SYDNEY

How weird is this? We arrived at Sydney Airport, I looked at the sign outside one of the buildings and it took me a few moments to realise what it said which was simply 'Emergency Fire Services' .... seems bizarre but I think that we had both become so conditioned to actually not understanding all that much that it took me a while to switch back to 'English' brain mode!

It seemed so weird to arrive at the airport and actually understand people and to be able to communicate ... took us a few hours to stop saying gracias or por favor though!

Took the shuttle to our Ibis hotel in the centre where we had to leave the bags before checking in (we arrived at 08:30am) and went for a quick explore. First impressions were that Sydney is a beautifully set city with clean streets, great modern architecture and some amazing sculptures. Also got the strong sense that Australians are very proud of their history and work hard to ensure that the buildings are preserved for future generations. The other outstanding impression we got is that the food is GREAT ...... variety and quality is excellent.

Spent the first 5 days that we were in Sydney organise ourselves and running around .... me buying a shirt and belt and Emma doing all her girlie spa things in preparation for the wedding. Also spent a few days organising our Indian Visa which took a little longer as we are not Australian citizens.

Also took the time to meet up with a couple ( Jason and Ritsa ) who are friends of friends back home. Had an excellent evening in one of their favourite curry places .... again, great food!

Prepared all of our stuff for the flight to Fiji and took a taxi to Sydney airport around 11am.