Australia

 

   

Stay alive, no matter what occurs! I will find you

20 November 2006 | Last Update 24 December 2006

Having spent the better part of five months living and working in Sydney, we found that the night if the 19th of November was to be the evening when we bade our antipodean home and fond, if hazy, farewell. I, Grainne, was content to spend our last Sunday night in Sydney as we had spent all the previ...

Our Very Very LAST Week in Australia

13 November 2006 | Last Update 24 December 2006

OUR VERY VERY LAST WEEK IN AUSTRALIA  MONDAY – 13TH November 2006  None of us were upset to be leaving Hervey Bay and were actually first in line for the greyhound with a girl we met – Sarah from Dublin – on our Fraser trip! First stop of the week was Noosa – or Noo...

Fraser fecking Island

10 November 2006 | Last Update 08 October 2009

Hello all -  Emily here! This story comes with a hazard warning of negativity - probably best not to read on if you are in one of those happy boyant delighted to be alive kinda moods.  It may or may not become apparent as you continue, that I have not taken an objective...

Whitsundays - All aboard!

07 November 2006 | Last Update 24 December 2006

The Whitsundays - a veritable paradise according to all the brochures and travellers we had met. Well it did not fail to deliver.  We arrived in Airlie Beach (one of the most commonly used gateways to The Whitsunday Islands) and after checking into our delapidated hostel* we headed st...

A perfectly good aeroplane....

01 November 2006 | Last Update 24 December 2006

I have done some pretty stupid things in my life, (swimming with sharks, jumping off a cliff, dancing alone of the 'dancefloor' in the Tea Gardens...) but jumping out a perfectly good aeroplane holds pride of place as THE most insane thing I have yet to do in my life. I have long talked about doing ...

Cathys Birthday Shenanigans

18 October 2006 | Last Update 24 December 2006

Last night we celebrated Cathys 26 birthday with dinner at (what is fast becoming a local haunt) Zia Pina - a fabulous and authentic Italian restaurant in The Rocks.  A rowdy 10 of us - Cathy - Birthday girl and her roomates Ruth, Brid, Hilary, Helen and their temporary residents Kenny and...

Quad Biking - When in doubt, Flat out!

08 October 2006 | Last Update 24 December 2006

With Lorna gone to New Zealand, Aisling Grainne and myself found ourselves another man down and began to wonder was it us? Was it something we were saying or doing, or not saying or not doing? A small cloud of depression settled above our, now very quiet, house.  We had gone from an a...

Sounds of Sydney

04 October 2006 | Last Update 24 December 2006

              SOUNDS OF SYDNEY Although our time in Sydney was relatively short (could stay another year easy!!) we still found time to take in some quality gigs (as described myjealous brother – Hi Shane!). First off:  ZUTO...

October Bank Holiday Weekend - Part One - The Race

30 September 2006 | Last Update 24 December 2006

The Sport of Kings, an Australian Bank Holiday AND the birthday of a goddess – celebrations were par for the course on the weekend of the 1st of October 2006 (My birthday people – age = irrelevant).   Yes readers this weekend was event full. Another thing that was full was N106 233 ...

Our Sydney Neighbours

24 September 2006 | Last Update 24 December 2006

Sunday night in Sydney and the excitement was more than I could bear, for this was no ordinary Sunday night. Oh no! Tonight I was meeting some of the cast of Neighbors - an event I had been anticipating for nearly three weeks.  I am aware that the nature of this story is unbelievably sad b...

Intervention!! Shark attack.

23 September 2006 | Last Update 24 December 2006

Saturday morning and the sun was shining. We decided we would take our new guests (John Murphy – Grainnes’ cousin - John Daly – no relation to Grainne, Denise & Denis (also not related) and James a.k.a Chuck) to Bondi beach for the day – a family outing if you will. It ha...

Lorna's East Coast Adventure Part 2

22 September 2006 | Last Update 24 December 2006

Well I left off the last installment leaving Airlie Beach so headed off into the night for Harvey bay. Now the main reason people go to Harvey bay is to go visit Fraser island and I was no different as it was the last thing on my must dos for the east coast. So arrived in Harvey bay and went to Kola...

