Prime Minister's Cup & Syndey, Australia!

On April 29th to May 2nd I went to Sydney! It was an amazing feeling to see the Opera House for the first time and REALLY made me feel like I was actually in Australia. Sometimes living in Southport it's easy to forget that I'm in another country studying abroad! Sadly, we ended up missing our flight by five minutes because the bus connecting us to the airport bus just never came. I was really upset and ended up having to pay $70 extra dollars, and our roundtrip ticket had only cost us $85! However, we were able to get another flight a few hours later but almost missed getting to the ballet at the Opera House! We had paid to see The Silver Rose that night and after plane, train, hostel (Base X) and taxi we ended up running about a mile...in heels! Thankfully we made it just in time and we were all in awe at how beautifully the cast danced. Their footwork, sets and costumes were gorgeous! The orchestra was also facinating to watch at times. At intermission we had fun people watching because most of the people there looked like the rich and famous!



The next day I woke up early to take an online exam but it ended up being posted 9 hours later than planned and I had to meet up with the rest of the girls after breakfast. Since it was a rainy day we decided to go to the Sydney Aquarium. I loved it! The sharks were really scary but I couldn't help but feel a tiny bit bad for them being in such small cages. Even if they could eat me in one gulp! We also saw sea horses, pufferfish, jellies, turtles, stingrays, crocodiles and penguins! Afterwards we spent the day walking around Darling Harbour which was really pretty. For dinner we went to Hugo's for $5 pizzas! Can't beat that!





The next day we went back to the Opera House for more pictures and we also climbed one of the towers of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The views up top were really spectacular and gave us great perspective of the whole city. We also visited the Markets there which were so cool. They had great handmade artifacts and really good souveniers. That evening we had booked a Sunset Cocktail Harbour Cruise. It was so fun to have cocktails and appetizers while slowly making our way around some of the most impressive pieces of architecture in Australia! However, we were starving by the end of it and may have taken a few dinner rolls destined for the cruise after us :) We ended up going back to Hugo's for more pizza and were in bed by 11pm when everyone else in the hostel was getting ready to go out for the night!









The next morning Steph and I woke up early to go see Manly Beach. We took the Ferry and it was a really nice day, perfect for a walk along the water. When we got back we met the other girls and we headed for Bondi Beach. We got pasta salad and freshly squeezed fruit juices for lunch which were amazing. We sat on the beach and watched the surfers take on some HUGE waves! Then we hiked a path that went along the water and took about an hour each way. It gave us some really great views of the surrounding beaches and cliffs. We then headed back to the hostel and got some Subway's (YUM) and had a quiet night in before leaving the next day. Sydney was a really great city and made me wish my family could come visit me to see it all!




On May 7th a large group of us went to the Prime Minister's Cup Horse Races. It was held right on the Gold Coast and it was so fun to dress up all fancy for once. People there were wearing big hats and everything! I bet $5 dollars on two horses, numbers 3 and 5 but neither of them won :( It was still a really fun time and nice to feel all fancy for a day!