Paramore and You Me at Six
It truly does seem like months ago now, but Saturday the 11th of January meant it was finally time for the Paramore gig we had been looking forward to since purchasing tickets some months ago. I didn't do much for most of the morning, then afterwards met Jessica once she had finished work; before heading for the train, we stopped by Mad Mex to get some pre-gig food and a Corona. I hadn't been to Mad Mex here before but it was excellent - just like Taco Mazama in Glasgow. We caught the train from Central out towards the Olympic Park, whilst taking some cruel pleasure in spotting the emo-teens who were clearly also on their way to see Paramore.
Once we arrived at the Allphones Arena, we made our way inside and headed straight to the arena floor where You Me at Six had already started playing their support set. I hadn't seen either of the bands before and though I had heard that YMAS were very good live, I wasn't too impressed - they were pretty decent but not great. After they went off stage, we went and grabbed a drink before heading back into the arena, eagerly anticipating the arrival of Paramore. Fairly soon, the lights dropped, the music started and the curtain dropped to reveal Hayley Williams on a huge big podium smashing out the opening lines to "Grow Up." The whole set was fantastic and they totally outshone YMAS; it was a really good gig and I enjoyed it far more than I thought I would, to be honest.
I did also manage to capture a few decent snaps during the show.
On Tuesday night, Claire, Jess and I headed to the Rose Pub near the uni campus to take advantage of their cheap pizza night. We were out to celebrate Claire's final few days living in the flat before she headed home to Singapore, before moving back to her new apartment in Sydney. We had a few drinks and our pizza and took part in the pub quiz which was great fun, although we weren't particularly successful and relied on Google almost entirely for many questions!
Sydney 6ers v Hobart Hurricanes at the Sydney Cricket Ground
After spending quite some time in an attempt to find a cricket match which everyone was available to go and see, tickets for the T20 Big Bash League match between Sydney and Hobart were finally purchased for Wednesday. We headed along quite early, collected our tickets and made our way to the 'Entertainment Quarter' where we found an Irish bar and enjoyed a drink before the game. With some time to spare before the match was due to start, we headed to the stadium and found our seats; it had only cost us $20 each for gold level seats, as students, which was amazing value for money and the view did not disappoint.
The two teams warming up before the match, with a great view of the city in the background.
Unlike Test cricket, such as the recent Ashes series, Twenty20 cricket is a lot more casual. Music is played during most of the match and there are cheerleaders and lots of colourful flags and beach balls in the crowd. It's very American - including a Dance-Cam and a Kiss-Cam which were shown on the big screen! At one point, two familiar faces popped up on the giant scoreboard and we quickly realised that Jay and Simon from the Inbetweeners were in attendance. They're currently in Australia filming their new movie.
After the match finished - which Sydney won after taking a handful of late wickets - we caught the bus back to Central station and I headed off to bed, expecting an early airport run in the morning to meet Mum and Auntie Jean. However, after waking to the sound of my alarm, I discovered a message informing me that all of the flights to Sydney from Hong Kong had been full and they were still in the airport. Disaster. I immediately got up and started browsing the web for flights, but to no avail - at least initially. Eventually, after some hours of searching, various phone calls and attempting to create some kind of back-up plan, two seats were found on a flight leaving Hong Kong on Thursday night. I went to work on Thursday evening then had an early night, in preparation for heading to the airport at 7am the next morning.
Mum and Auntie Jean arrive in Sydney!
Another early rise, but at least today there was something to look forward to! I caught the train out to the airport and made my way to the international arrivals gate; after a short wait which felt like hours, my mum and Auntie Jean appeared and we had a big catch-up cuddle. Gladly, everyone was in control of the water-works and there were no tears - happy days! Haha! We caught a taxi from the airport to the hotel where they would be living for the duration of their stay, the Novotel at Rockford, next to Darling Harbour and the Chinese Gardens.
After they were both showered, changed and freshened up from the gruelling journey across the globe - they spent around 30 hours in Hong Kong airport alone - we headed out into the city to see some of the sights. We walked along a large part of George Street and out to the Royal Botanic Gardens, down the the Opera House to see the harbour and the bridge, where we stopped for some brunch at the Opera House Bar - which was enjoyed with a glass of champagne. Not a bad way to start a trip in Sydney. Once brunch was finished, we walked back through the city, stopped off at Paddy's Market to buy some fruit and then back to the hotel. The travellers were pretty jet-lagged and generally exhausted, I think, so we agreed that they would have an hour or two of sleep, whilst I headed home. Two hours later, I arrived back at the door of the hotel room and nearly had to knock it down before I got a response - both Mum and Auntie Jean clearly enjoying their sleep! We headed out for dinner at an Italian restaurant called Criniti's in Darling Harbour, before they returned to their hotel, still very tired, and I walked back to my flat.
