Adventure's in Sydney! :-D
Well, I made it back from Sydney!!! Here's the adventure!
Friday
We were on the train at 6:37 am!!! So early! The train ride up really isn't that bad though... the train is pretty comfy and because it's so early you get to see a lot of kangaroos out the windows having their morning brekky. Plus you get to see a lot of the country side that you would normally miss out on. We arrived into Sydney Central Station at around 10:45 and dragged our enormous luggage(Laurens are not known for being light packers) to the taxi stand and caught a taxi to the Pacific International Suites on Kent Street. We had gotten a pretty good deal and the hotel was wonderful. I'd definitely stay there again. It's a very narrow building with about 27 floors that's tucked away on Kent. It's about two blocks from Darling Harbour, 2 blocks from the Town Hall Train Station and the Queen Victoria Building and a medium length walk to Circular Quay (Opera House, the Rocks, Harbour Bridge, etc) and to the Central Train Station. Our suite was really nice, with a fully equipped kitchennette, lounge and bedroom, plus a balcony with a wonderful view of... the building across the street.. hehe oh well! After checking in we wandered over to Darling Harbour.
Darling Harbour is really pretty (pictures to follow) and its definitely one of my favorite places on Earth. The Imax theatre, Sydney Aquarium, Maritime Museum, Harbourside Shopping, and the ferry docks among other things are all there, and it looks gorgeous at night! We decided to head towards the aquarium and passed a travel agent on the way, noticing a sign about a day trip to the Blue Mountains. We went in just to ask about it, and it turns out that for Saturday only they were running a half price deal. So we booked a tour for $50AUD for the next morning and headed on to the aquarium. Although it was pretty unimpressive from the outside, it was a different story inside. They have a really great Barrier Reef and Shark exhibit in particular and of course... a finding nemo exhibit, hehe! After the aquarium we stopped in Starbucks (of course) and then wandered around the shopping centre. For dinner we were tryign to decide where to go and Lauren suggested fish and chips and I told her that was fine, that I had never tried it before. You would've thought I had told her that I had never drank water the way she stared at me. Classic reaction! Evidently this was quite a sin and so we quickly found a fish and chips take away place to rectify the situation. And it was pretty good! Even though we have battered fish at home, it just takes better from a real fish and chips place on the harbour in Sydney, Australia. Yum! After this we went back home and crashed out.
Saturday
The next morning we were up bright and early to find our pick up point for our tour to the Blue Mountains. It was gorgeous because it had been raining that morning and as we walked down the street there was a huge rainbow over our heads. What a way to start the adventure! The Blue Mountains is a range to the west of Sydney where the mountains really do look blue. And I know, you're thinking, yes but all ranges look blue from a distance (hence the Blue Ridge, etc) but these mountains are blue even when you're right in them. This is because of the sunlight reflecting off the eucalyptus oils in the air. Anyway, the bus ride was about 90 minutes but it passed quickly because the driver was an excellent tour guide and provided a lot of interesting information about Sydney along the way. Our first stop was a lookout over Wentworth Falls where we had an hour to explore and have brekky. Of course Lauren and I promptly wander off and start hiking down some trail, lose track of time and have to power walk back to the bus just in time. And we missed breakfast! So, the next stop went a bit smoother with a quick stop at Govett's Leap where it's a legend that Govett and his horse dove off the cliff to escape a bushranger and their bodies have never been found. Regardless it was beautiful! Then we went to Scenic World, where we saw the Three Sisters (a rock formation with an Aboriginal Legend behind it) and rode the world's steepest railroad directly down a cliff and wandered through the rainforest at the bottom. Simply beautiful. Then it was back to Sydney, by way of the Olympic Park and a ferry ride back to Darling Harbour. We were pretty tired by then so we relaxed for a little in the hotel and then went back out to get dinner. We ate at a really good italian place on the water and then ventured over to the Star City Casino. Because we signed up for some membership deal, they gave us $10 credit for free, which went a long way on the .02 machines! I actually won about $23AUD! Beginner's luck ;-)
Sunday
we started by going to a church service at St. Andrews Anglican church. We actually found the church in the phone book of all places and it turned out beautifully because it was about 2 blocks away and a gorgeous old renovated church, complete with bells and spires. Then we made the trek over to Central Station where we caught a train for the Sydney Royal Easter Show. Basically it's a big carnivale held in the Olympic Park, but it was a lot of fun. they had barns full of horses, cows, dogs, and cats. We watched some of the horse show jumping competitions in the main arena and then wandered around the show grounds for awhile. We also looked around the Show Bag Pavillion which is basically where you can purchase goodie bags chock full of candies or toys or whatever. So many people there! After that we went back to the main arena to try and get seats for the rodeo, but all the seats were taken. We eventually got into a queue to be seated when they became available, but people kept cutting in front of us and we ended up standing for two hours through several presentations. I was a bit cranky and dehydrated at this point, so we bought some Krispy Kremes (a novelty for Canberrans) and dinner and headed home. We got back around 11 so it was a pretty full day!
