After the IP take home exam was handed in, it was straight back to work on the essay which was due for my Advanced Evidence class. The deadline was the following Friday, so there was plenty of time to complete it. Needless to say however, having just handed in another essay, motivation was lacking and I didn't get off to a racing start. I afforded myself a night off from working and was looking forward to a trip to the cinema with Jessica, which was supposed to be an enjoyable experience, of course. In reality, almost the entire duration of 'The Fault in Our Stars' was a depressing torrent of despair and tragedy. It was an alright film, but I wouldn't rush to see it again. I am pleased to say that I am still all-there emotionally and did not shed a tear, though the same could not be said for most other people in the cinema.
On our way home, Jessica and I stopped off at the ice cream shop near Central and then returned to Iglu. The girls in the flat had been enjoying dinner together and were still chatting over some wine when we returned, so we joined them for a while and got to know our new flatmate a little better. After Pamela moved out this week, a new French girl called Anoucha arrived. She seems lovely so far though I haven't spoken to her much having been so busy with uni. On Saturday, Jessica and I visited the Chinese Gardens near Darling Harbour, which we hadn't been to before. The gardens were quite nice and we spent some time wandering around and spying on the wedding which was taking place whilst we were there. We spotted a handful of people at the wedding who were engrossed in their phones and also slagged some people off who were looking shabby - out of ear-shot of course!
Here is a photo of the Chinese Gardens, with some apartments in the background. It was strange for such nice gardens to be found right in the middle of the city. It felt very much out of place.
There were a great number of huge fish in the pond and streams around the gardens.
We left the gardens and took a walk around Pyrmont, admiring the stunning flats and yachts which are found down there.
The main reason for heading down to Pyrmont however, was to visit the fish markets. There are a handful of huge fishmongers all along the same section of the harbour and it seems to be the place to go for fresh seafood in Sydney. They have all of the regular, familiar kinds of fish you might expect to find in the supermarket, as well as a great selection of weird and wonderful fillets and shellfish which I had never seen before. The live crabs and lobsters were a particular highlight!
After browsing for a while, mainly in awe of the sheer volume of fish on offer, we bought ourselves some tuna steaks and walked back to my flat through Wentworth Park. We stopped by Woolies and got some salad and a bottle of wine to have with dinner. I cooked the tuna steaks and whilst they were pink and rare, as I feel they're best, Jessica didn't think that was right so they went back in the pan. I was justified later in the week however, when Marco Pierre White cooked tuna steaks on TV during Australian Masterchef and they looked exactly like mine had. Needless to say, I was very pleased with that! Haha!
It was back to work on Sunday, though I afforded myself a long lie before settling in to continue writing my essay. At night, I played FIFA for a few hours and then it was time for bed, in preparation for repeating the process of essay writing again the following day. Brutal. Luckily, I had something to distract me during my endless hours of typing, as Kasabian's new album had been released. I listened to it from beginning to end probably four or five times on that first day and I was absolutely loving it! It's gone straight in as one of my favourite Kasabian albums - it really is that good. They're going to smash Glastonbury.
I stayed up late on Monday night to watch the start of the 2014 E3 Conference. For those who don't know, it's essentially where all the big gaming companies, such as Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo, come together each year to show off their new games and technologies. It's a bit geeky, but it's really great if you're into that kind of thing. I watched Microsoft's presentation, which started around 2am and then got off to sleep for a while before EA's conference. The big attraction there being a trailer for the new FIFA game, of course. After another few hours of sleep, it was finally time for Sony's conference around 11am. They showed off some brilliant new stuff, including a virtual reality headset and my desire to finally get myself a Playstation 4 was further reinforced. After that excitement, it was back to essay writing and studying for the rest of the day.
The routine of studying continued on Wednesday, though I did take some time off to find a Father's Day present for Dad, as well as making a card on Moonpig. Kerry and I chatted on FaceTime and decided on a couple of things to get him and I trawled through some old photos to make the card. We got him tickets to the Scottish Car Show in July, some beer glasses and the Wolf of Wall Street DVD. Everything was sorted out with a few days to spare and it has to be said, my ability to remember birthday cards, Christmas cards and various presents whilst I've been in Australia has been exemplary. Even if I do say so myself. Thursday was the final full day of work on the Evidence essay and it was almost ready to be handed in. An early night was in order on Thursday, since the FIFA World Cup in Brazil began early the next morning. Even with an essay deadline looming the next day, I got up bright and early to see Brazil beat Croatia 3-1 to open the tournament.
