So the last three days in Sydney were such a whirlwind, I didn't get a chance to post anything while I was there! I'm gonna do my best to remember what happened back then- I've had a pretty full on* week of work back in Melbourne.
*"full on" = Australian for intense
Day 3:
Took a nice walk in the morning down to the Sydney Botanical Gardens, which actually had the most incredible view I've ever experienced. The Sydney Harbour has to be one of the most beautiful spots in the world. Here are a couple of pics from that morning:
On my way out of the botanical gardens I bumped into another German backpacker (who took that photo of me). Apparently he had visited Canada! Well Winnipeg to be precise... we had a lovely discussion about how wonderfully exciting the prairies are.
After the botanical gardens I took a walk across the Sydney Harbour Bridge... which is surprisingly long- over 1km! I took my time, took some photos and enjoyed a nice view of the city from North Sydney on the other side of the bridge. Another feature of North Sydney is the amusement park- Luna Park... I was very frightened by the entrance- it's certainly nightmare inducing...
Luna Park was closed on that day, but the entrance was still open, so naturally I walked through it anyways... I was the only person in the park at the time... I was sure some clowns would pop out of nowhere and try and kill me...
After that frightening experience, I hopped on a train back home and hung out on the roof of the hostel, which also had a pretty incredible view. Michael (my German friend) intro'd me to his German crew which he had just met at the hostel... and we sat around a picnic table making fun of each others countries until somebody had a great idea to switch the radio station to classic rock... So I spent the night bonding with a bunch of Germans in Australia belting out Born in the USA =)
Day 4!
Took a free walking tour of Sydney in the morning with Michael, though we got caught in some pouring rain... it actually rained every single day I was in Sydney, I'm pretty sure the trip was kinda cursed... Anywho, the walking tour was a lot of fun and really informative, we got to see the city from the eyes of a real Sydneysider! and yes, that is what they call people from Sydney...
Michael was a soccer star back in Germany, quite a tall dude actually!
In the afternoon I checked out Sydney's Chinatown, but it wasn't nearly as cool as the one in Melbourne. They did have a bit of an interesting market area called Paddington (Paddy's) Market, but again, it wasn't as cool as Victoria Market (its rival) in Melbourne.
In the evening I went to go see a show at the Sydney Opera House. It was a play about a marriage that was broken up by a charming young lady. Very good acting; the only problem I had was when I got to the Opera House, my seat was double booked and they bounced me around to about 3 different seats before finally making me sit in the back... I got shafted by the Opera House! *not cool*- again a sign that my trip was cursed...
Day 5!
So the day before on the walking tour the guide told us to go see the Sydney Fish Market Auctions which happen every day at 5:30am... obligingly, Michael and I were up at that ungodly hour to go see the second largest fish market in the world... unfortunately we didn't hear that the auctions only happen Monday-Friday... and it was a Saturday... so we woke up early and walked halfway across the city for nothing *cursed!* anyways, I got a couple of nice shots of Sydney at dawn:
After that little incident we headed back to the hostel since it started to pour again... and ventured out again in the afternoon to check out the art festival that was going on in Sydney at the time... it was a bit like Nuit Blanche with fun and interesting art projects all over the city, except it was spread out over 2 weeks instead of one night.
One of the spots that the festival was being held at was Cockatoo Island which was only accessible by ferry... so we took the ferry over and checked out some wicked art!
I left the island early so I could check out the Contemporary Art Gallery back in the city before it closed... and guess what... as soon as the ferry left the dock it started pouring again! Though this time it was totally worth it... there was a beautiful double rainbow over the Harbour and I was once again treated to one of the most incredible views I've ever experienced:
That evening I went to the best place for pie in Sydney, but there was a super long line. I decided to stick it out anyways, and that was the best decision I made all trip. This big bouncer-looking dude comes out of his fancy car and hands me a $5 bill and says "I'll give you five bucks to hold a spot in line for me while I wait in my car". I told him to keep his money and I'd hold it for him anyways, but he stuffed the bill in my pocket, so I wasn't going to say no. Anywho, I waved him over when I got to the front of the line and he asked what I was going to order and bought my dinner for me! I think all that bad karma from everything that had happened on the trip up to that point came back as free pie and five dollars =)
Well that was pretty much the extent of my trip to Sydney, I did check out a pretty sweet cafe that night and spent a few hours writing. Other then that, just packing and making sure I made my flight on time! Hopefully I haven't bored you all with the longest post of life... stay tuned for more in the next few weeks! (probably not much until next week though- got a full week of work coming up again!)
Cheerio!
Hakim
