Sitting in Los Angeles, 6 hours before flying, Nathan turned to me and said, 'Vicky, I'm on the UK gov website and it says we need a visa for Australia!' We then frantically filled out the forms online and patiently waited and hoped we would be emailed confirmation we had been issued one. About 4 hours before our flight mine had come through but Nathan's came as first name Wing surname Nathan so he went online cancelled the application and applied again. No confirmation came of the correct visa being issued so as we lined up at the LAX check in desk unsure whether we would be allowed to board the plane.
As the lady handed us our boarding passes I was relieved because at least we would both get to Australia and once there we would have to deal with any complications.
The flight to Australia was 14 hours with Qantas airlines and was the best flight I've ever taken. A dinner menu got passed around and I had grilled salmon with a tomato and caper sauce with little potatoes accompanied by a glass of Australia Sauvignon Blanc! Well I thought what a great start to a flight and settled back to enjoy a movie, one of over 150 to choose from.
Once off the plane I sailed through passport control and waited while sure enough there was a problem with Nathan entering the country so he was escorted over to immigration. He told me to head to baggage collection as he was taken into the immigration office. 5 minutes later he turned up next to me at the baggage belt with a smile on his face as he had got an entry stamp in his passport! Finally our 5 weeks in Australia could begin.
Sam and Ben live in Coogee a beachside suburb 8 kilometres south-east of the Sydney central business district, in the state of New South Wales. It is a gorgeous place to live with lots of cafes, bars, restaurants and shops lining the walk down the the sea. The beach is beautiful and has lots of green areas next to it too. I can see exactly why Sam and Ben chose to live here as coming home from work everyday to their apartment with a lovely balcony that looks over Coogee and towards the sea must be like a dream.
Monday and Tuesday Nathan and I got our bearings, caught up with Sam and Ben, cooked dinners, did our laundry and relaxed.
Wednesday was Christmas Eve and as my family know my favourite day of the whole year. I have always loved it, as a child, a teenager and still as an adult. I love that everyone is busy getting ready, presents are being wrapped, trees are up, all the lights are on, mince pies are being left for Santa. I find it so magical as people across the world are excited and I always feel it, it is everywhere, on TV, the radio, in church, it doesn't matter where but there is a buzz that I have always loved. Well this Christmas Eve was amazing.
Once I had chosen an outfit from my best friends extensive and phenomenal dress collection, Nathan, Ben and I headed to Coogee Bay hotel for some drinks before getting the bus into town.
When we arrived in Sydney we met Sam from work and went to the Opera Bar which is famous as it is the bar that runs alongside the Sydney Opera House so you get a fantastic view not only of the Opera house but also the bridge and the harbour itself. It was truly beautiful.
After drinks we headed to the Tower for dinner. Sam had booked a table in the revolving restaurant at the top which looked out over the whole of the city. After dinner we could even see fireworks being let off below us.It was a magical Christmas Eve and a magical first day/evening in Sydney city centre.
Christmas morning started with homemade English muffins (made by my baker husband of course) with poached eggs and champagne. Sam kindly went and got orange juice as I had said it is a Thain tradition to have Buck's Fizz in the morning. Then it was time for presents. Nathan and I got each other this trip so we had nothing to physically open but Sam and Ben were so kind and had got us gifts.
They got me 3 dresses which were all so lovely and beautiful.
They got Nathan a tuxedo for NYE which was sweet of them and so so so generous.
It was lovely watching them open presents from each other too as they were both so happy with what they had received. The rest of the day was lovely we made dinner, drank wine and baileys, played some charades and watched lots of Christmas movies.
On Boxing Day Sam and I went on the coastal walk from Bondi beach back to Coogee, it was so hot but a gorgeous walk I will definitely do it again while we are here.
The boys went out to meet Matt and Sam, Nathan's uni friends. Matt moved here in Nov 2012 and Sam is here like us on holiday with his wife visiting her family. It was great they all managed to be in the same place and could meet up. They seemed to have a great day together.
On Saturday us girls met up with the boys too which was really nice as it meant I got to see Suz and hear all about Dubai where they live. We went to Icebergs on Bondi beach and were there for about 8 hours, catching up and drinking far too much white wine. Really was lovely to see everyone.
On Sunday we went into Sydney and went on a 'Tall Ship' we went out into the harbour and sailed up and down for around 90 minutes, we had lunch and champagne which was very nice and again another amazing experience that Sam had organised. She has been amazing at making sure we have the best time while we are here, we are so appreciative as we are having so much fun.
Before the boat we had a quick drink in bar 100 which was really nice. After the boat we went to three of Sam's favourite bars. The first one was called 'The Orient' it had a great seating area out the back. The second one I loved and it would be amazing after work for drinks, it was called 'The Argyle' and we finished the evening in 'Palmers & Co' an underground bar which looked like it was under a railway but wasn't but the brick walls gave me that impression, I loved this bar as it would be amazing on a colder winter night as it felt really cosy.
The first week in Australia has been absolutely amazing we have had the best time with Sam and Ben. I cannot wait for this coming week celebrating NYE this side of the world.