostles so we decided to stop in a lay by. As we indicated to turn into a lay by, a tour bus decided to overtake us. The bus crashed into the back of the car sending us down into a ditch. Lucky none of us were seriously injured, however, the car was completely totalled.

We were taken to hospital in Colac just to get checked out and make sure everyone was fine. 

Colac was in the middle of nowhere! It's an hour away from any of the cities, with no means of public transport in the evenings. So to put it nicely we were pretty screwed! (See Colac on the map below)



One of the nurses was an absolute god send! She offered us a place to stay at her house where her daughter stays. She gave four complete strangers keys to her house. Her generosity and kindness to us will never be forgotten. Her husband also came to check on us that evening and bought us milk and orange juice which was really sweet. About midnight the daughter and her mates came back and we sat with them until the early hours chatting.  

The next day one of the guys we met the night before drove a friend and I back to Geelong which was an hour away so we could get another hire car. We then drove back to Colac to get our other friends, so we could eventually set off and get back on The Great Ocean Road...

After driving two hours, we eventually made it to the twelve apostles which I have to admit it was slightly disappointing. I realised they were literally just rocks...



We continued along The Great Ocean Road but pulled over as we saw more rocks near Port Campbell. They were beautiful, much better than the overly tourist sight of the twelve apostles. It was quite weird to think everything that happened lead us to this view...



The rest of the drive lasted another 8 hours. We pretty much stopped in every McDonalds to keep everyone awake. The journey itself was horrendous as it was dark and windy. I was pretty scared the whole way, especially, trusting anyone to drive after the accident. 

We eventually arrived in Adelaide at 1am after a very traumatic couple of days. I could finally breathe a sigh of relief! 

See my next post to find out what I got up to next.... 

Keeping you posted.

Sarah x 

Thursday 24 July 2014

Forty two weeks down... part 1...


This week I have split my posts because as you will soon find out I have had a very action packed week, filled with many ups and downs. Most importantly I have learnt a few life lessons along the way, which you will find out after reading this weeks posts!!

Tuesday evening I was meant to have a relaxing night and pack for my trip to Melbourne, which meant waking up at 5am. Instead a few friends came round and we ended up going through about 8 bottles of wine between four of us. Needless to say we all got very drunk and decided it was a good idea to stay awake the whole time instead of going to sleep! 



I can confirm that this wasn't such a good idea...

At 5am I packed whatever I could find and headed to the airport where I had perfect hangover food... McDonalds! I was so tired I managed to sleep through the flight and the coach ride. We eventually made it to Melbourne where we headed to a friend's house. My friend and I were crashing at his place in Fitzroy for a few days. 

We headed to Jaspers-Caffeine for a coffee while we waited for a few other friends to join us. It's a small shop that sells all kinds of coffee but you can also buy hot drinks and sit outside in the courtyard.


Once we met up with everyone else we headed to a Veggie Bar in Fitzroy. It had a great hippy vibe to it and was ridiculously busy! I had a green juice and nachos which were delicious and you get huge portions!


We then headed into the city centre to explore more of Melbourne. We had a look around and I hate to admit it but I did end up going into H&M which was huge, however, I couldn't find any clothes I loved! For those who know me this is quite an achievement! 

We had a look down Hosier Lane which is famous for its graffiti.


We also went down Melbourne's famous laneways where we stopped at little cupcakes and had a coffee and a cupcake.


I then went back to a friend's house to have a sleep and a shower before hitting some bars, however, I ended up staying in and having a Chinese instead!

In the morning we headed back into the city centre. On our way in we stopped off at Cafe Brunelli which is an Italian cafe that sells lots of amazing cakes and chocolates! Of course I had to have a coffee and a cannoli.


The next stop was Victoria Markets, there was loads of nik-naks and we managed to try most of the hats on while we were there! We then stopped off for lunch at a restaurant in the market for some chorizo and rice. 


We then decided to go on the open bus tour which I usually love to do, although, to be honest it wasn't a good tour! There isn't much history or things to see from the road.



Afterwards we headed to Waterfront restaurant on the river. We sat outside and had halloumi and chips which were yummy. Followed by several large glasses of wine.

That evening we headed to the Crown Casino to play a game of bowling and arcade games (of course I was heavily beaten!).


In the evening a friend of mine decided to show us the coolest bars in Melbourne. The first bar was called Fall from Grace. Well the place is actually called State of Grace, however, there is a secret bar in the cellar which is opened by pulling a book realising a trap door. (Sooo cool!) 



 
The second bar we went to was at The Rooftop on top of Curtin House. It had great views of the city and the drinks were very reasonably priced.



We headed back to our friends place as we had to get up bright and early to get our hire car for the next bit of our trip...

Part two coming soon...

Keeping you posted.

Sarah x 

Monday 21 July 2014

Forty one weeks down...


This week has been one of the most important weeks for me since being here in Sydney. After training for my dance performance since February, it was finally performance week...

At the start of the week I tried to rest because I knew I would be having a very busy weekend! 

Work this week wasn't too bad! I got to go out with a work colleague to buy a few things for my event in August. Of course we took full advantage of this situation and may have ended in a few shops for ourselves... Oops! We went for lunch in Chatswood at a sushi bar. It's quite an experience going to a sushi bar seeing your food going round on a conveyer belt.


Thursday was our final dance rehearsal. Check out the video...

 

After dancing I headed back to get ready to go to The Ivy. I ended up getting a bit too drunk...



