Lots of words. Lots of pictures.
My Australian story is coming to an end. (I'm only 2 months behind.) Mumford & Sons was amazing. The theatre was PACKED, everyone sang at the top of their lungs, and enough of the audience jumped up and down during several songs that you could feel the old wooden floor bowing up and down. The concert was on the 4th, and that marked the beginning of my last week in Oz.
That Friday, I woke up with an agenda. I was going to ride the ferry from Parramatta into the city. I had researched the ferry times, figured out what time I needed to get on the bus, and planned to be ready and in downtown Parra in plenty of time to stop at Gloria Jean's for a flat white. I was prepared. Let me just tell you what I learned on this day: I should have been riding the ferry the whole stinkin' time! When I rode the train, it took me an hour and a half just to get to Central Station, and that was just where I needed to change trains! The ferry ride was only 55 minutes, and that took me to my final destination. Lord have mercy! So I rode the ferry to Sydney Harbour and it was FREEZING (remember, it was the middle of Winter) but it was beautiful! Like I said, should have been taking the ferry the whole time. That day I stayed in the city for a long time because I went with the intention of finishing my gift shopping. I had a list and I wasn't leaving until every name was checked off. Let me just say, "Mission accomplished!" Saturday, Corrine and I went back into the city (we drove. it took half the time.) because we wanted to go to the Kirribilli Markets. First we stopped at Luna Park so that I could see it up close and personal. Then we hopped back in the car and headed to Kirribilli. When we got there, we couldn't find the markets anywhere! Not because we were in the wrong place, but we had the WRONG DAY. While all other markets in Sydney are on Saturday, the markets in Kirribilli are on SUNDAY. Whoops. So, we drove to Glebe and hit up those markets and ate Gozlemes for lunch (omg YUM). Then we went over to Newtown because who DOESN'T love blocks and blocks of vintage stores and the smell of patchouli on a hot (ish) day? (The weather was like a roller coaster.) Well, I love the vintage stores, and can deal with the patchouli, but on this day, every step we took made me feel sicker and sicker. No bueno. We left Newtown and drove to The Rocks because we were going to meet up with Ang to climb the Harbour Bridge pylons. Well, long story short, Ang ended up not being able to meet up with us and I seriously felt like I was going to vom. We decided NOT to climb the pylon and instead ducked into a hole-in-the-wall cafe for tea and banana bread. I felt SO sick that I didn't care what I was missing out on... and that banana bread was just what the doctor ordered. I don't know what was wrong, but after a good night's sleep I felt good as new. The next couple of days were spent packing, mourning my impending departure, going to church, and shipping a bunch of stuff home (it only cost $250! OUCH). Man, my last Sunday at church was so sad! I've told everyone that I've talked to that Hillsong Church felt like home the minute I walked in the doors. Being there just felt right and it definitely became one of my comfort zones, so leaving that wasn't easy. Monday night Corrine, Renee, Carmela, and I went to The Argyle (our fave restaurant/pub in the city) for dinner one last time. Carmela had some errands to run in the city before dinner, so she picked me up on her way in. One of the places she had to go was right next door to Hillsong's city campus, so we walked over and looked around really quickly. It was really cool to actually SEE the city campus because I'd been hearing about it all along. Carmela and I got to The Argyle before Renee and Corrine, so we walked around for a while... and stopped at Krispey Kreme for a doughnut (because when is dessert before dinner ever a bad thing??). Dinner was great because all of the booths at the pub are huge, and the atmosphere is really chill so we literally just lounged and hung out for the longest time. After dinner, we walked to Max Brenner for REAL dessert. Max Brenner is basically a chocolate lounge and it is just plain amazing! It was a good night. Tuesdays in the world of Hillsong are connect group nights. Connect groups are small groups or Bible studies... whatever you choose to call it. Renee's connect group was going out to eat for another girl's going away dinner. Sarah Gordon, Renee's bestie and one of my good friends, is also in that connect so I tagged along since it was my last night in Oz. Wanna know the funny part? We ate at Outback Steakhouse. Outback is sort of a novelty restaurant in Australia, but Renee and I just laughed and laughed at the fact that I was eating my last Australian dinner at an Australian-themed American restaurant. We had such a good time at dinner though! After dinner we had to take a late night trip to Kmart so I could buy a 4th suitcase for the trip home. Don't ask me how I accummulated that much stuff! The important thing is that I managed to get everything packed up (and kept it all under the 50 lb. per bag weight limit) and ready to go the next day!
