Darwin - Part 2

Well, it’s been over three weeks since I arrived in Darwin, so I thought it was time to write another post. So much has happened (all good things, so don’t worry) since my arrival that I don’t know where to start. I guess the most important things that have happened are the following:

The apartment.

Since the first moment I walked into the apartment I immediately loved it.  It is slick, modern and I guess brand new. The kitchen is high tech, and there’s a spacious dining/living room attached to it that has a massive plasma TV. Our room has a nice big bed, with a beautiful view and another big plasma screen TV. We also have our own (massive) bathroom with a tub. Always comes in handy if you’re me. Keiran and Louisa are in the Master bedroom, which is slightly bigger than ours, whith a walk-in closet and an attached bathroom. But my favorite part is the terrasse. Its massive, with an incredible view over Darwin, surrounded by ocean view.

Dinner at Ollie and JT’s.

This was, after meeting Keiran and Louise, my first encounter with two of George’s friends: JT and Ollie. Both military, living in a modern apartement about a 10 minute walk from our place. They were so kind to cook for us that evening. The menu: pears with jamon Serrano for starters, and pasta for our main course. Absolutely splendid. I like them instantly. There both warm and welcoming and make me feel as part of the group right away. Ollie, however, is very dear to my heart. He reminds me off Mathis, both in appearance as in spirit. He enjoys life with the joy of a child, so pure and true. It’s absolutely intoxicating. So after a great dinner and listening to 20’s music and a whole lot of laughs, we can definitely say it was an awesome night.

Trivia night at Shennanigan’s.

Aha, trivia night… Apparently is on every Thursday in one of Mitchel St.’s Pubs called Shennanigan’s. Is a typical Irish pub where everyone gathers in teams to play trivia. This is my second encounter with George’s friends. I meet Kara and Dove for the first time. They’re great, and one of our best friends here in Darwin. I also meet George number 2, who also works with my George back at Robertson Barracks and who’s recently been promoted to captain. JT also decided to join. We have dinner and drinks, play some trivia, loose (LOL) and overall have a great night.

BBQ on the terrasse – Meeting George’s friends.

First dinner party hosted by me and Georges… Hmmm, this could get interesting… I ask George who is coming and the numbers just keep on coming. In total it's going to be maybe about 20 people and my heart stops. Wow... At 7pm people start heading in. I meet Eboney, George number 2's fiancee, Tam, Mel, H etc etc... Mel is so kind to bring us dessert: Pavlova. An all Australian pie with fruit that is absolutely delicious. Beer, meet and laughs... Great night in! Afterwards to boys decide to take the party outside and decide to go clubbing. I decide to stay in though, the bed all to myself... NICE! hihii

Finding a Job – Quitting the job.

So far, the job hunting was not as successful as I had hoped. The job market in Darwin for Backpackers is apparently not as big as in other parts of the country, so I only manage to find a job at a Party Tour Company called 'Plan B'. They hire me on the spot and explain to me that the jobs consists in basically selling tickets for their pub crawl. Unfortunately, the pay is based on commission only. At first, the job was fun, I got to meet a girl called Kara who does the rounds with me. First day we work for an hour and sell 4 tickets each, at 10 dollars each, an easy earned 40 bucks, and we get to choose where and when we decide to work. Not bad at all. That night, on request of my boss, George and I go on the company's party tour. Not as much fun as expected, but we make it work. A couple of awkward games, a few drinks and two karaoke songs later we decide to head back home.

Unfortunately, things become worse. Our second day of work isn't even half as lucrative as the day before and we only get to sell one tickets each. Which means 10 bucks for about 4 hours of work. SO NOT WORTH IT! However, I decide not to give up and accept the idea that not every day can be a good sales day. However, a new team administrator has come to town. Thats where it goes down hill, fast... She decides we need a rooster and then informs us we are going to have to work 2 shifts a day, 5 days a week, a total of minimum 8 hours a day, based on commission only! But thats not all... She is also goingt o tell us where we have to stand in order to sell our tickets. This means that sometimes you'll get a bad spot and wont sell, so basically 8 hours of work with nothing to show for it! NO WAY!!! But still I try to keep my calm and give it a shot.  Coincidence has it, the next day I have my shift in front of the hostel with this new manager. SHe is rude, steels all my potential customers and is more then condescending. I HAVE HAD IT! So I quit.