It was a beautiful, sunny day the next morning, so the three of us caught the ferry over to Manly from Circular Quay. After taking a walk along the main street and wandering into some of the shops, we found a place to have some lunch before making our way to the Manly Sea-Life Sanctuary. Whilst it was considerably smaller than the other aquarium in Darling Harbour, I really enjoyed it and saw an abundance of amazing and unique creatures. Again though, the sharks were the clear stand out.
An amazing little fish, with zebra-style stripes.
Probably the best shark photo which we managed to capture - they really are difficult to get on camera.
After the Sea-Life centre, we spent some time chilling out at the beach before we made the obligatory trip to the Four Pines brewery for a beer. After our drinks, we caught the ferry back to Circular Quay and headed home.
Back to the Blue Mountains
Whilst discussing exactly what Mum and Auntie Jean wanted to see and do with their time in Sydney, the Blue Mountains jumped out as an early favourite. Although I had been before, I was looking forward to returning to Echo Point and Wentworth Falls, which had been so enthralling the first time around. We caught an early train out of Central Station, our destination Katoomba, almost exactly two hours away; not only is the public transport far better here, it's virtually always exactly on time as well. After arriving in Katoomba - having eaten nearly all of the food we had taken along with us - we first headed for a shop to buy more. Once the priorities were sorted out, we began walking out the Echo Point lookout, where you can see the Three Sisters rocks.
Auntie Jean and I with the mountains in the background - check how tanned I look here! Excellent!
It wasn't as sunny as the last time I had visited the Blue Mountains, so the blue haze was actually even more visible than before.
Mum and Auntie Jean with the Three Sisters rocks just behind them.
We stopped off for some ice-cream, before heading back to Katoomba and picking up a bottle of wine in Dan Murphy's to have with lunch - a drive through liquor store, still fantastically strange. We enjoyed some bread and cheese with the wine before catching the train a few stops back towards Sydney, alighting the train once more at Wentworth Falls. Apparently sick of walking in the sunshine already, the auld yins decided that we should catch a taxi down to the falls themselves to save us around another hour of trekking. The waterfall was just as spectacular as I remembered and it was really great to go back.
Wentworth Falls from one of the lookout points.
We also spotted this fantastic wild parrot in the trees - superb!
In hindsight, the taxi turned out to be a great decision since a huge storm passed over not long after we were back on the train heading home for Sydney. Much of the train journey home was spent sleeping; it had been another long day.
On Monday, I unfortunately had to work for almost the entire day, so Mum and Auntie Jean went off to see some more of the city on their own. In the evening, after my shift, I met Jessica and we caught the train from Central down the harbour where we caught up with Mum and Auntie Jean. We went for dinner at the Waterfront restaurant - where La Masquerade was still moored! My personal highlight of the evening was the 'chocolate tasting' dessert which was spectacularly good. Afterwards, Jessica and I headed to the Three Wise Monkeys for a few drinks.
Tuesday was spent doing some more sight-seeing in the city: Auntie Jean, Mum and I first heading to the Art Gallery of New South Wales which was a bit underwhelming, if I'm honest. There were some interesting pieces - mostly the older artwork - whilst the "modern art" was largely awful. You have to wonder how this period in art history will be viewed centuries from now; it's almost certainly not going to be revered in the same way which we view work from the time of Da Vinci, Rembrandt or Van Gogh. We also had some lunch at the art gallery and I had the unpleasant of experience of being served some salmon which had clearly gone off - luckily I realised before eating any and enjoyed some complimentary cake, as well as a refund. Not exactly what I had been hoping for from my sandwich. Afterwards, I took the three of us on a quick tour of the uni campus and we stopped by the pool at Victoria Park to relax with a swim before dinner.
Mum and I outside the main university building on campus - I swear we were both happier that she was in Sydney than this picture might suggest!
Hunter Valley Wine Tasting Tour
At some point earlier in the week, the three of us had booked a day trip to the Hunter Valley, where we would be visiting some of the numerous vineyards; the trip involved visits and tastings to around three vineyards, as well as lunch. I made my way down to the hotel where we would be picked up by the mini-bus which would take us to the Hunter Valley, around two hours away. It was another grey, rainy day - unfortunately there were a few of them when Mum and Auntie Jean were here - so the journey didn't exactly make pleasant viewing. We were told that there is usually a lot more to be seen, which we didn't really need to hear, I felt - ignorance is bliss, right? We eventually reached the first vineyard where we enjoyed some fantastic red and white wines, grown right there, on the outskirts of Sydney - and mostly only sold at the cellar door, not to be found in liquor stores or even restaurants.
