We arrived in Sydney yesterday morning at 8:00 a.m. after a lovely 15-hour flight from L.A. Upon our arrival we took a subway to an area called Redfern and then walked about 20 minutes to the University of Sydney where we are staying for the week. Once there we checked in and received our room keys, unpacked, and then went out for a little walk. Andrew, Reel, and I went to a little cafe and got an awesome fococcia sandwich.
Next we went with the entire group to Sydney Harbor to see the Opera House and the Harbor Bridge. While walking around the Harbor Bridge area we came across a street performer that was doing body contortions. So, naturally we decided to stick around and watch. After watching her move her body into what looked like the most uncomfortable positions I have ever seen, I decided that I didn't want to pursue a career in being a contortionist (It probably wouldn't help that I am not flexible anyways).
Next, we went to the botanical gardens. One of the coolest things so far about being in Australia has been seeing all of the plants and animals. What would most likely seem mundane to a native in Sydney is absolutely mesmerizing to me. Every tree, plant, bird, and animal appears to be from a zoo to me. For example, in almost every tree there is a completely different species of bird or bat. Yes I said bats, they are huge. So huge that they look like flying foxes. In fact, I think that is what they are called. This pictures shows one such tree full of bats. In another tree there were cockatoos making all kinds of racquet. Although they are beautiful with their all white bodies and tall yellow head feathers, they can be a little obnoxious with all of the noise that they make. From the gardens we could also look out into Sydney harbor. The water is a bright greenish blue and the scenery is unbelievable.
We then made our way to a mall to get our sim cards for our phones. This mall was unlike any mall I had ever seen. It had both indoor and outdoor areas with street performers all over the outside parts and every type of store you could ever think of. Next we went to a restaurant called Star Bar for dinner. It was a reasonably priced establishment with good hot food and cold beer. The catch here was that the food was cheaper if you ordered a drink as well. At this point, we were all getting delirious and could not wait to return to our rooms to get some sleep. As soon as I got home I hit the sack and was asleep in about 30 seconds. It was a great first day in Sydney and I am looking forward to seeing more of this awesome place.
Day 2
I woke up today at about 6:45 a.m. feeling surprisingly well rested. We started off our day by visiting the Harbor Bridge. This engineering marvel is one of the world’s greatest bridges spanning over Sydney Harbor. Inside of one of the pillars of the bridge is a museum dedicated to the building of the bridge and a viewing area that allows you to obtain a vantage point that is only rivaled by the top of the bridge itself. Climbing the bridge, however, is also an option for any tourist willing to dole out $300. Once we were on top of the pillar we could see for miles. Sydney truly is one of the world’s most beautiful cities (in my humble untraveled opinion).
After the bridge we went to the Museum of Sydney. This museum wasn’t very special and for some reason the ladies that worked there weren’t very nice. The most unique part about the museum was that in the lobby part of the floor was left open and covered with glass to show an archaeological site of what was underneath the building. It was fascinating to see that the museum was built on top of the site of an old print shop dating back to the 1800’s. Another interesting part of the museum was the history of Australian surfing exhibit. Here they had surf boards from the 1950’s to the present as well as a documentary and my personal favorite, a children’s craft. This craft was to build a cardboard surfer, so naturally I had to do it. After I built my surfer I placed him on this fake wave. The result was a really cool picture.
This concluded our activities for the day and we were then free to see the city on our own. The first order of business though was to get something to eat. After a not so filling breakfast of cereal, milk, and coffee at the university I was famished. After asking someone at the museum where we could get some really good food we decided to head to Pancakes on the Rocks. When we got there it was hopping so I knew it was going to be good. I ordered the Ausie sunrise breakfast which consisted of two pancakes, fried bananas and pineapple, an egg, and the best bacon I have ever had. In the book we had to read the author says that the bacon in Australia is incredible and I agree. It is thick and resembles sliced ham more so than bacon but has the smokey bacon flavor that everybody loves.
After this awesome meal Reel, Stuart, Matt and myself went in search of a small, lightweight, and cheap bag or backpack that we could use to carry all of our stuff each day. We all underestimated the amount of walking that we would do each day and decided that we needed something small to carry our stuff. After a couple hours of searching we found a $26 packable backpack that fulfilled all of our requirements. It was a huge success. We then came back to finish up all of our papers and get some dinner. Our dinner choice of a Chinese restaurant named Bling Bling Dumpling was less than appetizing, so I don’t feel the need to go into much detail about it.
I hope y’all have enjoyed reading about my first two days here as I have enjoyed being here. I look forward to a great rest of the trip and I can’t wait to tell all of you about all of the adventures that come about.
No comments:
Post a Comment