Back to where it all began

So I'm back in Sydney. I must admit it feels very strange being back here, its been three months since I step foot in this country and at times I felt like I just wanted to run away and other times I loved it so much I didn't want it to come to an end. Even though I'm back in the same city things are very different. I'm no longer a "backpacker" and became a tourist overnight. I have done all touristy things that must be done whilst in Sydney and although I'm enjoying its a completely different experience to how I have lived over the past three months.
Highlight of my week was watching a show at Sydney opera house. It was a breathtaking experience and one that ill remember for many years to come. The most fascinating part was watching the conductor lose himself in the symphony and at times the ecstasy reached so high that the audience would feel every string being pulled or every beat that hit the drum. I felt the excitement build inside me everytime the orchestra peaked its performance and thats when I knew the conductor is taking us on this very journey with him. I recommend a show to anyone who visit Sydney there's always something good on and no doubt you will ave a good time.
I also managed to go to Sydney zoo and visit Manly beach which is a 20 minute distance on the ferry where you can absorb the exquisite views of harbour bridge and opera house as the vessel slowly sails away.
Tonight is my last night in Australian so I'm going to paint the town red.
I will be heading to New Zealand tomorrow and ill keep you all posted.

Melbourne oh Melbourne

I finally managed to squeeze a short trip to Melbourne. Everyone said if you don't visit Melbourne you haven't seen the real Australia so I was very eager to see this famous city and judge it for myself.
I must say the city is beautiful but if you are looking to sight see this is not the right place for you. Melbourne has built its reputation over numerous cafe's and restaurant. The city is famous for its socialising culture and I didn't have to spend much time there to realise that it's a hob for artists.
I stayed with Stephanie an old friend/colleague from London. We spent our days exploring the city and our night reminiscing the past.
It was a short but lovely break to see a good friend and the city just before I leave Australia.

Very lazy

I'm writing this post to admit my laziness over the past month. Well I can easily admit I have been lazy but also I have not been up to much to write about. My life in Port Douglas had become a routine and I was enjoying that. I was working two jobs and spent my evenings at home with the girls.
On valentines day which was a few days ago and I hope you all had a good time, the girls and I decided to have a girls night in with some Indian take away. It was a very pleasant evening with lots of story telling and secret sharing. It's definitely a valentines day I will remember for ever, unfortunately we did not take any photos as we all finished work pretty late and it was too late to dress up and take photos but I guess I don't need photos to remember a good night.
I am currently in Melbourne, left port Douglas on Saturday afternoon and enjoyed my last night eating lots of home made crepes by Gaelle and having a good laugh about everything. I feel sad and will miss Port Douglas and the beautiful people I met there but it was time for me to move on.
During my last few days in port Douglas I met a lovely lady by the name of Anette who came to the ice cream shop to use the Internet. She has been having difficulty with her bank and I offered to help her with some emails. We got talking about our plans and she asked me how I was making my way to the airport. The thing is Port Douglas doesn't have an airport and I booked myself a shuttle bus to take me there. The bus cost $32 one way and when Anette found out she insisted on taking me to the airport, I refused her offer as I would have felt uncomfortable ruining someone else's afternoon in order to drive me 55 kilometres to the airport. Anette was not backing down easily and when the bus company agreed to refund me the money I agreed to go with Anette. This was another lovely incident where I met a beautiful intelligent lady who wished for nothing but to return a favour. When I asked her I didn't do you any favours she simply replied "a small help from may have seemed nothing to you but you saved my day and I'd like to thank you and take you to the airport."
We had a lovely drive to Cairns city and stopped at a market where we bought sugar cane and coconut drinks and some Thai food for lunch. After lunch Anette kindly drove me to the airport where I said goodbye to east coast and travelled south.
I have now been to three states in Australia. New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria. I have met lots of people on the way and experienced lots of great adventures. I still feel home sick but I wouldn't change a second of this trip to Australia.
I will be in Melbourne until Tuesday morning where I catch a flight back to Sydney.
I will make sure to keep you posted about Melbourne.

