Sydney

Goodbye NZ and hello to Sydney!

We're back and began looking for somewhere to stay and a job. Really lucky though, because we managed to find the cutest little flat and I've got a job!

I work in an investment bank - Lazard - as a holiday cover and do secretarial type stuff. It's a very swish office and I'm on the 44th floor overlooking Harbour Bridge and the Opera house!

Very nice! Everyone works really hard here though, so they don't get a lot of time to look out of the office and admire the view, but I get to sneak over and just look at the sun setting over the sea and it's truly beautiful. I can see big ships and little ferries criss crossing and the city is below you - it's really nice to be up so high, though my ears pop every time I'm in the lift! It's so fast, too - whooosh - and you're up on 44th! Only two more floors above me.

Our flat is in Pyrmont and it's not far to work, I can walk it, which is great. Pyrmont is a bit like Kensington I guess and has lots of lovely cafe's, bars and restaurants in the area. It's also right by the fish market, which is amazing. You can buy your fish there every day and also fruits and veg and other yummy things. People just go there and buy great big bagfuls of prawns and then sit by the jetty and enjoy them with some wine. That's such a great lifestyle.

We're in a flatshare with this Kiwi girl called Toni. What's great about the flat though is that we all have our own bathrooms and a shared kitchen and living space. But our room, though it is the smallest, is right by the kitchen and living room, whereas Toni's room and the other unoccupied one are upstairs. Their rooms are much bigger than ours and have their own terraces, but we don't mind really because it feels like we have our own little flat because everything is on one level for us.

We would have loved to have Toni's room, but she had already taken it before we saw it, so that's ok. But the other room is even more amazing. It is huge! and has a really big outdoor space attached to it. We would have loved it, but it's out of our price range at $350 a week. To be honest, we'd rather spend the money on being able to do stuff than on rent, and our room is truly lovely too, so we can't complain. It's got a great big skylight in it, which is nice.

I'm also getting used to working again, I felt quite nervous on my first day, but then it was fine in the end. Unfortunately though, I've caught the office bug, so now my sinuses are hurting and I'm not feeling too great. That goes to show that working is not good for your health! :o)

I'm also required to be dressed very properly, so I went out and bought some cheap things that I could wear - a capsule office wardrobe. I look so business like, I giggle at myself, especially when I wobble through the office on my heels... I'm not used to this, but we get free biscuits here, so it's not all bad.

Well, I've caught up now - will put up pictures soon, so you can see what it's like.

Here's a link to our house, choose the satellite view once you've opened it:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=175+Harris+street,+Pyrmont+NSW+2009,+Australia&sll=-33.870879,151.194642&sspn=0.008017,0.019956&ie=UTF8&t=k&om=1&ll=-33.87046,151.194137&spn=0.001577,0.002494&z=19

And here, you can see where I work. If you look at the map, you can see the Opera House in the top right corner. To the left of it, you will see the Harbour Bridge. Between them, you can see the ferry terminal with the jetties sticking out into the sea. If you look at the first jetty on the left and then go straight down a bit, you will see the top of a diamond shaped building. That's where I work!
http://maps.google.com/maps?t=k&om=1&msa=0&msid=115057966493246255147.00000112e0dad253b065d&ie=UTF8&ll=-33.858211,151.2117&spn=0.012616,0.019956&z=16