We landed at 9am Saturday and thus began the troublesome journey of lugging our cases to our Airbnb in Brighton-le-sands. We walked to terminal 3 to catch the bus, only to find that we had actually got on the right bus but going in the wrong direction. So I guess you could say it was the wrong bus. We got off at the next stop and waited for the right bus. Eventually we got to the train station where we failed to notice the lift so lugged our bags up and down the hundreds of steps. The last bus took us to the end of the road where or Home was situated.

Ines was to be our host and she had worked a night shift the night before yet still allowed us to check in early. What a legend! We dumped our stuff then proceeded to quietly leave and head to the beach. First things first though was food. Oporto was a Portuguese restaurant much akin to Nando’s. The food was delicious and cheap yet when we exited, about there doors down, low and behold there was a Nando’s! Coles gave us drinks and we got to the beach. It was a five minute walk from our home.

The beach was lovely and we sat there for a couple of hours soaking up the sun, until the clouds came, whilst watching the planes take off and land across the bay. Then a load of sailing boats passed in front of us followed by a police boat who told the guys on a boat to turn their music down! Glad I didn’t go in the sea here as someone stabbed a jellyfish! We chilled out for the rest of the day not wanting to wake Ines as she had another night shift Saturday night. Sunday came round and we were up and out back to the bus stop in order to catch the bus and trains over to Birchgrove, where we would be for the next two weeks. Bus, train, bus, lugging our cases off and on each one. It was blisteringly hot and I was sweating in places I never knew I could sweat from! Eventually we arrived at the last stop and had a ten minute walk to our home on Louisa Road, another Airbnb.

We checked in early, wiped down the kitchen, unpacked fully, and headed out to locate the nearest Woolworths to get some food and drink. It was a twenty minute walk up and down hills and was located along a road with cute bakeries and cafes. Once we got what we needed it was time to head back, forgoing the bus and walking again so it was a welcome relief when we got home, put the shopping away and headed up to the roof to catch the last of the days sun. The views were just sensational.

After sitting up there on the chairs, we decided to hunt for something we could use as a sun bed before we purchased a lilo from somewhere. Thankfully, there were two mattresses outside our bathroom which were perfect. The task? To get them up the winding staircase and out a hobbit-sized door onto the roof. Challenge started…

As you can see, the winding staircase wasn’t the widest of places to climb up. I think I had like two inches spare as I wiggles my way up to try and get the mattresses up there with Nathan pushing from the bottom. Eventually we managed it and we spent the next few hours listening to music attempting crosswords that we kept looking at he answers for.

The sun began to set and we were left with the beautiful lights of the city across the water. It was stunning. It was then we made the decision to get up early to watch the sunrise, and it would mean we were up and ready for when my family arrived. We were already awake by the time the alarm went off at 530am and trundled up to the roof. The sky was already bright orange as the day begun.

I don’t think I could ever get tired of the views from atop this Airbnb. They’re just spectacular!! We waited on the top of the roof for my family to arrive, catching the early morning rays. By 630am it was already 24 degrees! They arrived about 8am and then it was time for breakfast, coffee and a plan for the day.

Seeing as it took me about two days to adjust to the time difference over here, we thought, as it was a sunny, hot day, it would be a good idea just to go and chill on the beach. It was time to head to Bondi. Two busses and a train later and we had arrived…It was a bit smaller than we see on ‘Bondi Rescue,’ but the waters were so clear and it was just stunning.We spent a few hours on the beach then headed to the shops behind the pavilion to seek out souvenirs! We do love ourselves a souvenir shop!! We only passed one lifeguard buggy on the beach during our time on bondi so next time we visit we shall make a trip to the actual lifeguard station, to see who is looking out for us! 😃Bondi is a truly beautiful place. As mentioned, smaller than it looks on TV but beautiful all the same! The skate park was closer than I realised as was the graffiti wall. The clouds began to roll in and we started to walk back to the bus stop to get a bus, train, bus back to Birchgrove. Dinner consisted of dominos pizza delivered fresh to our door then it was an early night as the newbie travellers were still weary from a 27 hour flight….

Until next time….