Work Function at Deck Bar.

My first night out on the town with George's friends from work. Deck bar is one of the many pubs Darwin has to offer, an one of the nicest in fact. Food was served, drinks were pored and after meeting H's lovely friend Emily, we decided to head out for Monsoons, one of Mitchell St's clubs. Lots of dancing, lots of drinks and lots of fun.

Litchfield + Thailicious + The Dark Night Rises

My first encounter with NT nature... Finally we are going to see was Australia's nature has to offer. We head out to Jason and Sara's place in order to get ready for the BBQ. After a quick stop at JT's house, we head of for Litchfield. During the 2 hour drive a get a taste of NT nature: mango trees, open forest and much more. It really is beautiful and really different from what we are used to in Europe. Then we arrive to our destination: the most beautiful waterfall I've ever seen! So we go for a swim, take some pictures and then decide to start the BBQ. At around this time Dove and Kara join us. Unfortunately, Jason, JT and Sara take off early as they need to collect someone from the airport. Kara, Dove, George and I stay behind to enjoy the scenery a bit more before heading off to the waterpools. 

We decide to not call it a day, and go and see 'The Dark Night Rises' at the local cinema. Kara suggests having dinner at Thailicious first. Its a great local Thai restaurant on Mitchell street, and the food is amazing. Then the movie, although it is waaaay to cold, it is a great movie, that meets all my expectations. 

The NT Officers Ball

The night we have all been waiting for... I must say I'm nervous, excited, even though I got the dress, the neckless, the earrings and the shoes. I want to look perfecto for George in order to be his eye-candy! I get ready and don't let George into the bathroom when I get ready. Before we leave for the party, Kara and Dove have invited us to have a first drink at her mother's bungalow near the sea. The girls are getting ready inside, the boys having beers on the terras. Then the taxis arrive. Yes, this is it! We drive about 5 mins to Larrakeyah Barracks and go through security. OMG. Where to begin... Everyone is dressed up in beautiful gowns, tuxedos or there formal uniform. I feel like a princess...The venue is soooo elegant. At least 50 elegantly decorated tables with candles, flower centre pieces and white linnen. Beautiful lighting above it and a colonial building in the background (the Officer's Mess), a black and white dance floor that reminds me of a giant chess board and a life band in front of it. There must be at least 400 people here... At our table sits JT and friend, Jason and Sara, George and Eboney and George and I. The food is amazing. The selection includes oysters, shrimps and sooo much more that I can't even remember! Free drinks the entire night too! And the desserts. OMG the desserts... Includes everything from chocolate cake, to fruit, to cheesecake to other delicious things I have never seen before but can't stop eating!

I meet great people, have great food, have a LOT of drinks, dance with my baby, and have, in a nutshell, a night Ill never forget. By the end of the night Eboney and I 'steel' our boyfriends uniform coats, take off our shoes and decide the taxies take too long, so we convince both our Georges to start walking home. Luckily, about 5 mins later a taxi drives by and we head home. Oh yes, this is of course after taking with us a couple of left over bottles of wine... Which we enjoy for the next couple of days...

Darwin - Part 1

Yep, it's real...George is lying next to me... I wake up and I still have trouble believing I'm actually here, in Darwin, in my boyfriends bed....We wake up at about 10 am and decide to have some brekky. Keiran has left us some pancakes. YUMMY! Thank you Keiran! We decide to go all the way: Sirope AND ice cream. Is there any better way of waking up? We decide to have our breakfast on the terras while enjoying the amazing (ocean view included). Beautiful. George decides it is keen for me to start watching a certain series called "True Blood' cos' he believes it will be right up my alley. Of course, he's right. Afterwards we head off to do some grocery shopping. After a week with Jess, I decide to give vegetarian food another go. We take the bags upstairs, and leave for Mindle Beach.

