And We're back!

So our long visit home has come and gone, and it was amazing! Just being home and seeing people without in being through a computer screen was great! Even if my brother and sister did great us by throwing water balloons! The flight was actually OK, think I felt better for being able to get off the plane the few times. And Royal Brunei were great! There was loads of leg room and there was constantly people coming around offering drinks or whatever you needed. I highly recommend them!
But back to being home! We got in on Wednesday morning and got around to seeing our families before the jet lag set in, although think we were pretty OK sleep wise, we kept to Irish night time when we slept on the plane.
The first weekend we had Conor's brother's 21st, one of the main reasons we had gone home in the first place. It was loads of fun and a good way to see a lot of Conor's family that I otherwise might not have seen. And I got to wear my lovely new wedges and white dress! The weather was pretty great while we were home so we got a second summer! So before the party we headed over to their Dads house to lap up the sun a bit! Why not! :)

The next weekend I headed out with my friends without Conor as he was gone for a boys weekend to Westport in Mayo. Was great fun and my first chance to see some people I hadn't seen yet! And a lot of places had changed or had been done up since I had left so that was cool to see. We didn't go out every weekend but we definitely kept ourselves amused with nights out. One of our last weekends I did end up having three nights out in a row however. It was madness but great fun!

On the Thursday night we went to Dublin to see friends of ours from our farm work. It was lovely to see them all again and was as if we had never left them, even though we hadn't seen them in eight months! Was a great night, first going to Temple Bar and then heading to some spots that Tom knew, including the Mezz bar which had a great band playing. It had been AGES since myself and Conor had seen a good band, needless to say we were a little excited! And we had Cherry bombs, which were lovely, think they are just Cherry Southern Comfort and Red Bull, yum! :)
On Friday night I headed out with the girls to the Kazbar and some other spots, was good fun and a good chance for a proper catch up and of course a bit of a dance! :) Still not sure how my sister got up for work the next day! I was stuck to the bed! Ha!
And the final night out was Saturday when two girls I went to college with came down to Waterford for a night out. Was lovely to see them, especially as one is heading to Canada before I get back! Was a great catch up and gossip and finally got to see what the new Sinnotts bar was like! I love it, wasn't as good as Muldoons that used to be there but it was a great spot with a fab smoking area! Loved it!
So there is no way I could possibly put up all the photos from our time home so here is a little collage of the nights that we went out!

We also did some little roadtrips while we were home, the first to Hook Head to do the tour in Loftus Hall which opened while we were away. Its supposedly the most haunted house in Ireland. Its a pretty amazing building and the stories are pretty spooky from it! Don't think I'd be able for the night time tours that are done in total darkness!! No thanks!
The staircase in the house is the same as the one that was in the Titanic too. Was amazing to see, although it was a bit dusty and worn from years of the house laying idle. The floor in the hallway of the house was a one of a kind mosaic floor, designed especially for the Loftus family. After the men who laid it were finished the family cut off their hands so that they could never replicate it! Madness! We went down to the rocks at the lighthouse too as it was too nice a day not to go down and check out the view! If you're ever in this part of the world it's always lovely to see! :)

Myself, Joanne and Mam had a little drive out to Tramore one evening, for Dooley's chips of course! Made Joanne drive too as she is learning at the moment and wasn't getting enough of a chance to drive before I got home! Flying it so she is!!! Couldn't get over how covered in seaweed the beach was however so a walk on the pier it was until we got further down!!! Was great just to have a chat and a laugh with them!
While everyone else works during the week we decided to do a trip to Co. Clare to see the Burren, Cliffs of Moher and the Ailwee caves. Why not be tourists in our own country for a bit!!? We stayed in Lehinch for a night, I don't think you'd need much more time if you have you're own car to get around! We stayed in the Lahinch Golf & Leisure Hotel, which was lovely. My parents surprised us by upgrading our room before we got there! Made it really comfortable for us! They're cheeky that way! :) We saw the Cliffs of Moher for maybe ten minutes before the thickest of fogs set in, in which we could only see each other and the cliffs edge! Did make for some cool photos however, as well as two very wet people! Was cool to see, especially since I can't remember going there as a child!

There I am on the cliff!!

