charlie's travels: Bondi, films and sunshine...

Dawn at North Head near Manly this morning

Our time in Sydney is drawing to a close - and we are trying to make the most of it.

The past week has been fun-filled and busy as Danielle and I try to fit in all our 'must-do's' before we head to Melbourne next week.

The Sunday before last we went to In Situ, a funky little cocktail bar in Manly, where I had awesome virgin (!) cocktails as we listened to a wicked band and chatted to the rather lovely barmen we had met the week before.

It was a nice and calm way to end the week before heading into the madness of Monday... where our new temps met us. It has fallen to Danielle and I to train them up and, to be honest, it's a bit of a drag. Not that Kirsten and Richard aren't lovely - it's just hard to get on with your job with someone peering over your shoulder and trying to instruct them when time is tight and they have no idea what they are doing...

So meeting up on Tuesday with Dani at the Opera Bar for sun-downers was a lovely stress reliever. She and I watched the sun set behind Harbour Bridge as we sipped red wine and caught up on everything and anything. We later caught the ferry back to Manly, standing at the front of the boat and watching the fairy lit skyline around the harbour. Back in Manly, we met Danielle at the Bavarian Beer Cafe for another drink and gossip. Great to catch up with such wonderful, life-affirming friends.

The following evening, Valentine's Day of course, a large group of us hit The Steyne pub. It was supposed to be Paul and Michelle's final night but the previous evening Michelle, rather intoxicated with goon, had lept onto the beach from the walkway above. Not smart. She has smashed two bones in her ankle and calf and needs surgery - and metal plates. So much for them travelling up the coast...

So they were notably absent from their leaving-do/Jimbo's birthday...

On Thursday we spent a lovely evening round at our old pad - well more accurately, thats

On Friday, our boss Oirish Mark sent around an email to the team: "As your all aware, our brilliant backpackers are leaving us very soon. To thank Danielle and Charlotte for all their hard work Phil has kindly offered to pay for dinner at Chinta Ria. I hope you can find time to see the girls off on their travels and watch them enjoy a meal that doesn’t include 2 minute noodles..." Bless. They are taking us to Chinta Ria for lovely Chinese food. I can't wait.

The weekend has been lovely and chilled out. Danielle and I made the trip to Bondi. It was a bit of a mission by ferry and bus (Manly is north of the centre, Bondi is south east) but we got there on Saturday afternoon - a real scorcher of a day.

We clambered off the bus on a hill south of the beach and saw the fat golden crescent of sand below. It was unsurprisingly pretty packed but the water was a stunning greeny-blue. Dozens of surfers dotted the waves. A green stretch of land lay behind the sun worshippers and the buildings on the cliffs at the other end of the beach winked in the sunlight.

Here it was. Australia's most famous beach.

And my first thought was, "Oh. That's it?"

Bondi is, sad to say, a bit tacky. A bit cheesy. A little bit like a crumbling English seaside. Except it was boiling. And there were hot, tanned, buff surfers and tiny, trim, bikini-clad women. Everywhere.

Bondi is far shorter than Manly but the sweep of sand is much thicker and softer. But the bars and cafes which line a lot of the beach in the North are set a long way back from the sand (for the most part). The wall alongside the walkway has graffiti art with messages about safe sex and RIP messages. Instead of being funky, it looks tacky. Everything from the pavilion to the cheap tack shops look worn and dated and, except for a few modern eateries, the whole place looks tired.

Nonetheless, we had a lovely time. We strolled to the cliffs north of the beach and ate foccacia sandwiches on the small nature reserve on the hill overlooking the beach. We sat in the shade and read. We wandered along the shops and eateries and then went home to Manly. A far nicer, more upmarket, less tacky, more tasteful place to live.

On Sunday - another scorcher of a day - I spoke to four of my best friends in the whole world - Sally, Lizzie, Hannah and Beth - all gathered at Salsa's house. It was great to catch up with old friends and it felt like I was there with them. Great to speak to you guys.

Then it was off to the city to meet up with Dani and Taz. We walked to Chinatown and saw some of the New Year celebrations. A dragon danced in what looked like the doorway to an adult lounge while men from a Kung-fu troop banged drums and clanged bells. Then the loudest fireworks went off while people crammed onto the pavements opposite to watch - a rather dangerous position given that cars were still whizzing across this intersection.

We squeezed through the pedestrianised streets of Chinatown - full of market stalls and absolutely rammed with Asian people. It felt like China. It smelled like China. The weather was like China. Well, what we imagined anyway.

Then we went to Tropfest - the world's largest short film festival. There must have been at least 25,000 people in the park, under the stars, surrounded by lit up skyscrapers, watching fantastic short films after an afternoon lazing with picnics and beers. It was all free, all peaceful, all fun. Australia really knows how to do this outdoor thing.

This morning, Tuesday morning, Danielle and I woke up at 5.20am, dressed, and hauled ass to meet Steve and John (the chaps I met on the plane) to walk to North Head and see the world's largest ocean liner - Queen Mary II - enter Sydney harbour.

But near the top of the hill - about a 20 minute walk from Manly wharf - we saw a steady stream of people coming towards us and a line of cars crawling back down the hill. The bloody thing had arrived 35 minutes early - at 5.45am and by the time we reached the viewpoint had already docked.

We weren't the only ones going in the wrong direction but undeterred, we walked to the viewpoints anyway. It was stunning in the early dawn light. It couldn't have been a more beautiful morning for the Mary to enter. It was dark when she came through the heads and she sailed through the harbour as the sun rose. Wonderful.

As D and I caught the ferry to work, a plane wrote her name in the sky (the ship - not Danielle's - that would be weird) and dozens of people milled at the side of the ferry to photograph her docked at the naval base - she's too large to dock at Circular Quay.

So we were rather pissed off to miss her arrival so went for eggs florentine and coffee before work. But we'll hopefully see the QE2 as she docks at Circular Quay this evening and then, after a nap, climb North Head again with blankets, champagne and snacks and wave farewell to QM2 as she departs at 11pm.