The second part to Flying to my first ship from the Steiner Training Academy
After collapsing in Hannah’s bunk and sleeping for longer than planned, I finally woke up at 11.30am. I felt absolutely disgusting as I hadn’t had a shower for the equivalent of 3 days.
After showering and trying to cover the dark circles by shovelling on concealer, we ventured out into Sydney.
We walked straight to the train station to go to Circular Keys, waited on the platform for a while until a double-decker train pulled into the station. This was the first time ever seeing a double-decker train, I gawped at it as if some alien spaceship had just pulled in.
The train is underground so when arriving at our stop we rushed up the stairs to find the most magnificent view. The stunning skyscrapers and houses that surround the blue water. Not to mention The Sydney Harbour Bridge, The Opera House and the enormous cruise ship that was in the harbour. To this day I will never forget the overwhelming sense of joy and excitement I felt when emerging from the station.
We ate at the first place we saw which was called City Extra. We sat outside so we could people watch whilst we stuffed our faces in the sunshine. The food was like nothing I’d ever tasted. So flavourful! And the coffee! wow. I don’t know whether the buzz I felt for the rest of the day was from the excitement or the coffee.
We took a walk toward the Carnival cruise ship docked in the harbour. I walked alongside it and couldn’t get over the sheer size of it! Just the thought that tomorrow I would be embarking on one of these monstrous things!
We walked to the edge of the harbour and sat with our legs dangling over the water. it was nice to just sit in silence for a while, taking it all in. The jet skis and yachts splashed us lightly with water as they zoomed past.
Before going to Australia, it had never really called me but that all changed on this day. I absolutely fell in love with the city.
We stayed in Circular Keys all day. The day was spent walking around the opera house, by the bridge, and mooching around the colourful market that was on. One of the swanky bars caught our eye so we had a few cocktails while watching the carnival cruise ship pull out of the harbour. I got a little emotional watching this. I used the linen napkin to wipe away the tears which also took off my concealer to reveal the even darker circles than before.
We made our way to China town and had a fabulous meal to end the day and I went straight back to my hotel after dinner. I wanted to stay out and explore some more but I knew I had a big day ahead and really needed some sleep.
This day was such a mixture of emotions. I was excited to be in Sydney with my friend, I was nervous about starting my new job at sea, I was sad about leaving my family and most of all I was tired. Oh so very tired.
