Monday, April 17, 2006

Sydney Show and a lovely train ride afterwards!!

Well it was Grays last day of freedom today (starts work tomorrow) so we thought we'd get the Easter show in before he started! Jesus Christ it was so busy it was unbelievable - if you havent been before it is absolutely HUGE and there was barely walking space today - crazy! A great show though with loads to do (loads of money spinning schemes too!!!). We spent 4 hours walking around it and still missed loads out.

To top it off on the train ride home there was a flamin druggy on the phone to all of his mates trying to score some more gear!! Couldnt believe it - he was obviously speeding his head off (couldnt sit still and was almost chewing his own face off!) and was trying to get hold of a gram of weed to bring himself back down (his words not ours! he was making no secret of it on the phone - the entire flamin train could hear him!). We were considering living in the village next to us but thats where this lad got off the train so we're reconsidering now!!!!

On that note I'm cracking open a bottle of beer (or 4!) and gonna try and relax!

Have a good evening all!

Sunday, April 16, 2006

Two weeks into our new lives!

Well we arrived in Sydney on 1st April (can you believe it!) and things have been moving pretty quickly since then. The amount of stuff you have to do when you first arrive is absolutely crazy! We arrived at 8am on the Saturday morning and tried to stay awake as long as we could but Jesus our heads were all over the place. I expected to feel tired but not to feel so physically exhausted and actually ill! It was very strange. Gray and I were both the same - cold, shivery and light headed. It lasted a good few days too - thankfully that stage has passed now. Weather has been great - only one miserable day in two weeks - cant really complain at that for Autumn can you?!! We moved into our house a week after we arrived and found it to be a bit tattier than we'd expected - no worse apparently than any other rental property in the area though!! Its in a great location though with a park right outside, the school around the corner and more importantly a great entertaining area outside!

So in the time we've been here we have:-
Got our Visa put in our Passports
Registered with MedicareApplied (and paid!!!!!) for schooling through the NSW Education Dept
Registered with the school
Moved into the house
Bought a car
Trans the registration of the car (and paid the stamp duty that we'd forgotten about!!)
Applied for our Aussie drivers licences and got them there and then - great service!
Set up our home phone
Set up Broadband (very important!)
Visited the Blue Mountains (only 30 mins from us which is great!)
Visited Featherdale (kids can get so close to the kangaroos its fantastic!)
Had our first barbie party!!!!! (many more of those to come!)
Bought Fridge, TV, Hoover, Microwave and Kettle (all in one go from Good Guys!)
Bought Beds (and got all the bedding including - great idea!)
Bought BBQ & Patio Set from BBQ's galore - fab shop!
Visited Mona Vale Beach (on the same day that it flamin rained - typical!!)
and finally seen our first WOLF SPIDER!!!!! trying to gain access to our house - a couple of sprays from our trusty destroyer though and he was history! Wheres the rest of his family though thats what I want to know!

I'm sure we've done much more than that but that'll do for now I think! We're enjoying it so far but we know that its not going to be easy. We're very fortunate to have a group of friends already over here who are more than happy to offer help and support when needed.

Waiting for our washing machine is a flamin nightmare!! Should really have gotten all the washing done at the launderette before Easter - can't believe almost EVERYTHING closes for the full Easter Break!!

The evenings are very strange here. As soon as its dark everyone seems to stay in their houses - very wierd! We walked back from our friends house last Saturday night at 10pm and didn't bump into a sole. There are hardly any street lights either so its pretty dark!! The days more than make up for that though! The wildlife is great! Seeing parrots just flying around is unreal - all shapes, colours and sizes!

More from us soon! Bye!