OMG! This is why I've always wanted to come to Australia... The market reminds me a little of Ibiza. It has nice music, hippy stands, all kinds of food and right behind it, hidden behind the palmtrees is the beach, known for it's sunset. George takes me by the hand and we walk towards the water. Hmmmm, no crocs? It's beautiful and incredibly romantic standing there with our feet in the ocean. After a bit of a stroll through the different market stalls (and finding the PERFECT necklace for the Ball on the 10th of August) we decide on Thai food. We each get a large portion and take it to the beach where we lye down in the dunes amongst the other people and we enjoy the beautiful sunset. So beautiful, in fact, everybody aplaudes after the sun finally disappears into the ocean...

(photos will be posted later ;))

Last day in Sydney: Manly Beach + Botanic Gardens

It's Friday, and tomorrow I leave... Bittersweet I must say. The weather is lovely today and thank God cos' me and Jess decided to meet up in Central Quay with Tristan and take the Ferry to Manly. As the Ferry leaves Sydney Harbour we get the most spectacular view of Sydney. We pass the Opera House and that beautiful bridge I love, also getting a nice view of Central Sydney. After about 25 minutes we arrive at Manly. It's a sweet little place with a bunch of very cute shops. We head off towards Manly beach where many people are enjoying the beach and even a bunch of surfers are enjoying the waves in their wetsuits. After we walk around for a bit and enjoy the view we head towards the supermarket to buy some lunch. We head back in the ferry towards Sydney and go straight to the botanic gardens. This is a first for me as we were waiting for a nice day to properly enjoy the place. With the Sydney Opera house on the one side, and the sea on the other we have our hummus and bread with some lettuce and dried....something, something... delicious. Jess has to leave early for work, so Tristan and I take a stroll in the botanic gardens by ourself. It really is pretty amazing... Afterwards we go to the Opera House to get a view of the inside, but unfortunately, it is only reserved for tours. Too bad. We head back to the tube station and I say goodbye to Tristan, whom I'm probably not seeing again before I leave.

 Gary, Jess's dad, is so kind to pick me up at Pennant Hills. He's great and very chatty, like me! so no awkward silences on the way home. As we arrive home he suddenly stops the car: What if we stop by the shop first and get some beers, what d;ya think? Sounds good to me! So I have my first taste of Australian beers. Taahoo? Tahaa? Oh no, Toohey's That's the one! LOL. We sit on the terras and have a bid of a laugh until Julie, Jess's mum, get's whom, who I help getting dinner ready. We have some cheese and biscuits, traditional at the Kirckness House, and feel a bit guilty of filling up on them as Jess is throwing a dinner tonight. I go to my room for a little lye down, and when I wake up, everyone is already there: Jess, Kit, Saartje and Andy. Saartje I havent met yet. She's from Belgium, Leuven in particular, and is now studying in Sydney and planning to stay there.

After another one of Jess's delicious meals and another fun night in with the gang, Andy offers me to take me to the airport tomorrow. My hero! And I can't thank him enough, as both my bags are broken (so it would be horrible to carry them around up and down the train) and I'm not too familiar with the tube going to the airport, and if I loose my flight to Darwin I might go insane. Half an hour later the gang goes homes and we say our sad goodbye's...

The next day I wake up and get ready for the big day: Im going to Darwin! GOd...I'm getting nervous already! Chill down woman! As is traditional, we go to Granny's and Grandpa's place for breakfast. They are as sweet and generous as always. I've really started loving this couple! We watch a little of the Olympics and have a bit of a chat before we leave. We say goodbye with a big hug and hopes of seeing each other again soon. This counts for Jess's Mum and Das as well. And of course Turbo, the Dog! Thank you all for your kindness and generosity, you have really made me feel at home...Saartje, Jess and I drive to Andy's house where he's waiting to take me to the airport. It's about an hour drive and I'm nervous all the way, paranoid about arriving there to late while, frankly, there is no need to. Ones we arrive we say our goodbyes and Jess accompanies me too the Jetstar checking point in order to helo me with my bags. Of course, it's a bitter sweet goodbye, but as she is going to try to come to the northern territory in a couple of weeks, the blow isn't that hard. Love you Jess! And thank you for everything!