Finally the Fletchers Can Foster Me!

17 September 2006 | Last Update 24 December 2006

In a world such as ours where things are constantly changing and where all you can truly depend on is that change is inevitable, everyone has one aspect of their lives that they can rely on. For some people that constant is family, for others its friends and people with addictive personalities place...

Lorna's East Coast Adventure Part 1

15 September 2006 | Last Update 24 December 2006

Well I Lorna decided that I wanted to spend I little longer in New Zealand than the girls in other words get my hands on Dan Carter first! ha ha ha I can say this now as I am safely out of reach in another country from the girls and my sister! So before I headed over there I had to the backpacker cl...

Canberra the city of no crime - that's just wrong

02 September 2006 | Last Update 24 December 2006

If you talk to any Australian about Canberra they will invariably roll their eyes, yawn and tell you how it is the most boring place in Australia and then ask, why would you bother wasting your time going there? Now that I think about it, this reaction was not limited to Australians b...

Family Day Out

27 August 2006 | Last Update 24 December 2006

FAMILY DAY OUT A rare occurrence – apartment N106 up and about early on a Sunday morning hangover free! The reason – it had been planned for quite some time that we would be visiting the relations this particular Sunday and wanted to make good impression. It wouldn’t do to be eatin...

Trapeze lesson!

26 August 2006 | Last Update 24 December 2006

Continuing my penchant for insane activities (See City to Surf  "Fun Run" story) a group at work decided it would be "fun" to book a Trapeze lesson for early saturday morning and I decided to throw my hat in the ring and so I joined the group thinking this would be...

Luna(tic) Park

25 August 2006 | Last Update 24 December 2006

Friday night and what else would 7 twenty-somethings do in Sydney? Head to a Fun Fair of course!  Lorna and myself joined the Athlonians Brid, Helen, Cathy, Jim and Afric and Offaly man Mike for a night of upside down rides, candy floss and classic fair ground music.  One short water ...

Cirque du Soleil – Varekai

22 August 2006 | Last Update 24 December 2006

    Onwards we continued on our never-ending quest for that elusive thing called Culture.       In order to fully understand the Australian Animal we had been trying, like all the anthropologists say you should, to view our subject in its own habitat. Surprisingly though, th...

The farewell party

19 August 2006 | Last Update 24 December 2006

Sorry this has taken a while to go up but we are still in the grieving process of out departed una and mainly because I don't have internet in work so here it is! Well we had to give Miss Collins a bit of a send off so decided to finally have a party in the apartment. They are kind of strict about n...

City to Surf

13 August 2006 | Last Update 24 December 2006

So what is City to Surf I hear you ask? I’ll tell you what it is. It’s pain and suffering and the Australian way of making you feel inept and Europeanly fat.     The Australians would tell you it is a fun run –Sydney City Centre to Bondi.    ...

The Blue (not in a bold way) Mountains

04 August 2006 | Last Update 24 December 2006

The Blue Mountains are a sandstone mountain range 100kms west of Sydney . Famous for their beautiful vistas and for the fact that this harsh terrain hampered European settlement in New South Wales for many years.   Bearing in mind that this is the one part of Australia that is only a train ride...

Tazmanian She Devils !!!

03 August 2006 | Last Update 24 December 2006

Seeing as some of us are more country girls than city slickers we decided it was time to take a break from the big smoke and enjoy a weekend getaway in Tazmania !. Lorna , Emily, me ( Una) and Aileen , another Tipp woman ( God they just keep multiplying) flew out on Friday morning to the c...

Stuck in a rut

11 July 2006 | Last Update 24 December 2006

Life in Sydney has assumed a regularity, a routine if you will, which has mostly centered around where to get free stuff on which day.  By "stuff" of course, I mainly refer to alcohol but there are other things (I have heard) besides that. Monday night is TV night - all the best shows...

Canberra

09 July 2006 | Last Update 24 December 2006

As Emily as already told you Melbourne saw myself and Lorna say a sad if not semi asleep goodbye to the girls for our mini Thelma and Louise trip to Sydney via Canberrra. The trip got off to a great start with a car upgrade. As you may recall from previous stories we have not been used to luxurious ...