I finished off the final parts of my essay on Friday morning, after catching up on some sleep, since the deadline was at 4pm that day. Relief was the overwhelming feeling when I handed my final essay in, though I arrived back down to earth with a bump almost immediately upon remembering that I still had my one and only exam to sit. Back at home, Kerry passed her driving theory test, which was great and Mum and Dad were heading off to Pitlochry for their silver wedding anniversary. Kerry and I decided to get them a gift for the occasion and we settled on a print of Eulogy to a Dead Admiral by Jack Vettriano and hoped that they would like it.
There was also some pleasant news received on Friday, as Jessica was surprised with a stay in the Four Seasons Hotel at Sydney Harbour the following night. I was lucky enough to be invited along and hastily accepted! I had another early night on Friday and got back up early to watch Netherlands versus Spain game at the World Cup. The early alarm call was well worth it as the Netherlands demolished the reigning world champions by five goals to one, putting a massive dent in their chances of retaining the trophy. Personally, I was most pleased to see Louis van Gaal conducting a tactical masterclass and Robin van Persie capped his wonderful performance with two goals. Things are looking good for United next season, if that performance is anything to go by. After the game, I went back to bed and had a long lie. On Saturday morning, I got showered and had breakfast, then headed into the city to get myself a bag which I had been looking at for a while.
In the afternoon, Jessica and I headed down to the Four Seasons Hotel and checked in. The room was fantastic and had an unbelievable view of the Opera House and harbour.
The definition of a room with a view.
As nice as the view was and as much as we were enjoying it, we did have dinner plans, so had to drag ourselves away from the window and out of the room. We had decided to go to Mr Wong's Chinese restaurant and headed there for around 7pm, having been informed that they did not take reservations. We arrived to find a small queue at the door but learned that there would be a one hour wait for a table. Feeling hungry, we decided that we wouldn't be hanging around and headed off to find another place. Whilst we were outside the restaurant, a chauffeur-driven Rolls Royce Phantom pulled up and four people climbed out, strolled inside the restaurant and were taken straight to a table. As always, it's not what you know, but who you know.
We walked up George Street and decided to try the Felix restaurant in the lane near Ivy. Gladly, they had a table available and we were pleased by the prospect of dinner finally! As Jessica was flicking through the wine menu, a waiter approached and asked if we needed some help. Feeling overwhelmed by choice, we gratefully accepted some advice. He told us that there were over 800 wines on the list and proceeded to detail the intricate flavours and tastes in several of them. Neither of us pretend to be wine connoisseurs, so plucked for a somewhat random choice, though it turned out to be very nice. The food was also great and it was definitely one of the best meals I've enjoyed in Sydney. I had a cheese soufflé with a rocket salad, followed by a rainbow trout fillet, which was exceptionally good. We headed back to the hotel and chilled out by the window for a while with a glass of wine.
Jessica took some artistic photos, capturing myself seemingly deep in thought.
I set an alarm for 8am on Sunday morning and we watched England against Italy before getting up. Whilst England played quite well, they didn't do enough and didn't take their chances, finishing up on the end of a 2-1 defeat. Not a good start to their tournament. We got up, got ready and gathered our things, ready to check out before heading for breakfast.
I snapped another quick picture in the morning, before leaving the hotel.
We weren't sure where to go for breakfast, so had a look online for somewhere we maybe hadn't been before. At this late stage of our time in Sydney, a real effort is being made to experience as many different things and places as possible, which means attempting to not eat in the same places more than once or twice. We chose a cafe in the Rocks and managed to arrive just as it started to rain, which was perfect. The place was rather strange and the tables were arranged in a corridor of prison cells. I can honestly say that I've never had breakfast in an old prison before. Very odd. The rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing, as the serious studying was due to start again the next day.
Monday's are never much fun, but when Monday means studying in preparation for an exam, it's even more dreadful. My exam was the following Saturday, so there was plenty of time to go, though there was also a lot of work to get through in that time. Back home, it was Father's Day and Dad was pleased with his presents, whilst both Mum and Dad liked the painting we had got them for their anniversary. At night, the finale of the latest season of Game of Thrones was on TV, which I enjoyed with a KFC downstairs. The episode was brilliant, as expected and there were a few twists and turns along the way too. I'm looking forward to the next season already!
Most of the remainder of the week was spent studying and taking notes for my exam. This was to be my first exam on a Saturday and I hoped it would be my last. As if exams couldn't get any worse, surely arranging them on a weekend should be against the rules.
Friday was my last full day of studying before my Private International Law exam, so I got up quite early and got to work. I had planned a study break for the afternoon; Jessica and I headed to Government House where we were going on a tour. We had visited the house and gardens a few weeks previous, though hadn't gone inside since we had been too late for the last tour of the day. We caught the free bus from Railway Square down to Circular Quay and made our way towards the Botanic Gardens, making it just in time for the last tour. The house was amazing inside, although we weren't allowed to take photographs unfortunately, except inside the ballroom. We didn't learn a lot of new information, though we did find out that until recently the house had not actually been occupied by the Governor of New South Wales. Only two weeks previously though, that had been changed and the current Governor was due to move back in and use the property as a permanent residency. I suspect tours will be stopped again quite soon, so it was pretty cool to have managed to squeeze one in before they do!
