"G'day mate, lets put another shrimp on the barbie!" 10 cool points go to anybody who can get this movie reference!!!
Finally made it to Sydney, Australia. So happy to be here! No more struggles with the langage barrier, no more being conned etc. The only downside I have encountered is how stupidly expensive it is. I have heard many travellers groan about how expensive it is but I thought it was because they were the bum hippy types that begrudg spending $3 on a decent toothpaste. No. I was wrong to judge. It is ridiculously expensive if you are not working whilst there- which I am not. However, other than that, Sydney is amazing.
We arrived at our hostel which was located on George St, opposite the 'Three Monkey's' pub so excellent location, awful for noise. It was here that I had my first experience of an 18 bed dormitory. I died a little bit inside, my soul wept for the lifestyle I am accustomed too and I felt I was more and more slipping into a real 'traveller' role. I was determined to stick it out, despite a mini heatwave occuring (in Australia that really is something!) and the room not so much having a fan, nevermind air-conditioning, the kitchen having cockroaches, no internet in the rooms, blood stains on the mattress above me, stains on the carpet etc etc. I did stick it out, for which I think I deserve some kind of medal, especially after sharing with some very annoying Europeans who kept turning the lights out whilst I was reading. Anyway, back to the events of Sydney.
We really explored Sydney! Our first point was Darling Harbour as it was only a short walk away and we were tired. It was really pretty. There you can find a whole number of things to do, bars to go to, restaurants etc, however we just ate at the hostel generally due to trying to keep prices down! We went for night time strolls and during the day we went to the aquarium and wildlife center, not to mention the 'British Lolly Shop' where you pay 3 times the price as you would in England! We had a little treat each though to remind us of home (I opted for cinder toffee, worcestershire sauce crisps and parma violets which I made last).
Finally made it to Sydney, Australia. So happy to be here! No more struggles with the langage barrier, no more being conned etc. The only downside I have encountered is how stupidly expensive it is. I have heard many travellers groan about how expensive it is but I thought it was because they were the bum hippy types that begrudg spending $3 on a decent toothpaste. No. I was wrong to judge. It is ridiculously expensive if you are not working whilst there- which I am not. However, other than that, Sydney is amazing.
We arrived at our hostel which was located on George St, opposite the 'Three Monkey's' pub so excellent location, awful for noise. It was here that I had my first experience of an 18 bed dormitory. I died a little bit inside, my soul wept for the lifestyle I am accustomed too and I felt I was more and more slipping into a real 'traveller' role. I was determined to stick it out, despite a mini heatwave occuring (in Australia that really is something!) and the room not so much having a fan, nevermind air-conditioning, the kitchen having cockroaches, no internet in the rooms, blood stains on the mattress above me, stains on the carpet etc etc. I did stick it out, for which I think I deserve some kind of medal, especially after sharing with some very annoying Europeans who kept turning the lights out whilst I was reading. Anyway, back to the events of Sydney.
We really explored Sydney! Our first point was Darling Harbour as it was only a short walk away and we were tired. It was really pretty. There you can find a whole number of things to do, bars to go to, restaurants etc, however we just ate at the hostel generally due to trying to keep prices down! We went for night time strolls and during the day we went to the aquarium and wildlife center, not to mention the 'British Lolly Shop' where you pay 3 times the price as you would in England! We had a little treat each though to remind us of home (I opted for cinder toffee, worcestershire sauce crisps and parma violets which I made last).
Darling Harbour
A little sweet taste of home
JELLYFISH!!
Lots of fish
Shark
Snoozing Koala
Kangaroo
Cute Crocodile
Lizard
We also visited the Australian Museum and whilst doing so we walked passed the cathedral, I can't remember the name of it now....Saint something! We arrived at the museum later than expected so we only had about 30 minutes to look around- it would have been cool to have longer as we wanted to read the info that went with things. They had a dinosaur bit which was brill- when I was younger I used to collect a weekly magazine with collectable dinosaur cards so this was right up my street.
We met a couple of great guys whilst in the dump of a hostel. One was a French guy called Flo who was cool and had some of the most amazing stories of all his travels and another guy called John who was also super fun. They certainly made the room more bearable! We ended up going out one night and had a little too much to drink.
Another activity we did in Sydney is walk around the botanical gardens. Unfortunately the tropical plant area indoors was closed on our visit but the outside surroundings were still stunning. I wish we had taken a picnic basket old England style!
I went a bit snap happy here so I have chosen just a couple of pictures to give you an idea.
My first glimpse of Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House from the botanical gardens.
Second post of Sydney will be up soon.
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