My first impressions of Sydney.
Oct 13th part3
My first impressions of Sydney.
I am too tired to be typing this right now, but the internet is so expensive here that I might not be able to get back on it before I head off to the next city. But i will try if I can. I promise you will hear from me from each city at the very least.
The flight landed safe an sound in Sydney. It was the same airline (Air Pacific) as the flight from L.A. to Figi, but a different crew. Yes it was a double decker, but no I didn’t get seat up top either of the trips. The Sydney airport was a breeze to navigate through, all the staff were friendly and my one checked suitcase showed up when it was supposed to! I was so happy about that.
I took the dingy/dirty/rundown sydney railway to the subway stop nearest my hotel. It was interesting because I had met a fellow Canadian leaving the airport. She is retired and on a 7 week vacation across all of Oz and she just finished a few days in Fiji. She is traveling alone but meeting with friends in 99% of her destinations.
Sydney is a beautiful & busy city. It has such a wonderful blend between the old and new architecture. Hyde park is right in the heart of the downtown and it’s perfect. Lots of people soaking up the sun and enjoying their afternoon. The Monorail makes the city look like a cheerful Gotham City from the latest round of Batman movies.
I got to the hotel around 2pm and took a quick shower to refresh me from the uber long flight. And got out the door before 3pm. I went directly to Hyde Park and walked through it all the way to the Harbour and stopped at every sight along the way which included:
– The Anzac Memorial – Supposedly the interior of this Art Deco memorial is studded with one star for each of the 120,000 NSW (New South Wales) citizens who served in WW1. It wasn’t open so I didn’t get to go inside. But it as still an impressive looking building. Apparently the pine trees near the entrance grew from seeds gathered at Gallipoli. The Pool of Remembrance was also nice.
Acording to Wikipedia, the Gallipoli Campaign took place at Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey from 25 April 1915 to 9 January 1916, during the First World War. In Australia and New Zealand, the campaign was the first major battle undertaken by a joint military formation, the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC), and is often considered to mark the birth of national consciousness in both of these countries.
– The Archibald Fountain – A ludicrously ornate fountain.
– St. Mary’s Cathedral – This gothic megalith is one of the worlds largest Cathedrals. The first servie was held here in 1833, but the massive spires weren’t finished until 2000. the crypts mosaic floor depicting the creation wa inspired by the Book of Kells. It was a truly breaktaking place.
– Sydney Hospital – Built in 1894, apparently rubbing the snout of the little boar out front brings good luck and might just keep you out of the hospital.
– Parliament House – “It’s the worlds oldest continuously operating parliamentary building. The deep veranda, formal colonnade and orcre tones of this noble 1816 builing hark back to the colonial days. ” – Lonely Planet, Best of Syndey.
– The Royal Botanical Gardens – Were beautiful and made for nice scenery on the last block or two of my walk to the Opera House.
– The Opera House – Was so much more impressive than I thought it would be. That’s al I have to say about the building. I took lots of photos of the harbour and it was a beautiful time of day.
– The Strand Arcade – Constructed in 1891 in a tight space between George St (their main street) and Pitt Street. It’s a Victorian masterpiece with wroughtiron balconies, stained glass store fronts and a mosaic tile floor.
– China Town – Your typical chin town with cheep clothing stores and afordable food if sushi is your thing. I’ll give it a try tomorrow.
I saw the sights, I took photos and I enjoyed every minute off it today. I couldn’t get to everything because some places had closed by the time I got there, so I will try to go back to see those remaining few big sights when I return.
I’m sorry, I’ve been up for 48 hours straight and I’m falling asleep as I type.
hugz and I miss you guys.
– Bonnie :)