Inside the first winery which we visited.
Some rows of vines, complete with an entirely untypical Sydney sky.
Some barrels of wine which we saw on the 'behind the scenes' tour at the first winery. Note the fashionista who got in the way of my picture, who's outfit was completed by the worst shoes I've ever witnessed. There are no words.
After visiting another vineyard where we enjoyed the two standout drinks of the day - a fermented Port-style red wine and a Creme de Vin - we stopped for some lunch. The spot for lunch happened to be the location of the McGuigan winery, one of the largest producers in the Hunter Valley and across Australia, where I bought a bottle of their Noon Harvest red. Lian had brought a bottle back to the flat when she visited and it was excellent; again, I learned that it can only be purchased at the cellar door, which explains why I have never been able to find it in Sydney.
We headed home having enjoyed a really great day, once more I slept for quite a bit of the journey back. Later that night, I met up with Jessica and her friend Emma who is here visiting from Scotland, we had some drinks at my flat before heading out to a place called World Bar at Kings Cross. I hadn't been there before but I really enjoyed it and we encountered some real 'characters' inside. At the end of the night, we caught a taxi to McDonalds and then back to my flat, staying up to some stupid hour. It was so late by the time I eventually went to sleep that I was seriously considering staying up the extra hour or so until the United game kicked off. When I awoke again, I found the game on the internet and watched Sunderland beat United on penalties to dump us out of the Capital One Cup semi finals. This season seems to go from bad to worse at every possible opportunity just now.
Thursday was spent nursing a hangover on Bondi Beach with Mum, Auntie Jean, Jessica and Emma, before I headed home to get ready for work in the afternoon. After work, I joined the girls again as we went out to Bar 100 and then Ivy; we didn't last long and jumped in a taxi home around 1am, all shattered. The next morning, Jessica and Emma were off to begin their trip up the Gold Coast.
River Cruise to Parramatta
Friday started with breakfast at Bill Granger's restaurant in Surry Hills, with Mum and Auntie Jean, where I had a 'Full Aussie breakfast' - my first fry-up, of sorts, in six months! It was well worth the wait and I'm sure I'll be back to Bill's before I fly home. Afterwards, the three of us headed to Circular Quay where we jumped on a ferry up the river towards Parramatta, and back again. The cruise took around 3 hours in total and it was interesting to see some different parts of Sydney from the water. Unfortunately, the sky was rather cloudy once more, so it may have been nicer on a sunny day - but on the other hand, we managed to avoid sunburn!
Full Aussie breakfast at Bill's - delicious!
We spotted some amazing houses along the river cruise, many of which had stunning boats moored outside them.
A huge pelican which we saw quite far up the river, towards Parramatta.
We also stopped off at a cafe in the Rocks where they served genuinely massive slices of lemon meringue pie. I promise they tasted just as good as they look.
Upon returning to Circular Quay, we planned on getting a different ferry out to Watsons Bay. However, there was some confusion over which ferry we were supposed to be on and we ended up taking the short journey to Rose Bay, where the boat about-turned and headed straight back to Circular Quay again. I gave up at this point and suggested we throw in the towel, feeling exhausted and getting increasingly crabbit. We headed home and I had a sleep for an hour or so, before heading back out to go and watch Nadal v Federer in the semi-finals of the Australian Open. We only watched the first set then decided to go and get some food - which ended up being takeaway pizza - and then headed home to bed. I was in serious need of a decent sleep.
Saturday was Mum and Auntie Jean's last full day in Sydney, however I had to work for a few hours in the afternoon, so they went off to do some final shopping. After work, I got changed and headed to their hotel in order to help them move to the other hotel they would be staying in on Saturday night; due to extending their stay by a few days and it being Australia Day weekend, they couldn't get a room in the hotel they were already in. The plan for the evening was dinner at the Meat & Wine Co in Darling Harbour, which I had heard good things about, as well as hopefully taking in the fireworks.
We were very fortunate to have an outstanding table, allowing us to see the fireworks without even having to leave our seats, whilst enjoying an excellent steak, accompanied by a bottle of red wine. An excellent way to end a trip in Sydney - it had been a fantastic and busy week.
Our view from the table at dinner.
Afterwards, it was time to go home and get to bed, since we all had an early rise to go to the airport the next morning.
