Australia- Sydney- The Stratton's Hotel Experience!!

On the 24th March 2014 myself and Tisha landed in Sydney. I got that rush of excitement flying in when I saw the Sydney Opera House from the plane for the first time. We got a taxi to the address Aoife had given me. 249, Castlereagh Street, Sydney 2000, NSW. I pulled up at the hotel around 9pm and Aoifs was there to greet me with a bottle of champers. Little did I know that these 10 dollar bottles of champagne would be a regular indulgence of mine. It's defo an acquired taste.
Stratton's Hotel is a long term hostel which is part of World Square Hostel (located on Liverpool Street). Rent is paid down here as well as wifi access, washing machine and dryer. I moved into room 305 on the very night that I arrived. It was a six bedded dorm and I was sharing with Aoifs, Gerry, a Glaswegian desperately seeking his Scottish FREEDOM, a law graduate Mark from Peterborough in England and Becky a real sweetheart from BEDFORDSHIRE.

Room 305 crew, Becky, Gerry, Aoife, Myself and Mark.

At first I was a little apprehensive about staying here. I mean there was no amenities in the actual hostel itself. Well, apart from the bar downstairs and we definitely made the most of that.
There was no sign of my nursing registration coming through and I eventually was forced to take a job as a kitchen hand in a tapas bar called Barrafina Tapa's Sydney. This was one busy restaurant. It was constant and the dishes just kept piling up on top of each other. It was very rare there was a lull period. This job paid 15 dollars an hour. The people were lovely to me but I couldn't survive on that rate. I saw an add for a waitress in a Travel Lodge Bistro. I called in for a quick interview and started the following week. This job paid 17 dollars an hour but at least I was getting more hours. My boss was a woman called Lee. She was an Australian lady with Vietnamese parents. She was a good person but my God could she snap! Not one to let people walk all over me I confronted her on it one day. As it transpired she didn't realise she was snapping and our relationship improved after that. It just goes to show if you are having a problem with someone you may as well say it straight out. It will make you and them feel much better. Whilst working here I made great friends with a 33 year old Thai man named Bun. I brought him out drinking with the gang back in Stratton's and they loved him. He was a character!!

Bun, from my bistro job

Stratton's Hotel

Cock n' Bull

Scruffy's Sunday Session

The Tea Gardens with Anne

Randwick Races for Amanda's birthday

Irish band Kodaline

Coogee Beach

The Blue Mountains

Darkness into Light in Bondi

Sydney Morning Herald Half Marathon

I registered with a nursing ageny called Network Nursing Agency based in Crows Nest. As my registration wasn't through I could work as a healthcare assistant. These rates were much better with us getting paid 28 aud an hour for a day shift, 29 aud an hour for a night shift and 32 aud an hour for a Saturday. The only thing with this is that the work is unreliable and there were times that I was ready to get in to bed and got a call for a shift. I had to take it though because I didn't know when I'd get offered the next one. If you refused a shift they sometimes were reluctant to give you another one. It was a hard game to play. Nevertheless I was making enough money to cover my rent and social life. I was never going to come back from Oz with thousands saved. For anyone going to Oz and having an airy fairy attitude towards it, having that image of hot weather and nice beaches just remember you do have to work. It's not as easy out there as is often portrayed from the #itsahardlife photographs we are all exposed to. It's very easy to put up a few pics of beaches and barbeques on facebook. From my perspective I landed there with very little funds. I had been travelling for 11 weeks and hadn't worked a day since the 22nd of December. Having said that I loved my Oz experience! Why? Australia is a nice country but by no means did it blow me away. I loved it because I was lucky enough to meet some of the most amazing people I have ever met. People from all walks of life and all over the globe. Especially those from Scotland (Gezza and the lonely hearts gang), Wales (my hubby Patchy and the crew), England, Italy, Denmark and Canada.
Sydney is a beautiful city with lots to do. Everyone who steps foot in Sydney is brought to see the Opera House. There's the Coogee to Bondi coastal walk, Mrs. Macquarie's Chair (where you can get a fantastic view of both the opera house and the harbour bridge) and the pylon tower, a welcome alternative to the bridge climb which is very expensive for anyone on a tight budget. Many people also like to go to the Blue Mountains for a day trip which you can travel to by train from the city.  If beaches are more your thing why not venture out to Palm beach via the L90 bus, the home of Home and Away. ( I wrote about this day out in another post on my blog). You might even get to meet some of the cast like I did.
As we stayed on Castlereagh Street in inner Sydney we didn't really tend to venture that far on nights out and being typically Irish used nearly always stick to the Irish pubs, O'Malley's in Kings Cross, Maloney's and the famous Sunday spot Scruffy Murphy's. The Cock'n Bull in Bondi Junction was also hit a few times. You're a dead cert to meet someone from home in here.
Whilst in Sydney I was delighted to get to see Kodaline live in The Metro on George Street. Kodaline were like the sound track to our travel experience so it seemed fitting that we got to see them live before we headed home. I also got to run the Sydney Morning Herald Half Marathon, a tough course with lots of hills and the Darkness to Light 5k run in Bondi beach in aid of Pieta House. Both events superbly organised.

Last night in Sydney

We were all gearing up to do the east coast trip on the 8th of August, for me however this was not to be. I was not due to to return to Ireland until October 1st however someone very special to me wasn't well in England so I decided it would be best for me to return and spend the rest of the time he had left with him and the family there. The east coast would always be there. I made the decision on the Monday and I booked a flight to Perth for Thursday morning to see some of my friends before jetting back to the northern hemisphere. On the Wednesday night we had drinks downstairs in Stratton's. This was one emotional night for me. I cried and cried and to be fair it takes a lot to make me cry. These people obviously were and still are very important to me. I was leaving my oz family. People who had been so good to me for the four months I was there and made me feel so welcome. People I had never met before and some whom I had shared a room with for four months. They will always have a special place in my heart. There are too many of them to name but you all know who you are and thank you so much for everything. I am looking forward to seeing most of you in Ireland in December. Bring on the sesh!!
With an extremely heavy heart I said goodbye to my Sydney family, life long friends who I am so grateful I had the chance to meet. Suzanne and Amanda walked me to the train station. Through big, sore, watery eyes I waved back at them and made my way to Sydney airport. I was off to see a few old faces in Perth. Bye bye Sydney thanks for the memories.

xoxo