The next morning I was meant to wake up at 6.30 but didn't wake up till 8.00! I was still pretty drunk and had to rush out the door to get to work as I was interviewing new staff members all day!!

After work I headed to a salon to get a spray tan for my performance. I had to stay in on a Friday night as I looked like I had been tangoed!  

On Saturday we had our friends round for a few pre drinks before heading to Cargo. It was a fun night, although, I knew I couldn't drink too much or stay out too late as I had to be on top form for the performance the next day. 


De-day had finally arrived! I headed to the dance hall for run throughs at 4pm with all the rest of the performers.

We were all meant to stay and get ready out the back but my friend and I decided to sneak off to her house to get ready instead. 


My outfit for the performance....


A few photos from after the performance... I think by this point we went a little crazy...


The performance....


Hopefully we should also get the final photos from the photo booth and the professional video of our performance which I will share in due course...

Keeping you posted.

Sarah x

Tuesday 8 July 2014

Forty weeks down...


This week has been pretty quiet. I'm still trying to save for traveling and prepare for my salsa performance next week, which seems to be taking over most of my time... Of course I can still find the time for a glass of wine or two...

Wednesday after work the roommates and I headed to The Glenmore in The Rocks for a winter party on the rooftop. It was really cool up there with great views of the Opera House and the city. It's a great place to go if your looking for after work drinks with a chilled atmosphere. 

 
On Thursday I went to dance practice and got to try on my costume (see picture). I'm wearing leggings in the photo but I won't be able to on the night. I will only have tights on with my leotard with the dress over the top, which is a little nerve racking as eveyone will see a lot of leg on show with all the turning!



Friday I had another dance practice with a few of the other performance teams. One of the teams were the ladies advanced team who were amazing, they were so good at engaging the audience. I will definitely be taking a leaf out of their book. We didn't finish till 11pm so I had to give going out a miss!

All the housemates and I ended up going to brunch at La Buvette in Potts Point on Saturday morning. I had french toast with grilled banana. It was soo delicious!


I then headed back to the apartment to relax on the balcony in the sun (yes it is still winter...but hot nevertheless...). I even enjoyed sunbathing with a glass of ice cold strawberry and lime cider...


Saturday evening I headed to a friend's hostel to have pre drinks with them before heading to Home nightclub in Darling Harbour. 

While we were leaving the hostel about 20 of the guys decided to get in the lift. They pressed the stop button and jumped up and down in the lift which ended up getting stuck. The firebridged, police and ambulance service all arrived to help them out of the lift which took over an hour and a half to get them out! I think they learnt their lesson, especially, as they got kicked out the hostel the next day! 

We left them while they were stuck to go to Home as we had to catch the bus for free entry to the club, otherwise, they charge $20 to get in. It was a good night, although, the club wasn't the best club I've been to in Sydney as it was more like a warehouse than a nightclub.

 

Sunday was pretty chilled day in front of the TV but in the evening I headed off for another practice session at Salsa.

Keeping you posted.

Sarah x 

Thursday 3 July 2014

Feel Good Friday...


Happy Friday! Sorry I've been a bit slack on my posts lately, it's very hard to balance work, traveling and blogging! This week seems to consist of dancing, dancing and more dancing!! I can't believe its the show next week! Check out my favourites this week...

Favourite travel quote: (Great Ocean Road roadtrip here I come!)


Favourite fitness quote:


Favourite travel destination: Bali (I'll be there in two months!)


Favourite view: (The view from our apartment!)

Favourite memory from last week: skyping the besties! 


Not so favourite moment: realising I only have 99 days left in Australia!


I hope you have a good Friday! Let me know if you have any favourites for this week?

Keeping you posted.

Sarah x 

Tuesday 1 July 2014

Thirty nine weeks down...


This week has been pretty chilled, especially, as I have now booked my flights to Melbourne and fly back via Adelaide so I can drive the Great Ocean Road. I have also booked my flights to Bali, Queenstown in New Zealand and Gold Coast. I'm similarly looking to do some traveling on the West Coast of Australia, although, I may have to forfeit this as I'm not sure if i'll be able to go due to lack of funds.  

Most of this week has consisted of planning for my trips and also practicing for my dance performance which is happening in a few weeks! Check out how we are getting on...


On Saturday I did try to do a few touristy things such as heading to Bondi. It was a beautiful winter's day down at the beach. It was pretty crazy to see a skating rink next to the beach. I must admit it's a weird concept to get your head around, especially, as I imagine winter to be cold and horrible, not sunny and warm still! 


The roomie and I then headed to Bondi Massive for brunch. I had zucchini and corn fritters and a sunrise soomthie which were delicious, although, I could of ate two of the fritters! 

I then met up with some friends at Bondi Social and had drinks all afternoon. 


I ended up feeling quite tipsy by the time I left so I headed back home to get ready to go out. I have to admit instead I ended up falling asleep at 9pm and didn't wake up till the next day! Oops! Although, it was my first Saturday evening I did nothing since being out here.

Sunday morning the roomie and I headed to Elizabeth Bay for a walk.


We went to Elizabeth Bay Cafe for brunch where I had Eggs Benedict which were very filling! 


We then headed to Newtown to have a look around and headed to Black Star Pastry who are well known for their strawberry and watermelon cake. There are usually queues so your best to go earlier if you want a piece of this renowned cake! 



That evening I headed to dance practice to have another practice session! Check it out...

 

Keeping you posted.

Sarah x