Mum and Auntie Jean head home and we celebrate Australia Day
Up early again, I headed to meet Mum and Auntie Jean at their hotel; they checked out and we caught a taxi out to the airport. After checking-in at the desk and dropping their luggage off, we found a seat in a cafe and had a coffee. A short while later, it was time to say our goodbyes, as Mum and Auntie Jean headed off through to their departure gate. It was a strange experience waving them off again after six months, knowing it would be a further six months until we saw each other again and it felt odd as I walked away to catch the train back to the city.
After a brief tidy around my flat, I had a look online to see if there was anything interesting happening in the city for Australia Day and I came across a car event, described as the largest meeting of vehicles in the southern hemisphere. Well, that was a decision made. I caught the free bus down to Circular Quay, which was as busy as I had ever seen it before, packed with people flying Australian flags, wearing Australian t-shirts, complete with face paint and hats. It was quite a sight! I made my way around to Macquarie Street where the CARnivale started, stretching for at least a mile or two towards Hyde Park.
An incredibly well kept 1967 Shelby GT500. This particular car had won a couple of Australian national-level concours competitions around 2001.
One of the famous 1965 Shelby GT500E models, better known as Eleanor, from the movie 'Gone in 60 Seconds'. This car even had the registration plate 'LN00RR' and a paint job that must have taken literally tens of hours of work - it was gleaming.
An original 1971 E-Type Jaguar, complete with the registration 'JAG 71E' - very, very nice.
There were also some modern-day cars on display, the highlight of which was certainly this matte black Lambourghini Aventador - costing somewhere in the region of $500,000 US Dollars, depending on the particular specs.
After spending the best part of three hours wandering along the rows of cars, I spent some time at the markets in the Rocks, before heading back to Circular Quay and jumping on a train home. The evening was spent chilling out, before Jess and I decided to order a Dominos pizza to the flat, before the final of the Australian Open started. We sat on the couch with a few beers and our pizzas watching the tennis, which looked as if it was going to turn into one of the all-time great comebacks, as Rafael Nadal played on whilst two sets down and clearly badly injured. However, in the end, his efforts were in vain, as Wawrinka saw him off to win his first major title.
Here's a photo of our Dominos and Nadal having some treatment on his back.
Beady Eye
On Monday night I was off to finally see a Beady Eye gig for the first time; though I had seen them playing an acoustic set at the signing for the last album in HMV, this was the first proper gig. I caught the train to Newtown station and walked a short distance to the Enmore Theatre, where I had to collect my ticket. I was immediately struck by how small the place was and knew it was going to be a great night to see the band up close, in such a small venue.
The Enmore Theatre, beginning to fill up before the gig.
Liam Gallagher and Beady Eye.
Believe it or not, this is only the second closest I've ever seen Liam perform!
The gig was excellent; it had been a long wait to see Beady Eye and gladly, they didn't disappoint. Whilst their own catalogue of songs was great, the clear highlight of the night was when they played a couple of Oasis tunes. On this tour, they've usually been playing 'Rock n Roll Star' as well as 'Morning Glory' however on the night they actually played 'Cigarettes & Alcohol' and 'Wonderwall' - I couldn't believe my luck! I believe since splitting up Oasis, Liam has only sang 'Wonderwall' on two occasions: once at the closing ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games and the other here in Sydney. What are the chances, seriously? The band even played an encore of 'Gimme Shelter' by the Rolling Stones, which went down an absolute storm; it has to be said, I think Liam does it even better than Jagger himself, which is quite something. I caught the train home after the gig, another awesome night to remember from my time in Sydney.
On Tuesday, I slept in until almost noon, well in need of some catch-up sleep after my mad week. When I did eventually get up, I headed to Victoria Park pool where I spent most of the afternoon sunbathing and reading. Afterwards, I headed home, made dinner and began writing the bulk of this blog post, which has again taken me far longer than expected to finish. Yesterday, I got up and headed out to hand some more CVs around to local shops and restaurants in the hope of finding a job for the remainder of my time here, but I've had no luck so far. Although, after dropping by Dick Smith - an electrical retailer - a random guy approached me in the shopping centre to ask what kind of job I was seeking. We had a brief chat and he explained that he ran a business doing some kind of internet service sales and was looking for someone to add to the team; he took a copy of my CV and said he would pass it on the relevant people. A bit surreal, but I won't be complaining if it lands me a job. Last night we had an Iglu event where we had to wear Rubix cube colours, which led to some truly wild outfits! It was great to meet some of the new people who have moved in over the past few weeks though and there are plans for a few more events this week.
That's me all caught up now! I promise that I am going to start writing the blog more regularly again - even I'm getting sick of these huge posts which cover two weeks of events. Hopefully I'll have some more interesting things to share soon!
Until next time,
Jamie
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