The Irish do an Australian BBQ

08 July 2006 | Last Update 24 December 2006

For any of you that know Paddy Joe (and at this rate it is all of Sydney and most of Ireland) you will understand me when I say his organizational skills aren't his best quality.  Every Friday and Saturday night, when we were out for the usual few scoops, he would promise us a BBQ next weekend&...

Ice Ice Baby

07 July 2006 | Last Update 24 December 2006

Tuesday night saw my work crew (a.k.a. The Citigroupers) and Una and Lorna (the hangers on) visit The Minus 5 Bar in Sydney up by the Opera House.  Everything in the place was made of Ice - even the glasses we were drinking out of - hence the name.   We were kitted out in Eskimo gear ...

Birthday week

05 June 2006 | Last Update 24 December 2006

Well the third week was the week of my birthday Wahooo you would think won’t you but Monday started with the all too familiar dreaded noise of the alarm going off meaning it was time for work aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhgggggggggggggghhhhhhh. We knew it was coming but seriously it came around way to...

233 Harris St = Home

29 May 2006 | Last Update 24 December 2006

So our second week in Sydney was spent in the lap of home comforts more importantly our own home. We finally had a place to hang our hats after three months of living out of bags I can honestly say I never seen bags unpacked so fast. After the raffle for the beds had taken place we call started nest...

42 Wallaby Way, Sydney. Week One

22 May 2006 | Last Update 24 December 2006

So finally we were going to somewhere we could retire our backpacks if only for a couple of months. At this point though, the thought of not carrying all my belongings on my back like a tortoise/turtle, was bringing tears of joy to my eyes. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a lovely backpack (Tha...

Settling into Sydney

22 May 2006 | Last Update 24 December 2006

We left Melbourne and said our goodbyes to the girls who headed to Canberra.  After a short flight with the Australian equivalent of Ryan Air, Aisling Grainne and I landed in Sydney and checked into the cheapest Hostel we could find called Big Hostel.  Turns out it’s not so big and n...

Melbourne week

15 May 2006 | Last Update 24 December 2006

Melbourne; the 'continental city' of Australia where there are four seasons in one day (I'd say Crowded House came from Melbourne...) home to the Melbourne Cup (it's in November so we didn't see that...) great shopping and more importantly Neighbours!! Want to know more? Then read on my friend. We a...

Adelaide/ Great Ocean Road Trip

10 May 2006 | Last Update 24 December 2006

Well we arrived in Adelaide late afternoon and after checking into a fab hostel (really nice one if anyone’s interested the YHA one) We decided that we were a little thirsty so headed to the nearest watering hole for the one! Of course this did not stay at the one drink and we stayed all ...

First Stop Perth

29 April 2006 | Last Update 24 December 2006

So I arrived in Perth Sunday 31st April to an enthusiastic welcome from the ladies all be it helped by one of Cottesloes famous or shoud that be infamous Sunday Sessions. So for the rest of the week we decided to do a bit of travelling down the west coast of oz as our time in Perth was limited ...

G'Day from Perth!!

28 April 2006 | Last Update 24 December 2006

Perth We all arrived in sunny (but a little cold we're so spoilt now!!) Perth city on Friday and under instruction from Gemma and Kingsley we headed towards Ocean Beach Hostel in Cottesloe on the outskirts of the city. This gem of a hostel was very impressive right on the beach with lovely ensuite r...

Surf Divas (23)

23 October 2006 | Last Update 13 October 2006

  • Pro Surfers? Pro posers more like....
  • The surf
  • Lying down is so much easier....
  • Taking a breather

Quad Biking (17)

07 October 2006 | Last Update 07 October 2006

Home and Away (11)

06 October 2006 | Last Update 17 September 2006

  • Post ice cream lounging around - we bought the ice
  • Gra and Em
  • Recognise this shot? Alf Stuart took the photo you
  • Grainne and Aisling hoping to be spotted and taken

Foo Fighters concert (5)

05 October 2006 | Last Update 05 October 2006

  • The band
  • The Foo Fighters play a special acoustic set to 'h
  • Solo moment

A Day At The Races (40)