Ice cream lady

Hello everyone.
I have got myself a new job as an ice cream lady. I'm working with both of my housemates in Wicked ice cream store. It's the only ice cream shop open in town at the moment so we do get busy from time to time otherwise its very quiet. It's so much fun working here, its the most relaxed job I've had in a while and I'm so pleased with it. I've been hired as a supervisor which has some responsibilities such as opening and closing of the store but its all very simple and straight forward. I like being in charge again as I haven't had to look after a business since my Selfridges days.
well that's a little informations about my job. Now my personal life...
Apart from work I've been having lots of fun with my housemates and neighbours. We have all enjoyed dinner parties followed by swimming in the pool. It's such a plus to have a pool in your back garden and this is just the norm in port Douglas. Almost every house has a swimming pool which really helps during the hot season, well that doesn't apply to our pool as it always feels like a bath so we stay away from it during the day and use it at night and even then the water temperature is warmer than the weather. Still not complaining a warm water pool is better than no pool.
Almost every person I've become friends with enjoys cooking and is good at it. Somehow the cooking has gone in turns and I feel my turn is coming up soon and if you know me you'll know that I'm no cook. I'm dreading the day they say "well Paras lets have an Iranian night". I think my mother should be on the phone the whole night if I want to make sure no one leaves the house food poisoned. Ok I might be underestimating myself or maybe not but I offered to cook for only Charlotte and Gaelle my two housemates. They live with me so if anything goes wrong I can raid the fridges and feed them some of their own food. But I'll see what I can come up with and will keep you all posted.

Two days of sea

This week I set myself couple of goals. One was to sunbath on the beach, since I arrived here I haven't had the chance to go to the beach and that was very shameful to admit to others so onTuesday I decided to break the curse and visit the beach. It wasn't my lucky day as swimming was not permitted due to a rise in the number of jellyfish spotted in the water. Still that wasn't going to stop me so I got my book out and started soaking the sun. Unfortunately this was very short lived due to extremely warm weather I found myself standing under the beach shower most of the time to cool down. It was a beautiful day as not many people were on the beach and I was able to relax by just listening to the waves. After two hours of sunbathing/standing under the shower I decided to take a walk on the famous four mile beach and found myself above a hill with an amazing view. Four hours of sun and no sea to swim in I decided to call it a day and go home. Little did I know that I'd be spending the next day on a lovely boat sailing on the same sea. On Thursday Charlotte and I started our afternoon with a couple of lemon lime bitters at the pub then met couple of other friends and made our way to the yacht club where we registered our name and were selected to join a crew on a boat for two hours. The boat was amazing and I enjoyed the company and most importantly the view. I hope the photos do it justice.
After a great evening we decided to unwind in front of the telly with a good movie but that plan changed shortly after couple of friends dropped by and we found ourselves in the pool by midnight playing charades and eating delicious Italian food by the pool.
I think I can say I had a very good day and hopefully that will continue tonight as we are invited for dinner at a friends house and this is no ordinary dinner, its going to be Argentinian style dinner. I hope you are all having a good weekend.

Australia Day / British night

Yesterday was Australia Day. As you are all aware I am currently living in a small town therefore not much was happening during the day, it wasn't a surprise as Australians use every opportunity to get out their 4WD and go to the nearest national park or water hole with BBQ access. Charlotte and I also used this opportunity to visit Kuranda. It wasn't charlotte's first visit so it was good to be with some one who knew where she was going. We visited few markets which sold locally produced products or not so locally produced such as China and India. It was a shame as I would have liked to see more local hand made jewellery or clothing but most stalls sold imported products from overseas. Things I had seen in my visit to India were sold 4 times the price here.
On our way back we stopped at couple of look outs Henry Ross and Rex hill were the two and we managed to stop take some photos.
I had a very short shift at the restaurant in the evening but came home to a lovely British meal cooked by Charlotte. We had shepherds pie for dinner, one of the best I've had and she finished off the evening with bread and butter pudding. It was amazing to eat all this lovely food with all this amazing people and I really enjoyed my Australia/England day. Couple of the guys decided to head into town to continue the party but Charlotte and I were too tired to join them so I had a early night in at 2:30am.
I hope you all had a good Saturday.