 After we had dried off we headed out to see the Burren, Doolin and Lahinch beach. The Burren is a little mad to see in person, I think I had a picture of what I had expected in my head and it just wasn't the same! But the sheer size of it is madness! Was cool to see the portal tomb and to read some of the facts about the place. How old it all is still amazes me! That evening we went and checked out a town called Doolin that my Dad had recommended. Its a pretty little spot with a very pretty harbour and a great restaurant called Fitzpatricks which had lovely food and live music. I think if I was going again I would stay there instead of Lahinch. It felt less touristy than Lahinch and was also a nice distance from everywhere to see. And just look at this view!

On our way back to the hotel we stopped off at the beach in Lahinch for a stroll, only to see an absolute mad man getting into the water without a wetsuit! It was cold anyway, can't imagine how cold the water would have been! Brrr.... I loved this little Love Seat they had beside the beach, Was very cute!

The next day we headed to the Aillwee caves, which I think we were let down by a little, purely because the caves that we had seen in the Blue Mountains were so amazing that they pretty much ruined other caves for us. Although seeing the areas where they believed bears had hibernated thousands of years ago was pretty cool as well as seeing the waterfall inside the caves. So I would recommend it but I think that we are now cave snobs, unfortunately because caves are pretty cool to see really! Ha! While we were there we stopped in the shop on the way out which sells homemade produce. They had some lovely stuff so of course we ended up buying jams, cheeses and chocolates made by them. We're suckers for food what can I say!


Myself, Dad and Joanne also had a little roadtrip on my last Sunday down to Kilmore Quay in Wexford. It's a lovely spot and when we got there the water was bluer than I had ever seen in Ireland! It was crazy windy though and decided to rain on us out of no where after we had walked right out to the very edge of the pier! Just our luck! Was nice though to talk to Dad about an area where he had worked! He always has such random little facts about places too that it makes going somewhere with him that little bit better too! After Kilmore we headed to a beach called Carne, near a windfarm Dad had worked on. It was great because we got to see seals swimming just off the beach, seven or so of them. I couldn't get a decent picture of them though because they were so far away! Was great to see though! After that we headed to the Lobster Pot for scones and tea, Dads specialty. Was a nice day! :)

And finally, in the best way possible to round off our trip we had Sean & Tanya's wedding! Was so cool because the groom, best man, groomsman, grooms Dad, my Dad and a friend arrived on their motorbikes to the church, along with Sean's favourite road racer Willie Dunlop, who Tanya had organised to surprise him that morning! Was such a good surprise and he was such a nice guy that he stayed around for the full day and talked and took photos with anyone that wanted them. He struck me as a genuinely lovely guy! He is the guy in the blue below.

The wedding was great, especially seeing their three girls involved in it all, was very cute. And it gave me a great chance to catch up with any family members and cousins I hadn't seen yet! Was a great day, full of fun and surprises, including an opera singer disguised as a chef, the tables being named after points along the TT track for Sean and their oldest daughter giving little presents to the members of her family which broke absolutely everyone's hearts. And of course the first dance was to the amazing 'Star, Star' by The Frames, I should have known it would have been and the second it came on I couldn't think of a better song for them. Overall  a great day!

And very importantly I got my long wanted family photo, who knows when we'll get our next one with Joanne moving to Canada in October, before I get back! Our last one before this was at our 21st, almost three years ago now! Craziness!!

So yes that was my trip home! Obviously I haven't told you everything about it but these here are my highlights. Having this trip home has definitely made me realise how happy I am to be home and around my family, think I'm looking forward to going home in February more now, although that doesn't mean I won't be enjoying my last few months in Oz. We will be making the most of that time, believe me, so watch this space!!

So that's me for now, now to get back on the job hunt, not to mention we move out in a month and have to find a new place yet! All systems go I think!!

Amy :) x

Soo much to talk about!..

Ok so our laptop has been out of action until yesterday so I'm only getting to post now! So much has happened since we've finished on the farm! We visited the Blue Mountains, we stayed with Conor's family in Sydney and Wollongong, visited Canberra and Thredbo, had Christmas in Melbourne, did the Great Ocean Road, had New Years in Melbourne and have been here since! Lots to fill you in on!

So lets start at the beginning, the farm!!! It was bye bye cottage, bye bye backpackers, bye bye farm after 92 days working! It flew by and was genuinely one of the best things we have done so far in Australia. We have made loads of great friends, all of whom I hope we'll see again on our travels or else we'll have to visit where they're from! Any excuse for a holiday! ;)

So this is the group that was left when we finished which by all accounts has changed completely in the last four weeks! I've even sent one of my friends down there that wanted to get her farm work done! I hope she enjoys it as much as we did (or else I'll be hearing about it!)

