We've been in Sydney now for just over 3 weeks and I'm glad to say that things are finally beginning to settle down a bit.
We finally arrived in the early hours of Monday 28 July, tired and exhausted. A 45 minute taxi drive took us to Liverpool hospital which is where Jen will be working. We had previously arranged to stay at the hospital residences as a temporary measure until we found a flat. After a lengthy conversation with the nice lady at reception, we had our keys to the 'penthouse'...
The last words the lady at reception said before we set off with our suitcases was "it's not the Hilton". I never knew the Australians were the masters of understatement. The residences are conveniently situated next to one of the main railway lines into Sydney city centre. It was also in the middle of a construction site. Nice.
Glaswegians are a hardy people and I've seen many sites like this around the east end of Glasgow :-) so I was determined not to let this bother me. What did bother me was the dead cockroach in the bath which confronted me! It must have been at least 3 feet long. A brute of a beast.
After 2 long weeks in hospital residences, we finally made some headway by purchasing a car and finding a brilliant little flat. Our new wheels is an old Toyota Camry (1989 model!). Getting into 3rd gear can be 'difficult' sometimes but at least it has personality. The flat is an amazing find. Actually finding a flat was one of the most difficult things due to the current conditions of the rental market.
I'm happy to say that the wait was worth it, the new flat is over at Bondi and is a 10 minute walk from Bondi Beach. It's situated just off Bondi Road which has loads of fabulous little cafes and restaurants. Getting into the centre of Sydney is easy too as we're only 15 minutes away from the nearest train station. However, the view from the flat is my favourite bit... We're on the top floor of the building and we have a little veranda which we can sit out and watch the sunrise and sunset. You can also see the beach from the window - handy for checking the surf!
The past week or so has seen us busy with furnishing the flat with essentials - TV, Internet, sofa etc. It's a relief to finally see the flat with the things that you take for granted!
No news to report on the job front for me. My CV is with 4 different recruitment agencies who are working on the case. I will hopefully have something more positive to report in the coming week.
We have also just very recently had the visa cleared, another massive relief. This will actually enable us both to (legally!) work in Australia now. In fact, Jen is preparing for her first shift now as I type this post! Eeeeek!
Must go for now, need some breakfast!
Roddy & Jen
xxx