I snapped a sneaky picture from the ballroom back towards the drawing room, which was decked out in very traditional decor, but also had a very loud 80s-style carpet. It was a baffling combination.
This is one end of the ballroom, where each new Governor is sworn into their position.
After our tour, we walked back to the city and I headed home in order to continue studying, with my exam the next day. I finally had all of my notes completed and felt prepared for the exam. At the same time, I was trying to choose classes for next year, make sure I was ready for going away to Melbourne after my exam and also ready for Kerry arriving the following week. It was a rather stressful evening!
On Saturday morning, I had a long lie after a reasonably late night of studying, before getting out of bed and having some breakfast. I spent the morning doing some final studying for my exam, as well as packing my bag and organising all of my things to go to Melbourne later that night. I hadn't received an email offering me online check-in for my flight, which worried me. Panicking a little, I found a booking confirmation number from my bank statement and used it to access my flight information on the Tiger website and it became clear why I hadn't received any emails. I had typed my email address in wrong when I had booked the flight, though the problem was solved!
My exam went quite well and I was extremely pleased to be finished the semester. My final exam in Sydney was completed, as well as my time at Sydney University. The next time I sat in a class, wrote an essay or took an exam, I would be back in Glasgow. I walked home from campus, barely able to stop smiling at the prospect of studying being finished and flying off to Melbourne on holiday! I got home, checked that I had remembered all of my things in my bag and headed off to catch the train to the airport.
Melbourne here I come!
It was back to work on Sunday, though I afforded myself a long lie before settling in to continue writing my essay. At night, I played FIFA for a few hours and then it was time for bed, in preparation for repeating the process of essay writing again the following day. Brutal. Luckily, I had something to distract me during my endless hours of typing, as Kasabian's new album had been released. I listened to it from beginning to end probably four or five times on that first day and I was absolutely loving it! It's gone straight in as one of my favourite Kasabian albums - it really is that good. They're going to smash Glastonbury.
I stayed up late on Monday night to watch the start of the 2014 E3 Conference. For those who don't know, it's essentially where all the big gaming companies, such as Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo, come together each year to show off their new games and technologies. It's a bit geeky, but it's really great if you're into that kind of thing. I watched Microsoft's presentation, which started around 2am and then got off to sleep for a while before EA's conference. The big attraction there being a trailer for the new FIFA game, of course. After another few hours of sleep, it was finally time for Sony's conference around 11am. They showed off some brilliant new stuff, including a virtual reality headset and my desire to finally get myself a Playstation 4 was further reinforced. After that excitement, it was back to essay writing and studying for the rest of the day.
The routine of studying continued on Wednesday, though I did take some time off to find a Father's Day present for Dad, as well as making a card on Moonpig. Kerry and I chatted on FaceTime and decided on a couple of things to get him and I trawled through some old photos to make the card. We got him tickets to the Scottish Car Show in July, some beer glasses and the Wolf of Wall Street DVD. Everything was sorted out with a few days to spare and it has to be said, my ability to remember birthday cards, Christmas cards and various presents whilst I've been in Australia has been exemplary. Even if I do say so myself. Thursday was the final full day of work on the Evidence essay and it was almost ready to be handed in. An early night was in order on Thursday, since the FIFA World Cup in Brazil began early the next morning. Even with an essay deadline looming the next day, I got up bright and early to see Brazil beat Croatia 3-1 to open the tournament.
I finished off the final parts of my essay on Friday morning, after catching up on some sleep, since the deadline was at 4pm that day. Relief was the overwhelming feeling when I handed my final essay in, though I arrived back down to earth with a bump almost immediately upon remembering that I still had my one and only exam to sit. Back at home, Kerry passed her driving theory test, which was great and Mum and Dad were heading off to Pitlochry for their silver wedding anniversary. Kerry and I decided to get them a gift for the occasion and we settled on a print of Eulogy to a Dead Admiral by Jack Vettriano and hoped that they would like it.
There was also some pleasant news received on Friday, as Jessica was surprised with a stay in the Four Seasons Hotel at Sydney Harbour the following night. I was lucky enough to be invited along and hastily accepted! I had another early night on Friday and got back up early to watch Netherlands versus Spain game at the World Cup. The early alarm call was well worth it as the Netherlands demolished the reigning world champions by five goals to one, putting a massive dent in their chances of retaining the trophy. Personally, I was most pleased to see Louis van Gaal conducting a tactical masterclass and Robin van Persie capped his wonderful performance with two goals. Things are looking good for United next season, if that performance is anything to go by. After the game, I went back to bed and had a long lie. On Saturday morning, I got showered and had breakfast, then headed into the city to get myself a bag which I had been looking at for a while.
