A very Sydney weekend!

G'day,


another fun weekend has flown by. On Friday we went to Bondi Beach and just relaxed in the sun for a while. Some of my German friends from home moved to Sydney last week so I played the tour guide and showed them some of my favourite places. I love the coastal walk from Bondi to Bronte on a sunny day and we also went to watch the free Darling Harbour fireworks. 
Friday night we had a BBQ with our flatmates and some of their friends which was so much fun.

On Saturday we went to Paddington Markets. It's a great place to shop for clothes, jewellery, photography, art and other nice things. It is on Oxford Street in Paddington. 

Paddington Markets

Don't mix these markets up with Paddy's Markets....completely different! Paddy's are in China Town, Haymarket. You can shop for really cheap souvenirs, clothes, fruit and vegetables. It is very crowded and dark but you can grab a few good bargains.

Paddy's Market

There are a lot of good markets in Sydney to discover. For more information about the various local markets that Sydney has to offer click here.


Sunday we went to Bondi Beach once more and swam in the ocean for the first time. The water is cold once you step in but when you're in it is fantastic. 


Sunday afternoon we went to see the Royal Botanical Garden. Unfortunately it closes at 6.30pm so we couldn't spend a long time there. From the Botanical Garden there is a perfect view of the harbour, Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. Very nice...

Gardens

Next weekend is the Surf Camp and I am really excited about it. I hope the weather will be good.... The weather forecast announced sun and I hope it will be right at least this one time.


Don't forget about the time shift this weekend. Sunday 3am Australia will change their clock one hour backwards.

Time change

Have a good week!

until then...

St. Patricks Day and Blue Mountains

The longer I am here the more I am falling in love with Sydney. There is always something going on, even if it's raining. Last week was the famous St. Patrick's Day. I am sure all of you who joined the St. Paddys Day Cruise had a lot of fun and ate and drank the night away. I wanted to spend a quiet Saturday in because of the Blue Mountains trip the following day. I planned to sit at home and spend  the evening working out where I will travel next. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, my quiet night in soon became a loud night out with friends at The Gardens Irish Pub near Bondi Junction.

Getting up on Sunday was a little difficult, but it was definitely worth it. After a 7:20am pick up, our first stop was Featherdale Wildlife Park . We were able to see some koalas, kangaroos, a lot of colourful birds and my favourite the fat wombat.

koala

Me and kangaroos

Next stop the guide showed us the famous Blue Mountains National Park and we were able to see the Wentworth Falls, which I highly recommend because it is very beautiful and there is a nice view over the National Park and the thousands of eucalyptus trees.

Walk through Blue Mountains National Park

Before we had lunch, we visited the Three Sisters. They are a rock formation that are said to be 'sisters turned to stone'. If you would like to read more about the story of the Three Sisters you can click here. From the lookout there was a great view of them and we could take some spectacular pictures. 

The Three Sisters

For lunch we had a BBQ and I also tried some kangaroo. I'm still not too sure if I enjoyed it as I'd spent the morning patting them. They are so cute! There were a lot of nice people on the trip and I was able to meet some new people. There were a lot of German people on the trip (of course), but also Swiss, Swedish, English and Peruvian.

Hopefully I will see many of you at next week's social meeting on Tuesday 27th March at 7pm. We will have $12 schnitzels at the Light Brigade (2A Oxford St, Paddington).

Please let me know if you will join us.

I look forward to seeing you there!!


Until then...

Fun First Weekend at the Beach

Hi, my name is Anne and I am the new intern at Sydney Internships. I took over from Hannah on Monday. I have been in Sydney for one week now and I can't really believe that I'm finally here. You can read more about me in last week's newsletter.


I had an amazing first weekend. Saturday was the intern meeting and I got to know some of you which I really enjoyed. We walked from Bondi Beach to Bronte Beach and had a delicious picnic there. I think it is always good to spend a day on the beach with weather like this, but don't forget the sunscreen otherwise you could get as burnt as I did.

Bronte Beach

Saturday night some interns and I were at Darling Harbour to watch the fireworks. They are on every Saturday night at 8.30pm and there are usually a lot of people there to watch it. It is definitely worth seeing. You can take the bus or the train to Town Hall. From there walk to Cockle Bay/ Darling Harbour. At Cockle Bay there is a food court in the Harbourside Shopping Centre where you can grab a meal. It is also nice to sit down by the water at one of the many bars and enjoy a bottle of beer or a glass of wine and soak up the atmosphere.

