Ah, Australia, Australia, Australia! What a fine place! How I've missed you.

No sooner had we touched down in Sydney's Kingsford Smith airport than an irrepressible grin started to spread across my face at the thought of where I was and what awaited me here. The friendliness of the natives made itself apparent even BEFORE I'd cleared immigration. In fact, I was barely off the plane when customs officials made us line up in single file so they could pass the sniffer dogs along us. It was the affable cry of "Good Boy!" that one of the handlers let out as his hound reached the end of the queue that started my grin. Then the guy whose job it was to tell people which passport control queue to queue in was warm & humorous. The guy at the desk who checked my passport was friendly too. Even the people scanning the luggage were chatty.

So it was no surprise to me at all that the lady who sold me my first Aussie coffee was a hilarious, cheeky chatterbox. And so it went on: the super smiley guy at the Vodafone counter who actually told me the truth about it being cheaper to buy a SIM card in the supermarket, the random guy in the lift down to the trains, the lady behind the train ticket counter, the guy in Kings Cross station who I asked for directions. They were all SO cheerful! And not in that American, seemingly forced way either. I was reminded again and again how genuine Australians' niceness really is.

So anyway, after changing out of my skanky travel clothes at the airport I caught a train into Kings Cross and headed on foot downhill to Woolloomooloo. There I waited in a small park (okay I slept for a bit under a huge gum tree) for Johannes to come home and let me in. As it turns out, I ended up staying with his friend Alan who lives in the same building. That way I could have a room of my own, rather than crashing on the living room floor.

I lad lunch with Johannes at a place up the hill in Potts Point, where we had a super friendly waiter called Stefano. Next I bought a SIM card and contacted everyone I know in Australia to give them my new number, then went back to Alan's to settle in (okay I slept a bit more - well I was a bit jetlagged). That evening I took a taxi with Johannes (with a super friendly driver) to a pub in the south of the city and had a beer with him there (with a super friendly waitress). Then we went to a tiny theatre round the corner (where I met a super friendly South African) to watch a production of As You Like It. We finished our evening with a drink & gelato and then caught the train home.

On Wednesday I had an early start to meet Kate at Circular Quay. I walked across the Botanic Gardens to get there and was amazed first by all the bloody flies and then by all the swallows that were swooping around at knee-height eating said flies hurrah! My meeting with Kate was one of those ones where you're so busy looking everywhere find the person you're meeting that you totally don't see them when they creep up on you!

We walked around to the Marriott hotel on the waterfront for brekky, sharing a delicious portion of eggs benedict (ah! I haven't had them since the last time I was in Oz, I think!). Then we wandered around the city, catching up on all our gossip. I ended up doing all sorts of shopping: for a new camera case in a Crumpler store, for an Aussie Akubra hat in the QVC (okay I didn't actually buy it), for shorts & a cap in the Haymarket.

We had a delicious noodle lunch at my all-time favourite noodle bar near Haymarket. Oh what joy it was to be there again!!!! After the huge food we were super full, so we waddled to the nearby Pumphouse pub for a posh drink, then strolled through Darling Harbour and on into town. We bid each other farewell at Hyde Park, whence I walked down the hill to Woolloomooloo. That evening I had a German dinner at Maggie's with Johannes and Alan and their friends Robert, Mark & Tony. We followed this up with gelato in Potts Point and then headed home.

Thursday was a bit of a housekeepingy nothingy day, with lots of emailing etc. (Yes folks, that's the last time I updated my blog.) I had dinner that evening at Johannes' place with his houseguest Suzanne and his friend Mark who I'd met the night before. Johannes cooked a lovely risotto and we talked about all sorts. It was great! After dinner Mark, Johannes & I headed up the hill to grab some more amazing gelato, and on our long meandering walk back to Woolloomooloo we visited the flat where the latest series of a cult Australian drama programme is being filmed. Mark is the props manager for the filming, so the overnight security guard recognised him and let us in for a look around.

On Friday I did the long walk all the way round Mrs Macquarie's Chair to Circular Quay, then caught a ferry to Parramatta to see what all the fuss is about. (Parramatta doesn't have a very good press amongst Sydneysiders who live in more salubrious parts of the city.) The ferry journey was delightful, taking me from the hustle & bustle of Circular Quay under the famous Sydney Harbour Bridge and then along past all the posh waterfront housing. I was surprised when we started sailing through mangroves, having forgotten how warm Sydney really is.

When we reached Parramatta I walked along a jacaranda-lined path into town and then visited Old Government House, the first seat of the leader of the original colony of New South Wales. To be honest, there's really bugger all else in Parramatta except cheesy dollar shops and scary-looking people, so I took a train back to Sydney and comforted myself with bubble tea in a Chinese place near the station.

I spent the rest of the afternoon just walking all over town. And then, just as I reached home, I saw Johannes & Suzanne leaving together so I caught up with them to ask where they were off to. It turns out that for a short time only there's an art trail through all the little back lanes in the CBD, with art installations at strategic points to make you reconsider your relationship with the city. Thankfully, there's an arty-alternative bar at the last installation where you can grab some arty -alternative cocktails (served in jam jars) and consider the walk.

I had walked past a Japanese noodle bar that caught my fancy, so I headed there for dinner after the walk, then met up with Johannes to go for a few drinks on Oxford Street that evening. We caught up with his friends Robert, Richard & Peter, had a few beers, then walked home.

And so I came very quickly to my last day in Sydney. I just about had time to pack my bags and have a quick breakfast up the hill (at Stefano's place) with Johannes, Suzanne & Mark, and then it was time for me to catch the train back to the airport. Destination: Melbourne!