In the afternoon, Jessica and I headed down to the Four Seasons Hotel and checked in. The room was fantastic and had an unbelievable view of the Opera House and harbour.
The definition of a room with a view.
We walked up George Street and decided to try the Felix restaurant in the lane near Ivy. Gladly, they had a table available and we were pleased by the prospect of dinner finally! As Jessica was flicking through the wine menu, a waiter approached and asked if we needed some help. Feeling overwhelmed by choice, we gratefully accepted some advice. He told us that there were over 800 wines on the list and proceeded to detail the intricate flavours and tastes in several of them. Neither of us pretend to be wine connoisseurs, so plucked for a somewhat random choice, though it turned out to be very nice. The food was also great and it was definitely one of the best meals I've enjoyed in Sydney. I had a cheese soufflé with a rocket salad, followed by a rainbow trout fillet, which was exceptionally good. We headed back to the hotel and chilled out by the window for a while with a glass of wine.
Jessica took some artistic photos, capturing myself seemingly deep in thought.
I set an alarm for 8am on Sunday morning and we watched England against Italy before getting up. Whilst England played quite well, they didn't do enough and didn't take their chances, finishing up on the end of a 2-1 defeat. Not a good start to their tournament. We got up, got ready and gathered our things, ready to check out before heading for breakfast.
I snapped another quick picture in the morning, before leaving the hotel.
We weren't sure where to go for breakfast, so had a look online for somewhere we maybe hadn't been before. At this late stage of our time in Sydney, a real effort is being made to experience as many different things and places as possible, which means attempting to not eat in the same places more than once or twice. We chose a cafe in the Rocks and managed to arrive just as it started to rain, which was perfect. The place was rather strange and the tables were arranged in a corridor of prison cells. I can honestly say that I've never had breakfast in an old prison before. Very odd. The rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing, as the serious studying was due to start again the next day.
Monday's are never much fun, but when Monday means studying in preparation for an exam, it's even more dreadful. My exam was the following Saturday, so there was plenty of time to go, though there was also a lot of work to get through in that time. Back home, it was Father's Day and Dad was pleased with his presents, whilst both Mum and Dad liked the painting we had got them for their anniversary. At night, the finale of the latest season of Game of Thrones was on TV, which I enjoyed with a KFC downstairs. The episode was brilliant, as expected and there were a few twists and turns along the way too. I'm looking forward to the next season already!
Most of the remainder of the week was spent studying and taking notes for my exam. This was to be my first exam on a Saturday and I hoped it would be my last. As if exams couldn't get any worse, surely arranging them on a weekend should be against the rules.
Friday was my last full day of studying before my Private International Law exam, so I got up quite early and got to work. I had planned a study break for the afternoon; Jessica and I headed to Government House where we were going on a tour. We had visited the house and gardens a few weeks previous, though hadn't gone inside since we had been too late for the last tour of the day. We caught the free bus from Railway Square down to Circular Quay and made our way towards the Botanic Gardens, making it just in time for the last tour. The house was amazing inside, although we weren't allowed to take photographs unfortunately, except inside the ballroom. We didn't learn a lot of new information, though we did find out that until recently the house had not actually been occupied by the Governor of New South Wales. Only two weeks previously though, that had been changed and the current Governor was due to move back in and use the property as a permanent residency. I suspect tours will be stopped again quite soon, so it was pretty cool to have managed to squeeze one in before they do!
I snapped a sneaky picture from the ballroom back towards the drawing room, which was decked out in very traditional decor, but also had a very loud 80s-style carpet. It was a baffling combination.
This is one end of the ballroom, where each new Governor is sworn into their position.
On Saturday morning, I had a long lie after a reasonably late night of studying, before getting out of bed and having some breakfast. I spent the morning doing some final studying for my exam, as well as packing my bag and organising all of my things to go to Melbourne later that night. I hadn't received an email offering me online check-in for my flight, which worried me. Panicking a little, I found a booking confirmation number from my bank statement and used it to access my flight information on the Tiger website and it became clear why I hadn't received any emails. I had typed my email address in wrong when I had booked the flight, though the problem was solved!
My exam went quite well and I was extremely pleased to be finished the semester. My final exam in Sydney was completed, as well as my time at Sydney University. The next time I sat in a class, wrote an essay or took an exam, I would be back in Glasgow. I walked home from campus, barely able to stop smiling at the prospect of studying being finished and flying off to Melbourne on holiday! I got home, checked that I had remembered all of my things in my bag and headed off to catch the train to the airport.
Melbourne here I come!
No comments:
Post a Comment