Darling Harbour

On Sunday I met some friends and we walked along the Heritage Foreshore Walk to the Hornby Lighthouse. There are many hidden beaches on the way to sit down and have a picnic or just relax in the sun. We sat down on the rocks of Watsons Bay and watched the sunset. I can highly recommend that to all of you who haven't discovered Sydney by foot yet. 

Watsons Bay

There is an amazing view of Sydney's Skyline and the area is full of families having picnics simply enjoying the sun.

Watsons Bay

When it was time to go back we had some trouble with the buses. Unfortunatley it didn't show up so we waited for the next one. That was the third time this kind of thing has happend to me in a week. Always make sure you have backup plan or at least enough time if the bus is cancelled ;)


Next weekend there will be the Blue Mountains trip. I am really looking forward to it. You can still sign up if you would like to join me.


On Saturday there is St. Paddys Day. Colourful Trips offers a Day Cruise with All you can eat and drink for $69 and an After Party at Cargo Bar. So if you haven't planned anything for the weekend yet, you now have a few possibilities. 


Have a nice week!!!

Until then......

Bondi to Bronte & Picnic

Hi All,


It's Friday afternoon and the weather looks fine...so far.


Tomorrow (Saturday 10th) we are meeting at Bondi Beach outside McDonald's on Campbell Pde, Bondi Beach at 1pm.
The plan is to walk the beautiful coastal path to Bronte where we can then grab some food from the cafes and have a picnic.


Please call me on 0450 882 393 if you are running late or if you are lost.


We will post an update on the blog by 11am Saturday morning if the weather is too poor to do the walk.
There will be a 'plan B' if it's raining so make sure you either phone me or keep an eye on the blog.


Looking forward to seeing you all tomorrow!!

New Trip Calendar

We made some changes to the Trip Calendar. Discount Codes stay the same. Here are the new dates!



Saturday 26th May- Beaches & Boomerangs
Sunday 10th June- Port Stevens Whale Watching
Saturday 30th June- Hunter Valley


The weekend day trips will also be announced in the weekly newsletter and include all the necessary information. Sydney Internships participants enjoy the advantage of discount when using promo code sydintern15.


The trips give you a great opportunity to escape the busy city for a day and see some of the Australian beautiful countryside. I hope to meet many of you on our trips.

Incredible Experience!

Hi!


This will be my last blog for Sydney Internships. Next Monday I will fly back home to finish my studies. From all the internships I have done so far, this one was one of the best. The office atmosphere were great and Linda and Robbie supported me wherever they could. My internship at Sydney Internships allowed my to get an inside view in several working areas. Frankly, I enjoyed every day and gained new experiences!

Yesterday, I climbed The Harbour Bridge. I did it! Incredible, awesome, fantastic, amazing,... In brief, a great and once in a lifetime experience. I can highly recommend it. 


On Saturday we went on the Hunter Valley Wine Tasting Trip. Actually, I am not that into wine but I have to say, some of the wines tasted like lemonade.

First we went to Drayton, a family wine production. That winery was my favourite on the trip. The staff were really nice and had great knowledge. One of their wines tasted like pepper and the consistency was very sticky. The other girls that joined us on the trip bought ten bottles of wine and all chose that peppery, black coloured, sticky one. We also visited other wineries but the Drayton winery was best.

At Drayton winery we also had a BBQ lunch. Our tour guide was a great BBQ Chef. Besides the sausages he barbecued kangaroo. Not my taste. It is supposed to be one of the healthiest meats as it does not have any fat. However, it was quite chewy and stuck in my teeth. 


Sadly, it was raining and the visit at Hunter Valley Village and Gardens was washed out. The best thing at the Gardens was the water golf course. You were standing on the Driving Range and hitting balls towards targets on the lake. The other highlight was the Christmas Store!

The trip finished with a nice cheese tasting. I like cheese but not  blue or goat's cheese. 

After we arrived in Sydney I went to a friend's place to watch the Mardi Gras Parade. A truly colourful event. 

I wish you all the best and a great time in Sydney. Make the most of your internship and maybe we will meet again some day.
Now... over to Anne........