Living for the weekend

Under strict orders from my blogging superstar friend Soph,* I must tell you about the gloriousness that was a trip to her friend’s beach house a few hours North of Sydney (I told you I’ve become shameless in all social situations) a couple of weekends ago. I was certain that beach houses were the reserve of characters in Rom Coms and The OC, but no, here was I pulling up to a pretty old mining house on a Friday night. The wooden clapboarded house emanated the smells of wonderful cooking and the familiar sounds of an argument over the rules of Ring of Fire, truly the stuff of “summer frolicking” film montages.

....With one big exception, in the films when the girls steal all the boys’ clothes while they skinny dip in the sea, the boys don’t mistake the girls for local terrors and chase after them, naked and drunk, throwing glass beer bottles at their heads. A slight backfire there, but I was glad I was able to add a whole new episode to the “Examples of the Australian man’s charm” folder.  An impressive portfolio.

We spent such a happy few days just lying around (nursing miraculously undented skulls), going for the occasional surf, swim, or booze run. I left with the distinct feeling that Australians have it damn good.

The Sydney immigration camp has been expanding at a fast pace too, with Gael dropping in for a month to work in the Sydney Festival’s Spiegeltent. I overheard an incredulous Aussie saying “can you believe it stays open ‘til two?!”... The perpetrator would be hung, drawn and quartered if a bar in Edinburgh had the audacity to close before 5 during the Festival! To be fair, they do do an insane job of opening the festival here. The first night is a city-wide free festival. The main stage, situated in the botanic gardens, pumps out family-friendly music to thousands while Hyde Park, smack bang in the middle of the city, is transformed into the closest thing to Creamfields I have (and most likely ever will) experienced.

* P.S For an immersion into living the dream in Sydney, I couldn't recommend Soph's blog more

http://www.stovetoprevolution.blogspot.com.au/