Goodbye

When Nick drove back to Sydney with me, we hadn't really made any plans but to just go wherever we wanted to. We walked past my old apartment, bought some really good food at a bakery around the corner that I didn't know had been there the whole time (as with almost everything) and then ate everything in front of the Chinese friendship garden before entering. We later ate at the sushi-place that I had been to with Laura and Maria for the show that we got invited to a couple weeks back. (The drinks were great, sushi not so much). We went to madame Tussauds where I got one hell of a nosebleed out of nowhere, and right after that we went to the aquarium next to it, where we saw some very interesting fish, a couple sharks, mermaids, everything. Nick and I had gone shopping together, had dinner at the Meat & Wine co. and we walked across the bridge to visit Luna Park.

One of the last nights we visited a cocktail bar that we weren't even sure we were allowed to enter at first. Sydney's 360 BAR is a turning sky-lounge which shows you the whole city while you're either eating or enjoying a cocktail. The lift going up there took a few minutes, and from in that lift you could see a screen with the passengers from the other lift going down. Everything inside the bar looks prestigious, from the lamps to the big cabinet behind the bar displaying all sorts of drinks and glasses. Even though we felt a bit out of place, we loved the drinks and went back to the hotel satisfied. The next day we said goodbye.

This was the second time that I was actually alone in Sydney, so I went back to Wake Up, where I knew the rooms and the chance to meet new people were big. My first morning there I was greeted by an American girl who was working out right in the middle of the room. Another American was in the corner of the room, some people were sleeping, and a Canadian was in the opposite corner of the room. There were two Irish girls and an Irish guy too. I got to talking with this whole group pretty quickly, planning what they were going to do and asking if I wanted to join them. The overall plan was now to grab a few friends from another room, have pancakes at the Rock, go to the market and eat something there. I had no plans whatsoever, so I was ready to tag along with anything they were planning to do.

A day later the Canadian, American and I decided to go to Bondi to do the Bondi to Coogee walk (again). John and Karma had nothing to do that day, so we bought some necessities for our walk, before starting it. I had of course lost my phone on my last day in Sydney, but because of John's iPhone we found it back. Turns out it was still on the bus, and the driver returned it to us on his route. The guys then tasted Vegemite, but both realised that I tasted like poison (I already knew that, but we didn't bring any cheese so there was no way of making it taste any better). We had a few drinks at Bondi with the whole group, giving each other nicknames and trying to figure out what famous people we slightly resembled to. Besides a bit of Vanessa Hudgens in me, they all agreed that I looked most like Vaiana, so I was okay with that. I took the group to the Bare Grill, we had dinner at the Spice Alley, and when they found out that after all this time, I had not once had a drink at the Opera House Bar, they went with me to get a cocktail there as a goodbye drink.

These people had all just arrived here, and they are still there even though I have been home for a while now, and I wished I could've stayed with them. They were so welcoming and friendly, and now I had to leave them behind and travel on my own. My flight to Cairns was smooth, and my stay at Gilligan's was once again pretty good. The day after I got on the plane to China, where they took away some of my souvenirs because they're stupid, and the rest of my flight from China to Amsterdam was just as smooth. I was finally back home, in the arms of my mum and dad, my brother, and when my dog finally recognised me he wouldn't leave me alone anymore either. Back in the car it was like I'd never left. And since then I've been missing Australia every day.