NOW Sydney and I have a love thing going on! ;)

DAY 15

To the masses, please beg my pardon if my previous blog bummed you out, but it wasn't exactly an auspicious beginning in New South Wales. Thanks to Sydney sunshine starting to smite my big, stupid sickness; my body is on its way to recuperating fully though it still screams at me to slow my pace down . With relief, that it was no longer freaky Friday 13th and that the perfect Aussie weather I was promised had at last put in an appearance I was raring to set out with sprightly abandon. Ready to suck the marrow out of life in Sydneyside! 

The considerable increase in summery temperature is a buzzkill; toasting my body like a marshmallow on a skewer. I had no facial perspiration to speak of but with all my trekking to the touristy sights, sweat dripped down my back and trickled under my pits - beaut (!) I did not extend friendship to the 4 black and yellow polka dotted spiders I spotted, in their natural habitat within the Royal Botanical Gardens. You'd think the uncensored horror of the beasties dangling down from a tree, sunning in their tangled web would be enough to incite strong, unadulterated, blind hate ---- but far from it. They were kinda sorta amiable.

This turnip of a traveler now found herself warming to the city after seeing every inane tourist attraction known to Australia! Much of that may be due to the lovely day which had graced us with its presence :D I came, I saw, I snapped. Thus, seeing these majestic icons -*THE* bridge and Opera House up close and personal increased the charm of the metropolis. In fairness, the latter is actually not particularly pleasing to the pupils given their opulence, but they had to be checked off the Oz bucket list. I didn't realise it was not conjoined, not that it deterred me from shooting hundreds of snaps of the concert hall. 

Brunching at Pancakes on the Rocks is a culinary encounter that you can't put a price on. Darn it to heck, to tuck into the famous coco berry chocolate pancakes is like eating heaven itself. I swear these should be REVERED or at the very least have a pancake monument erected in its honour. The contents of my plate was not the only thing that had me drooling!! The devastatingly handsome doorman was the double of Puck from Glee only without the absurd hair and farrrrrr more gorgeous. I wish I hadn't looked so shamefully pathetic, at a table for one, my lips getting affectionate with pudding instead of a person. 

B'AHHHHHH CLUMSINESS STRIKES AGAIN: Next time you open your wardrobe and decide on a white top, consider 'is this wise?' Somehow even seemingly without a pen on my person, I managed to scribble directly across my tummy. And so a significant portion of the day was spent concealing the clothes graffiti. Why can I not look cute in an outfit for once???

Tall ship cruise around the harbour? WHY NOT? A one and a half hour cruise beckons you when the beams and gleams of the sun drizzle down from the sky. As we drift along, commentary forewarns that there ARE thousands of sharks around (just not Great Whites; hammerheads and bull sharks are more typical) and they have been known to frequent Port Jackson. As recently as 2009 a navy diver lost his hand to Jaws off Garden Island, which is a major part of the RAN'S Fleet Base. Keep your teeth off me you flesh-chomping maniacs!!!!! Yet the only sea creature I saw in the deep were heaps of jellyfish bobbing gracefully. 

Oooh aaaaaar' me hearties, I momentarily morphed into Captain Jack Sparrow and commandeered our vessel fleetingly. I might have sucked at steering the wheel but it had to be done and nobody died on my watch. I tasted freedom!! It mustn't have been dreadfully difficult as the skipper at the helm, guided it with only his feet at some points. I became enamoured with this part of Sydney, based on the out of this world panoramic views we were offered. Anyone on board could climb the mast and help man the sails should it take their fancy! 

The engine was switched off and the sails floated us under THE bridge and back to Campbells Cove. Only an insufferable bore would not find an uncommonly radiant sail around this touristic treasure trove, to be a splendid way to spend an afternoon. I am lobsterly sunburned across my chest and arms :( despite slathering every inch of my bare flesh with sunlotion. DAMN the hole in the o-zone layer!!! It aches :( This is a terrific lesson in not underestimating the strength of sun rays. 

Y'all, I came across a pretty kick ass, hidden gem of a pizza joint that goes by the name of 'Rocket Boy' in the Kings Cross neighbourhood. My medium 'Stella' only set me back $17 (which was conjured up especially senza quezo para mia) and was topped with: 'chicken breast in a fresh lime, chilli, coriander and coconut sauce, sopressa salami, roasted chilli onions, garlic, jalapenos, fresh basil, bocconici and roasted capsicum.' Sometimes, to be bad feels good when it's with food :D I gobbled the lot like a gorilla on a banana! It was TOO fabaroonio to stop pigging out and was seriously the PRIMO pizza of my life <3 Now, I've had a piece-a pizza from paradise, how can I go back? NOM NOM NOM! If you find yourself in this suburb and could use an extra extra so-tasty-it's-a-talent slice or seventeen, look no further! 

The evening was spent unwinding on the rooftop of my hostel, where I could just about make out the bridge and Opera House lit up in my field of vision <------- the ONLY positive aspect of staying at this shoddy HOLE-stel. A strange turn of events was taken, on being invited out with a group of Irish lads; I, Rianne Montigue, pride myself on not being a judgy person but I was freaked out the moment I learned a couple of their crew were tripping out on TCP. One of the aforementioned had even suffered a seizure from his drug use... so I declined the offer. Then I encountered a tipsy girl in the communal area (where I'd gone to use the wifi on my phone) who TROD on my toes, then turned round to kiss my face in way of an apology. Oh goodness, it's NOT the place for me here, not one little bit.. maybe that might make me the town's spoilsport but getting stoned or off my face drinking goon, with goons is NOT my version of a fun time.