So we got our papers signed and hit the road for the Blue Mountains on the 12th. First we went to the Karrang and Boyd national park and saw the Karrang Wall which was just a little breath-taking! We got to see lots of kangaroos and even a little porcupine which was far too exciting really. Next stop the Jenolan Caves which were beautiful both inside the caves and in the area around while you wait for your tour. For example the blue lagoon which had the most amazing blue water, caused by limestone we found out. We did the Temple Bahl tour which had some amazing features in it including a stalactite that looked like an angel and one rock formation that looked like a chandelier. I would definitely recommend going to see the caves if you can, there are so many tours that you can do besides the one that we did, could do a full day out there but visiting a lot of the caves would be very expensive, although I'm sure they have deals on multiple tours however.

 Then it was Sutherland here we come to stay with Conor's aunt and uncle in their new place! We stayed with them for a week and got to visit more family down in Wollongong, including their little ones! Their little boy Charlie was fascinated by me, just because I'm a girl of course but I didn't mind he was a total cutie, I loved the attention! Ha! Was lovely to see them all! We got to see the Swedish girls from the farm and finally got to go to Manly beach which was fun, although there was a shark warning, strong current and a blue bottle jellyfish warning so we ended up in a pub! Typical! Good fun all the same! Although we didn't get to go to Watson bay on the way back which I had wanted to do! Oh well! We also visited Madame Tussaud's and Botany Bay so I think we've seen all that we had wanted to in Sydney! But then again there is always something to see in that crazy city!!

And then it was on to Canberra! Can't be in a country and not see the capital really now can we? Plus we got a great deal on Scoopon for a hotel, which gave us a bottle of champagne for every night we stayed which made for an interesting Christmas. It is a lovely city, very small and quiet but pretty! It is packed to the brim with museums so if they're your thing get to Canberra! The War Museum is amazing, we spent four hours there and probably could have spent more time there other than the fact that we were starving! We also visited the Australian Institute of Sport and went up to Telstra tower for a view of the city which was pretty good! At the tower one of the staff told us to head up to Mount Ainslie for a great view of the city at night, I would definitely recommend it! Was very pretty, although somewhat cold! Unfortunately I need to invest in a tripod for my night mode, not the best picture but you get the idea!!

Then our final stop before Melbourne, Thredbo! It's a cute ski village town built up in the mountains and during the summer it is host to hill walkers and downhill bikers. You can get a ski lift up to the top of the slopes and from there you can walk to Mount Kosciuszko, the highest point in Australia, granted we didn't know beforehand but it's a 13 km walk and can take up to six hours to do! Considering the lift stops at 4.30 we probably should have gone up before 2.00! So unfortunately we didn't get to do the full walk but we did do the first two km before we put two and two together and headed back very quickly!! Hopefully we'll get back there again to do the full walk! The view from where we got to was amazing though, there was even still snow on the mountains!

Final stop for Christmas was Melbourne so we headed down the mountain and in parts (where they had cut it) straight through! Didn't look like the safest job in the world either, bit daunting driving through it without a scrape of phone signal between the two of us but on the other hand more than a little amazing! Saw some serious one horse towns once we reached the end, but finally on the 23rd we arrived in Melbourne! Siobhan and Benny had friends staying with them until the 24th so we had some chill out time before the madness that was Christmas day!


It's Christmas!!!! We had a champagne and pancake breakfast and then opened our presents. Was a lovely morning and we now have more Irish chocolate than any person can keep from melting!! Very exciting though! :D At three we headed over to our old apartment for Christmas dinner, all the trimmings! Was great! There was actually a nice big group of us too which was nice and got some calls in with the family too on their Christmas morning! Ended up being a bit of a piss up for the rest of the day, with a bit of a sing song too! Was great to catch up with everyone and meet the people who moved into our old apartment and their friends too. Was a great day but how tired and hungover we were the next day was not great for packing and getting on the road again for the Great Ocean Road.

But that my friends is for another post! I think I may have to hit the bed now!
Post again soon, so much catching up to do!!!

Amy :) x

And we're off again...

So we've gone ahead and booked flights to Melbourne and a hostel in St.Kilda! We're going to head there on the 5th, which will have given us just about three weeks in Sydney! And what busy weeks they have been!! Since my last post we've done some more sight seeing and met up with some family and friends!...


