Did I mention how expensive Australia is??? Unless you go to the hidden secrets mentioned by the locals, you'll end up spending $30 "At the Starbucks" "At the Starbucks"... my East Coast friends will get that one!. Yes, Idiot 101 here spent $30 for a mug and 'tall' hot chocolate... I just spent $2.40 on a very yummy chai tea at a latte shop called "Creme". Yummy! Ok... enough of my complaining on vacation/Holiday :)
Darling Harbour is charming, but kind of far away from all of the attractions. I'll be closer when I return late next week. I have managed to walk most of downtown Sydney... really, I have... and I think I may have already lost 5lbs. Yesterday I visited the Sydney Fish Market, "The Rocks - really cool old village", Walked across the Sydney Harbour Bridge and went on a tour at the Sydney Opera House! It rained all day yesterday, but hey the rain won't keep me in. Today was amazing... beautiful with sunshine... warm. Today's weather made getting around a lot easier and me happier. After I update this blog and provide some photos... I'm going to have a little dinner and have a night on the town with some new friends! Today, I ventured to the Chinese Friendship Garden, Hyde Park, Parliament of New South Wales and the Art Gallery of New South Wales! My favorite so far is the Sydney Opera House and Royal Botanical Gardens. The history of the Opera House and architecture and design is mind blowing! It is really as big of a deal as everyone makes it. I just had to see it for myself.
George street is so busy with big time companies like KPMG, PWC, Banks, Law Firms, etc! It has trendy shops and restaurants along with cheesy cheap shops and fast food places... again, kind of like NYC. The Fish Market was pretty cool, lots of local fish and shell fish that I have never heard of.
Towards the end of the day, I saw more runners and I saw hundreds of them today! There's no Day Light Savings Time here. It was almost 7pm and still light outside.
Australians are really nice for the most part and I'm falling in love with "all " the different accents here. I often wonder who I'm going to speak with next... Someone French, Australian or Swedish! Sydney is definitely feeding my culture appetite.
English is the first language here, but people are having a hard time understanding me... Kind of different. I do love when they say "Where are you from? America"... "wow we love it there"... "are you enjoying your Holiday?" I love it!
Ok... Sorry to say this... but Australians love Christmas way more than Americans. They don't say "Merry Christmas" like the US... they say "Happy Christmas". Happy Christmas signs are everywhere! Streets are already decorated with lights and trees are already in stores and major parks and plazas.
I had the best Thai food of my life last night! So yummy! Lots of Asian cuisine here. I vowed not to eat a "Hamburger" this whole trip.... or pizza"
I feel really bad for pregnant women! After lugging around 55lbs for 2 days, my feet and ankles were so swollen. My hips and thighs were super sore... oh well, at least I'm getting in an awesome work out. I turned in around 8pm last night and didn't wake up until 9am this morning! I was really exhausted!
I highly recommend traveling alone at least one point in your life! You get to meet so many new/different people and you'll do things that you would never try if you were with someone else. This is a very liberating experience!
When I return, I'll tell you guys all the details about the people that I have met along the way! Like I said, I've only been traveling for a few days including travel from LAX and I've met so many nice/genuine people.
Now time for pictures....
NSW Art Gallery
Love you all... Sam
Great post and wonderful pictures. I am envious. I remember the Aussies as being the most friendly and non-pretentious folks I had ever met.
ReplyDeleteKeep the pictures and the posts coming!
This is great Sam! It looks like you're having a blast and you've already seen so many cool things! Miss you!
ReplyDeleteLove,
Holly
At the Starbucks at the Starbucks.... I get it! Looks like you're having an amazing time. I'm keeping a blog too, it's called 'hysterical weekend stories I can't wait to share with sam when she gets back from au"
ReplyDeleteLoo
Sam,
ReplyDeleteSo you noticed the birds of Sydney too!
Another thing that I liked about Sydney was that it took years of paperwork for permission to tear down an old building, so they just re-purposed their buildings (maintains the heritage); rather than tearing them down.