Stereosonic Sydney movie

Check out the video from Stereosonic -with all the lovely sounds, sights, smells (not really) and sunshine from Sydney. Yey!

Stereosonic Sydney Fashion

The one thing that really struck me about Stereosonic in Sydney - other than the amazing blasting sunshine, water spray poles, banging bass lines and giant queues for toilets/drinks - was the 'fashion'. I have been to Sydney a few times, and never before have I seen such a collection of young people (most festival ticket buyers seemed to be around 18) who all looked so incredibly styled and 'visually aware'. Every single girl at the festival - regardless of age, size, height etc - was wearing super short denim hot pants. Now, I dont' want to sound like an old lady when I write this - but it was pretty insane. On top of that... the men (boys) were so insanely worked-out/muscled/ripped (beyond the point of a simple surf session or jog down the road) that I couldn't stop staring. This is not something I have seen on the streets of the city - so where have all these people come from? It was REALLY REALLY ODD (from a UK festival-goer perspective). Check out the snaps:

Stereosonic Pics!

Yesterday we went to Stereosonic Festival in Sydney. It was held at the Sydney Showgrounds as part of the city's Olympic Stadium - a huge complex consisting of multiple outdoor stages, stalls, bars and rides - as well as a gigantic stadium (main stage) able to hold hundreds of thousands of people. Highlights included Carl Coz, Caspa, DJ Dan and Afrojack. Check out some snaps from our sunny adventure!

Stereosonic Festival is go!!

We have arrived at Stereosonic Festival in Sydney! Week 27 is go go go!!

Lunch at The Rocks

For lunch we sampled the tasty Japanese food being served at a stall in the market. However, there wasn't anywhere to sit.. so we perched on the floor like little animals :)

The Rocks Market

On a Saturday morning a wonderful market springs up around The Rocks (the area just near the keys and the harbour in Sydney). The market sells everything from clothing to jewellery to arts and crafts - and it's a real treasure trove of unique items to buy and take home as a memory of your trip. Check out this little video we made of some of the cool things on show around the market..

Sisterly fun

Here is a snap of the girls hanging on the streets of Sydney..

Mmm cake

This morning Theodora, Yiota and myself went for a wander through the city here in Sydney. We checked out a few shops - and stumbled across the lovely old fashioned Strand Arcade off Pitt Street. In here we decided to have a bit of cake and a rest for a moment. Very tasty indeed.

Christmas in Oz

I have always found Christmas in Australia quite strange. For although traditionally December 25 is a religious day - over time it has become far more about the commercial and visual side of the season than originally intended. For Europeans - Christmas is associated with pine trees and snow and warm clothes and wintery scenes and Father Christmas wrapped up in his cold-weather gear. In Australia however, Christmas falls bang in the middle of summer. What's odd is that the visual side of the season - the winter trees, snow and Santa outfits remain. My relatives celebrate Xmas on the beach - with a turkey salad. It's far too hot to have a roast! Yet people dress in (warm) santa suits for grottos in shopping malls around the country - with fake snow sprayed around. How confusing.

Sydney Sun

Australia may not be the hottest country that I have visited on this amazing job - but it is the most dangerous, weather wise. The barometer may only read 27 - whereas Thailand was always in the 30s - but there is actually a hole in the Ozone layer over parts of Australia, meaning the sun is at its most damaging and strong in this country. In just 5 minutes, your skin can burn, and many people here have forms of skin cancer. There has even been a government campaign in the last few years called Slip, Slop, Slap - where they encourage people to slip on a t-shirt, slop on some sunscream and slap on a hat to protect themselves. i've been bathing in factor 30 each morning - but another must-wear is a HAT. They are for sale in all aussie shops - and a must-wear to give that little bit of extra shade from the harmful rays.

SPIDER!

People always associate Australia with dangerous spiders - which is fair, as some of the most dangerous spiders in the world live here. However, that doesn't mean that ALL spiders that live in Australia are dangerous - far from it. Yes, there are a fair few of them here - larger than your average European house-dwelling creepy crawly - but the majority are harmless and quite beautiful. Honest! The road leading up to my aunt's house always has a fine selection of creatures on show..

today's adventures

Today I took a brief trip to Manly Beach - arguably Sydney's second most famous beach. You can reach it either on a bus from the city - or using (way better) the ferry from central right to Manly wharf. The journey takes about 30 minutes and costs around £8 return - and you pass the bridge and the opera house en route. Once at Manly - there are plenty of shops and cafes to enjoy, as well as the very long white sand beach and amazing waves! Check out the video and pics:

yum Yum yum

Even since I was little - my family has stocked up on liquorice when visting Sydney. This right here is the best brand - it's soft and tasty and delicious. I have such strong childhood memories of filling our suitcases with the stuff on returning to the UK! :)

Movember

The Movember fun continues in London - people growing moustaches for charity during the month of November. People even includes mannequins in shops - hooray for Australia!

This week's winners

This week's winners are sisters Theodora and Yiota. They are originally from Cyprus, but Theodora is studying in London and entered the competition hoping to win flights and tickets to a Sydney festival as the girls have lots of family members over here, but have never been! She tells me she didn't believe it when she found out she had won - that it was a dream come true - and they can't believe they are really here! This morning we has breakfast at a cafe in the city and got to know each other. Lovely ladies!

Vegemite!

Having been brought up by an Aussie mum I am happily used to having Vegemite on my toast in the morning. I LOVE it!! Theodora and her sister however were not so keen... And reckon it tastes like bad miso soup. Haha

Bondi to Coogee walk..

Check out the vid of ou walk today - amazing views and stunning scenery here in Sydney! :)

Beach walk

If you really want to soak up some of the most beautiful views Sydney has on offer, then I suggest you do the Bondi Beach to Coogee Beach walk. The trail takes you right along the cliffs on the coast and wanders in and out of different coves where you can go surfing, swimming, snorkelling - or just rest for a sunbathe. Lovely.
Today I did the walk with my cousin Bec who lives and works here in Sydney. Check out some snaps from the hike:

Surfing in Sydney

Today I went surfing with my cousin Sam on Maroubra beach. Maroubra is a suburb just south of the city - and we drove there in about 20 mins from central Sydney. Sam surfs regularly - whereas I do not. The waves here are so much stronger than back home, and I got pretty shoved about by the massive sets. We were in the water for an hour or so - so thankfully Sam had leant me a wetsuit top to keep me warm. I am now covered in bruises! Eek!

Sydney

Hi all.. as mentioned below.. week 27 of the Perpetual Festival has now kicked off! This week I am in Sydney Australia. It's an amazing city (I have a shed load of family here, so have been lucky enough to visit in the past). The weather right now is super - as we are heading into summer - and preparations are being made across the city for Christmas which is now just a month away! Yesterday I started my day by flying into the international airport, dumping my bags at my hotel - and heading straight out to the harbour to have a look at the most iconic images of Sydney: the bridge (one post below) and the amazing Opera House.

Week 27 has begun!

Welcome to Sydney!

Wow

This morning I woke up and was faced with this view. I couldn't stop staring at it... it was like the sea and the sky had merged as one. Stunning.

fancy some grub?

Hmm tasty grub... or should I say GRUBS!? Spotted these crispy creepy crawlies last night in a market... EWW!

Loi Krathong - the video

Check out the video I made from some of the highlights of last night's Loi Krathong event..

Ay and me (and Goy)