Oct 17: In the morning, I was a bit rushed to the pharma tutorial because I'd left a bit late, oops. The tutorial itself was fine, but it took quite a while. After fifteen minutes, we'd already divided up the group work, so after that, everyone did their own thing. I decided to work on my brief report for Beyond the Genome, because deadlines… Back home, I went to eat something, since I didn't have time for that in the morning. I called the girls about the plan and took the bus/metro to Barangeroo for the outdoor cinema that apparently takes place there a few Thursdays in a row. Beautiful spot with a nice view! And I saw them sitting there, they immediately got up and hugged me. They'd gotten takeaway for our dinner during the movie, and I thought it was quite funny that they'd been ripped off. $100???? You could easily have gotten the same amount of food for about $70, haha, but oh well, it was delicious. The movie (Sweet As) was fun. It was about a First Nations protagonist on a trip with people who were having some trouble and were trying to rediscover themselves through this trip, drama and all. It was fun with Arthur :D. They talked a bit about what they'd seen, and honestly, I was a bit jealous; they'd seen more areas of Australia than I had. After the movie, I took the subway back to the hotel. I'm staying for a few nights, a mini-vacation for me, haha. I worked on my brief report until it was finished. It was nice to see them again, even though it feels like I saw them so recently. I didn't necessarily miss them, but not in a negative way. I just kept texting/calling/being busy with university, so it didn't feel that long ago. I definitely love them, though. I don't really notice that I miss someone.
Oct 18: Up early! Well, around 8 a.m. Had breakfast with fruit yogurt—what luxury products they buy, hahaha. Made sandwiches for lunch—I'm clearly back on a Dutch vacation. We went to the whale-watching cruise; we got there quite early, as in, way too early, but okay. The boat trip was quite up and down, left and right, so I was glad I'd accepted Mom's offer of travel pills. The view was beautiful, and I did see a few humpback whales, but I actually saw more whales outside the tour, when I was at Kiama's blowhole, haha, so yeah, nice, but less amazing than expected. An announcement was made that the whales were behaving differently than usual; there were probably orcas nearby. It was a bit strange that the announcer was hoping for orcas. We were hoping for the predators that hunt whales? Hmmm... There was also a boat in front of us, and I saw all sorts of oil slicks floating behind it. Maybe these boat trips aren't such a good idea after all... On the way back, I spent some time upstairs, learning all sorts of fun facts about whales. After the tour, we walked towards the Botanical Gardens for lunch; Mom was feeling a bit tired from all the back and forth. Then we walked the other way to the Sea Life Museum in Darling Harbour, with tons of fish, sharks, Nemo, dory, stingrays, jellyfish, coral, a manatee, a turtle, starfish, etc. Yes, the program wasn't over yet; after the museum, we went on to Sydney Tower Eye, one of those incredibly tall structures that offers stunning views of the city. Wonderful! Unfortunately, I couldn't spot my room behind the trees, but I did see the university, Scape, etc. And a rainbow that was completely circular : O. The weather was a bit rough, but we stayed dry, yay! The view wasn't as good then, of course, but when the light shone through the clouds, it was all worth it. That evening, we (Mom and I, and the rest of us will have to come along, haha) actually wanted to go to Darling Harbour for the Latin Dance workshop that was free for a lot of people, but we didn't have the energy anymore. So we went to Coles, dropped off our stuff at the hotel, and went out for dinner. I shared a dry pot with Dad—yummy! We stared at a lotus root for a long time trying to figure out what it was; we'd never seen/tasted it before. Mom had a blast with her chopsticks, didn't we?
Oct 19: Slept in a bit longer today. Went to Kirribilli in the morning to see the beautiful, amazing purple jacaranda trees; one particular street was packed with them. I'm a fan. Afterward, we went to the Rocks Market, a fun market covered in a kind of Efteling-style, pointed tent. Got some food (gozleme, nommmm) for the trip and went to Bondi. We went to Bondi Beach (an hour by bus, Sydney is big). We walked the route there where all kinds of sculptures/artwork were temporarily on display—beautiful! Dad stopped every few meters to take a picture of Bondi's amazing beach, so yeah, walking wasn't very fast, haha. It was quite busy, lots of tourists. Bondi is usually busy, especially in good weather, but now there were also those sculptures, so a kind of 'limited edition Bondi Beach'. We walked a bit further than the route, from beach to beach to beach to beach (the coast has a lot of beaches). Mom wanted more beach time, but at some point it was over and we had to move on; the bus wasn't back for another hour. Burnt, rip. After a bus ride with a grumpy driver, we arrived back in the city. We went home for a bit and grabbed some things they'll take back to the Netherlands for me, so I have less stuff I don't use (anymore) and more room for souvenirs, hehe. Quickly to the hotel, dropped off my stuff, got pizza at a kebab shop somewhere, and went to Darling Harbour for a second shot at fireworks. This time, there were fireworks! Yeeeeyyy!!!
Oct 20: Got up early and walked to the station, where we took the train and bus to Katoomba. There was a modified timetable, so it took us a good three hours to get there :O. I spent part of that time working on my chemical biology assignment that was due today—really good planning, I know. I wasn't feeling great on the bus; I never really get seasick or carsick, but I do now, and I wasn't feeling great this morning anyway. Had a nice lunch somewhere in Katoomba and worked a bit more on my assignment. Walked through Katoomba with the hat-wearing tourists to Echo Point Three Sisters Lookout, which is quite a walk. We had a nice chat and some great views. Good weather this time, so a real view, woohoo! And it wouldn't be Sydney if there weren't a bride and groom. Walked a bit further to a waterfall, and after taking some cockatoo photos, took the bus to the bus and the train to the station. Assignment finished and handed in. At the station, I gave them a quick demonstration of how you can easily walk from one side to the other in 15 minutes (that's how I missed my train the last time I went to the Blue Mountains). I ate at Guzman y Gomez, a Mexican chain here, which was actually quite good. Arthur had a disappointingly small quesadilla.
Oct 21: Got up around 8:45 am, the rest of us were already awake and busy packing. Glad I didn't have to stress about that, haha. I got a lot of leftover food, so I walked home with four bags, which my shoulders didn't appreciate at one point. Dropped off my stuff and quickly headed to Bondi Beach, because Arthur and I were going surfing, aaaahhhh, yeeeeeeyyyyy, finally!!!! Wetsuit on, sunscreen on, and off we went! Well, first we had to wait in the sun for a bit until the other people arrived. We had a short safety briefing, an introduction round, and a (legally required) stretching session. My ballet background was clearly visible, because the instructor asked if I did yoga, hehe. I learned a few surfing postures on the beach so it would develop some muscle memory in the water. Then I went surfing, yay!!! It was really fun, I gulped down a lot of water and definitely fell a lot, but I surprisingly stayed upright most of the time, which I was very happy about. After the surf lesson, it was a bit of a search for the two oldies, because they had my phone and Arthur didn't have data. Eventually, I found them and had a nice swim. After Bondi, we went back to the hotel to pick up our bags and have some delicious Thai food. I went with them a bit to the airport, even through the expensive airport gates (I suggested saying goodbye beforehand to avoid paying $30 for a stupid gate, but Mom wanted me along haha). I watched as they did some last-minute repacking and changing, and then it was time to say goodbye. See you in January! :O. Weird to see them walk away, bye-bye <3. The evening wasn't over yet for me; I went to Scape to hang out with my friends.