So last night we went for dinner in the AB in Glebe, food was fab and upstairs is very cool! Afterwards we went to watch Conor's uncle's gig with his aunt and uncle. It was bluegrass music and was actually really good! Seriously fast!! Ha! 


On Friday we went and saw the Police Museum in Circular Quay. It has some very cool displays like a massive collection with weapons, some even having the tags on them from the crimes they were used it! A bit freaky, but not more so than the random sample of scary mugshots in the same room!! There was also 
rooms dedicated to Forensics, some of which gave examples of some of the most famous cases in Australia, including the Pyjama girl. Loved these, which probably sounds really worrying but it's so interesting how they solve them!


Friday night we did the ghost tour of The Rocks. Our ghost host's name was Ivan and he was lovely and very funny and had some great stories for us going around! In the last building we saw we took a load of photos and you can see orbs in them! See!!


On Wednesday myself and Conor met my cousin and her fiance in Cheers bar for a drink, or two, and a few games of pool before they head off travelling around until the mid/end of March! Cheers is a cool sports pub on George St, predominantly a Liverpool supporters bar, they show every sport imaginable on their dozens of screens and are open all hours so we can actually catch games from at home in there!! :D But yeah I believe I had a bit of an off day pool wise, luckily I had Conor on my team or I wouldn't have won a single game! Ha!


On Tuesday we went to the Blue Mountains.It was amazing!! If you are ever visiting I would recommend spending a weekend there and if possible renting a jeep!! Some of the roads are literally dirt tracks (At the start they are not but on the way to each point they are!!) The area is the size of Northern Ireland, according to a lovely cable car operator at Scenic World which I will tell you about shortly! But yes that big and overflowing with 300 waterfalls and some serious views! Now as we only spent part of a day there we didn't get to see even half of the place, but what we did see still has me in awe! 

Jellybean Pool

Nepean River

So first we stopped in Glenbrook and saw Jellybean Pool which looked a lot like a secret beach if ask me but I can only imagine how pretty it is on a brighter day! Then we headed off over the dirt roads that eventually brought us to Nepean view point, for which I need another picture because words fail me! The height that you look down from is unsettling but the view is so worth it! In  Glenbrook  you can also see aboriginal art work in the Red Caves, which I am gutted I missed, along with many walks and other lookouts.

Three Sisters

Next we moved on to Katoomba, home to Echo Point which is the view point for the famous Three Sisters, along with many other rock formations including the Kings Tableland and Mount Solitary. From here you can see for miles.
Also in Katoomba is Scenic World, which is fab! It gives you the choice of walking around the areas seen from Echo Point, along with getting cable cars to see the view closer, one of which has a glass bottom. There is also a railway you get down to bottom which is unexpectedly steep! Great craic though!! :) All along the floor of the area used to be a coal mine, all of the old mines have displays and videos in them to show you how they would have been used throughout the years. Would definitely recommend doing the $28 trip! You get to do each ride and see what's around on the walk!


On Monday we met up with Conor's friend who has just come down to Sydney from Perth to see his sister. Ended up in Jackson's on the very end of George St, to get some fab food and some of the biggest beers I've seen since we got here! No scooners in that pub! Ha!


On Sunday we visited Conor's aunt and uncle and their two kids, Charlie and Molly in Wollongong with his sister, her boyfriend, and their aunt and uncle that we are staying with! Their house is deadly, very retro and full to the brim with instruments and vinyl!! And that's not even mentioning that they have their own pool, which the boys put to full use! Had a lovely BBQ their too so we were all well spent by the time we got home!

Saturday evening we did the Coogee to Bondi walk which is beautiful! The scenery between all the beaches on the route is amazing! Unfortunately we left a little late so it was dark by the time we got to Bondi which meant my camera struggled to take clear photos! Not cool!! Also Conor's sister and her boyfriend were very hungover while doing it as they finished work on Friday, the reason for our first night out which I will get to now...


Our first night out in Sydney, due to Siobhan and Benny finishing work to go do their regional work was, as I said, Friday! A disaster at first as neither of us were too interested in going out but once we got to the Three Wise Monkeys the band solved that! They were deadly but I can not for the life of me remember their name now! Dam it! 


So yes thats my backwards account of the last few days up to my last post! The main theme seems to be drinking but honestly it isn't!! Well perhaps a little but mostly Conor, not me! Ha! So yes next time I write we shall be in Melbourne! Have already started our house hunting, well looking for apartments I mean, so perhaps we'll have our own place by the next time I write in which case I might have pictures to follow!!


Amy :)