The couple of weeks leading up to me going away to Sydney were two of the busiest, non-stop weeks or rushing around and not having enough time for anything I've had in a long time ^_^' It would've been exactly the same if I had been able to attend the London Expo or Fuyucon lol, but with less last minute cosplay preparation, and more last minute suitcase packing. I've never felt so disorganised lol but eventually I had everything packed, everything printed, everything sorted at work and everything ready to go!

So three weeks in Australia has begun! I'm so excited to be back here, I didn't realise how much I had missed it until coming into land again and seeing the city sprawled out below ^_^ It's wonderful to be back, and 30 hours of travelling from gloomy Stafford to sunny Sydney was completely worth it! Even if by the end of the first day here I literally passed out the moment my head hit the pillow that night lol

I'm here with my best friend Kim And it was really great to have some company on the plane over, and to be able to show someone close to me around the country that I'm falling in love with all over again now I'm back. We stopped off in Dubai and Bangkok on the way here, and arrived at 8:40am local time Saturday morning so had a whole day to get through before we could finally get some sleep lol. So we caught the train into Sydney and showed Kim some of the sights, the Opera House, the Harbour Bridge, the Rocks market..it felt like I hadn't been away! That night we had a barby on the balcony, and the next morning we had a full English/Australia breakfast on the barby! hehe outdoor cooking beats traditional indoor cooking every time

So yesterday we drove off to the Blue Mountains, but it was a complete different experience to my last visit! We went to Katoomba to see the Three Sisters (incredible rock formation with Aboriginal mythology associated with it), or, we would have seen it if the clouds hadn't been so low so that they swirled in a white mist around our feet and the weather hadn't been quite so damp. We looked out over the vantage point to see absolutely nothing but white, everywhere white..because we were literally high enough to be in the middle of a cloud lol. What should have been a sprawling mass of rainforest far down below, stretching off to the mountain peaks in the distance, was just..white, everywhere lol it was eerie but fascinating! We took a trip down into the rainforest then, where it poured with rain lol but then I suppose the clue is in the name, right? XD But the cloud began to lift then and the Three Sisters came into view from out of the mist and that was quite a sight to see ^_^

We drove back to Blacktown to visit the Featherdale Wildlife Park, home to purely australian animals with kangaroos and wallaby's that hop around freely and allow you to pet them And koala's too! Which you can also stroke (they're just like giant teddys with the thickest, wooliest fur lol), and I held an Olive Python for a bit while Kim kept her distance and looked at me like I was crazy as she REALLY doesn't like snakes lol Also saw an old friend I made while visiting the park last time, the cutest little Tazmanian Devil you could ever meet

I was absolutely exhausted last night, everything just suddenly caught up with me and I crashed out in bed at 8pm lol. Woke up at 5am and dozed until 7. I'm hoping this sleeping pattern changes in a few days and I can actually think of myself as having a lie in while I'm off work for a change lol

So that's it for now! Just wanted to say to all my friends back at home that I've missed you loads while you've been away at Fuyucon/Expo! Particularly been thinking of my crew Random Accent, *sjbonnar, *Aliasdotcom, *Leadmill, *wings-of-crimson and *death-may-die! I hope you've all had an amazing time ^_^ I've really missed not being able to cosplay, and have so much planned for 2010 that I just can't wait to get started!

Also wanted to give a shout out to =FullMetalWing! I had an amazing time in Gloucester with her a couple of weeks before coming away, and she looked absolutely stunning in a dress when we went out for a meal for her birthday! She swore I'd never see her in a dress lol, but she looked lovely and should wear one more often We also sat watching Advent Children complete in full HD on her new PS3, followed by mischief and fun as 'casual' Cloud and Zack Pictures of which I've got with me on my external HD and hope to put up soon too

Much love and many hugs to everyone!

And if I have your address, postcards and things should be in the post soon