That Friday, I woke up with an agenda. I was going to ride the ferry from Parramatta into the city. I had researched the ferry times, figured out what time I needed to get on the bus, and planned to be ready and in downtown Parra in plenty of time to stop at Gloria Jean's for a flat white. I was prepared. Let me just tell you what I learned on this day: I should have been riding the ferry the whole stinkin' time! When I rode the train, it took me an hour and a half just to get to Central Station, and that was just where I needed to change trains! The ferry ride was only 55 minutes, and that took me to my final destination. Lord have mercy! So I rode the ferry to Sydney Harbour and it was FREEZING (remember, it was the middle of Winter) but it was beautiful! Like I said, should have been taking the ferry the whole time. That day I stayed in the city for a long time because I went with the intention of finishing my gift shopping. I had a list and I wasn't leaving until every name was checked off. Let me just say, "Mission accomplished!" Saturday, Corrine and I went back into the city (we drove. it took half the time.) because we wanted to go to the Kirribilli Markets. First we stopped at Luna Park so that I could see it up close and personal. Then we hopped back in the car and headed to Kirribilli. When we got there, we couldn't find the markets anywhere! Not because we were in the wrong place, but we had the WRONG DAY. While all other markets in Sydney are on Saturday, the markets in Kirribilli are on SUNDAY. Whoops. So, we drove to Glebe and hit up those markets and ate Gozlemes for lunch (omg YUM). Then we went over to Newtown because who DOESN'T love blocks and blocks of vintage stores and the smell of patchouli on a hot (ish) day? (The weather was like a roller coaster.) Well, I love the vintage stores, and can deal with the patchouli, but on this day, every step we took made me feel sicker and sicker. No bueno. We left Newtown and drove to The Rocks because we were going to meet up with Ang to climb the Harbour Bridge pylons. Well, long story short, Ang ended up not being able to meet up with us and I seriously felt like I was going to vom. We decided NOT to climb the pylon and instead ducked into a hole-in-the-wall cafe for tea and banana bread. I felt SO sick that I didn't care what I was missing out on... and that banana bread was just what the doctor ordered. I don't know what was wrong, but after a good night's sleep I felt good as new. The next couple of days were spent packing, mourning my impending departure, going to church, and shipping a bunch of stuff home (it only cost $250! OUCH). Man, my last Sunday at church was so sad! I've told everyone that I've talked to that Hillsong Church felt like home the minute I walked in the doors. Being there just felt right and it definitely became one of my comfort zones, so leaving that wasn't easy. Monday night Corrine, Renee, Carmela, and I went to The Argyle (our fave restaurant/pub in the city) for dinner one last time. Carmela had some errands to run in the city before dinner, so she picked me up on her way in. One of the places she had to go was right next door to Hillsong's city campus, so we walked over and looked around really quickly. It was really cool to actually SEE the city campus because I'd been hearing about it all along. Carmela and I got to The Argyle before Renee and Corrine, so we walked around for a while... and stopped at Krispey Kreme for a doughnut (because when is dessert before dinner ever a bad thing??). Dinner was great because all of the booths at the pub are huge, and the atmosphere is really chill so we literally just lounged and hung out for the longest time. After dinner, we walked to Max Brenner for REAL dessert. Max Brenner is basically a chocolate lounge and it is just plain amazing! It was a good night. Tuesdays in the world of Hillsong are connect group nights. Connect groups are small groups or Bible studies... whatever you choose to call it. Renee's connect group was going out to eat for another girl's going away dinner. Sarah Gordon, Renee's bestie and one of my good friends, is also in that connect so I tagged along since it was my last night in Oz. Wanna know the funny part? We ate at Outback Steakhouse. Outback is sort of a novelty restaurant in Australia, but Renee and I just laughed and laughed at the fact that I was eating my last Australian dinner at an Australian-themed American restaurant. We had such a good time at dinner though! After dinner we had to take a late night trip to Kmart so I could buy a 4th suitcase for the trip home. Don't ask me how I accummulated that much stuff! The important thing is that I managed to get everything packed up (and kept it all under the 50 lb. per bag weight limit) and ready to go the next day!
Clocktower Square
Corrine and Carmela
Max Brenner! Yum!!
Luna Park from across the harbour
Hillsong Church - Hills Campus
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