Merry Chrstmas again to everyone! I hope you all had a brilliant time either with your family or friends - or as it happens on you own. Either way I hope you weren't lonely or sad.
Luckily we were neither...
We decided to follow a fellow traveller's recommendation and go to the King's Cross Hotel on Christmas Eve. Good music and a fun night out was in the pipeline. But first we set out to find that kangaroo steak we were hoping for. Unfortunately it wasn't to be found. So we were wandering around the notorious suburb of King's Cross (it's got nothing on Soho though!) to find an alternative. A little sign in a window caught our attention:
Try our special Danish hotdogs! Only $3.50!
Wow! Could this really turn out to be a Danish Christmas? Was this for real?
Well, as good as at least... If anyone is wondering what makes a hotdog Danish - go to Denmark and find out! Do I have to tell you guys everything?
Afer a few drinks at the King's Cross Hotel we decided to head home - we knew it would be a big day for us on Christmas Day, so we wanted to be prepared.
Early morning alarm finally gets us out of bed and after a while on a train to Cronulla for Christmas lunch with friends. A good old fashioned Australian Barbeque! Then off to the beach for that Christmas swim and tan. What a perfect Summer day!
Feeling lazy from the sun, we were then - like the royals we were - driven up into the Blue Mountains for an Australian Christmas Dinner. Has anyone out there ever heard of Balmain Bugs? Well, I haven't, but I ate one never the less. Quite yummy! Together with the chicken, the prawns, the potato salad, the ham, the salad and of course the Australian icon: The beatroot!
Recovering from Christmas in the Mountains we didn't make it back to catch the Sydney to Hobart boat race start off at 1pm. Not even on TV as we were simply just too tired to do anything. I'm not upset though - travelling is not about seeing things - it's about experiencing them.
And an experience I had today! After finding out that a climb across the suspension of the Sydney Habour Bridge would set us back $200 (£90), we decided for the cheap option of just climbing one of the Pylons (the funny towers at either end of the bridge) for just $8.50. All well and good - and happy with our excursion and our photos - we started on our way back down the 200 steps. Almost back at the ticket office I slipped off a step (yeah, I know!) and twisted my ankle. It hurt. A lot actually. But I was sure nothing was broken and just wanted to sit for a while, when one of the staff came up and offered to help. Man, I have never had so much of a fuzz kicked up about a minor injury before! And I have had my fair share - if not more. They wouldn't let me leave without having had my foot on ice for at least 1 hour and having it all bandaged up, while resting it on a pillow. They sat me down in the video room and I saw the 15 minute long feature film about the bridge at least 4 times before I managed to get out! And that's only because they were closing!
Glad to be out of that place - with an excuse to get a cab back to the hostel - we went to the pub for a few drink - and a refill of the ice bag. Reflecting on my history of injuries - this one will level with: That-one-time-in-Thailand-when-I-burned-my-leg-on-the-motorbike-exhaust-pipe. AKA The Silly Ones!