30 September 2006 | Last Update 30 September 2006

  • Kevin and Emily
  • Nicky and Murray
  • ....and they're gone!
  • Denise and John

Neighbours in Sydney (5)

24 September 2006 | Last Update 24 September 2006

  • Aisling Ned and Emily
  • Aisling STEPH SKULLY!! and Emily
  • Grainne and Ned
  • Toady makes his mark

Bondi beach (4)

23 September 2006 | Last Update 23 September 2006

  • Helicopter circles over head to scare shark away f
  • Denise, Grainne, Lorna and Helen (who is not naked
  • Beach bums nursing hangovers
  • Bondi beach pre shark warning

Canberra (12)

02 September 2006 | Last Update 01 September 2006

  • Aboriginal Tent Embassy
  • Ailsing guarding the Old Parliament House
  • View
  • Aboriginal Tent Embassy

Trapeze Lsson (9)

26 August 2006 | Last Update 26 August 2006

  • Mid flight - trying to get my legs up on the trape
  • Anoop getting harnassed up
  • Laura preparing to jump and Anoop getting dizzy at
  • Refusing to let go of the ropes!!

City to Surf (7)

18 August 2006 | Last Update 13 August 2006

  • That's me at the finish. First Foreign Female over
  • Can you see me? Satellite photo. Don't I look well
  • And they are off!
  • Emily and 63,000 other City to Surfers - can you s

Blue Mountains (13)

08 August 2006 | Last Update 08 August 2006

  • The Three Sisters Rock Formation

Tasmania (8)

23 July 2006 | Last Update 21 July 2006

  • Aileen and Emily at the Salamanca Markets in Hobar
  • Getting ready to go out
  • View from a cafe we stopped in in Dunally on the w
  • Men at work

Minus 5 Bar in Sydney (6)

11 July 2006 | Last Update 11 July 2006

  • Emily and Ada
  • Jacqui - fellow citigrouper
  • Una and Lorna snuggle up
  • Ice Chandaliers!

Bondi to Coogee walk (15)

01 July 2006 | Last Update 01 July 2006

  • View

Sydney (16)

17 June 2006 | Last Update 06 June 2006

  • View of Sydney Opera House and Harbour bridge from
  • Emily in the party mood!
  • Lorna and Aisling
  • Sydney Opera House

Melbourne (52)

20 May 2006 | Last Update 15 May 2006

  • Town Hall - taken from inside tram
  • Mrs Mangles house!
  • ...snap-happy emily catches all this of course..
  • One of Melbournes famous trams

Great Ocean Road (3)

12 May 2006 | Last Update 12 May 2006

Adelaide (2)

10 May 2006 | Last Update 10 May 2006

  • The Ace's Bar - Adelaide

Perth (11)

08 May 2006 | Last Update 01 May 2006

  • Wicked Camper - Yes I did drive around in this cro
  • Lorna&Gra "proudly" stand by their wicked van!
  • Inside "Mister Hard"
  • Perth City Centre

Busselton (4)

07 May 2006 | Last Update 07 May 2006

  • Me on the longest jetty in the southern hemisphere
  • View from the jetty
  • Busselton Bay
  • Nice wheels Em!

Albany (5)

05 May 2006 | Last Update 05 May 2006

  • Natural Bridge
  • Grainne&Emily on a mission!
  • Serious Waves!
  • Be careful!

Walpole (7)

04 May 2006 | Last Update 04 May 2006

  • Size obviously doesn't matter to Gra!!
  • The Tree-Top walk in the Valley of Giants
  • Back on the ground under the giant tingle tree!
  • Grainne after listening to the silence

Pemberton (3)

04 May 2006 | Last Update 04 May 2006

  • Pretty Birds
  • Climbing the tree in Gloucester
  • Tree (40m high!)

Margarets River (S.W Australia) (14)

02 May 2006 | Last Update 02 May 2006

  • Una & Emily at Brewery
  • Cool Reg!
  • Margaret River herself!
  • Beer-tasting

Perth - Cottesloe Beach (8)

30 April 2006 | Last Update 30 April 2006

  • Me outside OBH
  • Grainne diving into (freezing cold) Indian Ocean!
  • Girls soaking up the sun!
  • Lorna & Gra on beach
      
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