Yesterday
we went to Bondi Beach after checking out of the hotel. Australian beaches are nothing like the ones at home. Even the nontropical ones have deep blue and turquoise water and soft sandy beaches. Because it was a public holiday it was decently crowded. We laid out on the beach for a little, although it was really too cold and we eventually went for lunch and to walk around the town. We found a great little patisserie for dinner and then caught the bus back into central sydney.The funniest part of the trip was that we then had to drag our huge suitcases up a fairly steep incline to get the train station from the hotel. We must've looked a mess, all windblown and sunburnt dragging our bags, hahaha! But eventually, after a few near mishaps getting onto the trains, we made it back to Canberra around 10:30 last night!All in all, a great weekend in Sydney!
And now it's time to start cracking down on all the work I need to get done! I miss everyone at home and I hope to hear from everyone soon!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Love
Lo
Friday
We were on the train at 6:37 am!!! So early! The train ride up really isn't that bad though... the train is pretty comfy and because it's so early you get to see a lot of kangaroos out the windows having their morning brekky. Plus you get to see a lot of the country side that you would normally miss out on. We arrived into Sydney Central Station at around 10:45 and dragged our enormous luggage(Laurens are not known for being light packers) to the taxi stand and caught a taxi to the Pacific International Suites on Kent Street. We had gotten a pretty good deal and the hotel was wonderful. I'd definitely stay there again. It's a very narrow building with about 27 floors that's tucked away on Kent. It's about two blocks from Darling Harbour, 2 blocks from the Town Hall Train Station and the Queen Victoria Building and a medium length walk to Circular Quay (Opera House, the Rocks, Harbour Bridge, etc) and to the Central Train Station. Our suite was really nice, with a fully equipped kitchennette, lounge and bedroom, plus a balcony with a wonderful view of... the building across the street.. hehe oh well! After checking in we wandered over to Darling Harbour.
Darling Harbour is really pretty (pictures to follow) and its definitely one of my favorite places on Earth. The Imax theatre, Sydney Aquarium, Maritime Museum, Harbourside Shopping, and the ferry docks among other things are all there, and it looks gorgeous at night! We decided to head towards the aquarium and passed a travel agent on the way, noticing a sign about a day trip to the Blue Mountains. We went in just to ask about it, and it turns out that for Saturday only they were running a half price deal. So we booked a tour for $50AUD for the next morning and headed on to the aquarium. Although it was pretty unimpressive from the outside, it was a different story inside. They have a really great Barrier Reef and Shark exhibit in particular and of course... a finding nemo exhibit, hehe! After the aquarium we stopped in Starbucks (of course) and then wandered around the shopping centre. For dinner we were tryign to decide where to go and Lauren suggested fish and chips and I told her that was fine, that I had never tried it before. You would've thought I had told her that I had never drank water the way she stared at me. Classic reaction! Evidently this was quite a sin and so we quickly found a fish and chips take away place to rectify the situation. And it was pretty good! Even though we have battered fish at home, it just takes better from a real fish and chips place on the harbour in Sydney, Australia. Yum! After this we went back home and crashed out.
Saturday
The next morning we were up bright and early to find our pick up point for our tour to the Blue Mountains. It was gorgeous because it had been raining that morning and as we walked down the street there was a huge rainbow over our heads. What a way to start the adventure! The Blue Mountains is a range to the west of Sydney where the mountains really do look blue. And I know, you're thinking, yes but all ranges look blue from a distance (hence the Blue Ridge, etc) but these mountains are blue even when you're right in them. This is because of the sunlight reflecting off the eucalyptus oils in the air. Anyway, the bus ride was about 90 minutes but it passed quickly because the driver was an excellent tour guide and provided a lot of interesting information about Sydney along the way. Our first stop was a lookout over Wentworth Falls where we had an hour to explore and have brekky. Of course Lauren and I promptly wander off and start hiking down some trail, lose track of time and have to power walk back to the bus just in time. And we missed breakfast! So, the next stop went a bit smoother with a quick stop at Govett's Leap where it's a legend that Govett and his horse dove off the cliff to escape a bushranger and their bodies have never been found. Regardless it was beautiful! Then we went to Scenic World, where we saw the Three Sisters (a rock formation with an Aboriginal Legend behind it) and rode the world's steepest railroad directly down a cliff and wandered through the rainforest at the bottom. Simply beautiful. Then it was back to Sydney, by way of the Olympic Park and a ferry ride back to Darling Harbour. We were pretty tired by then so we relaxed for a little in the hotel and then went back out to get dinner. We ate at a really good italian place on the water and then ventured over to the Star City Casino. Because we signed up for some membership deal, they gave us $10 credit for free, which went a long way on the .02 machines! I actually won about $23AUD! Beginner's luck ;-)
Sunday
we started by going to a church service at St. Andrews Anglican church. We actually found the church in the phone book of all places and it turned out beautifully because it was about 2 blocks away and a gorgeous old renovated church, complete with bells and spires. Then we made the trek over to Central Station where we caught a train for the Sydney Royal Easter Show. Basically it's a big carnivale held in the Olympic Park, but it was a lot of fun. they had barns full of horses, cows, dogs, and cats. We watched some of the horse show jumping competitions in the main arena and then wandered around the show grounds for awhile. We also looked around the Show Bag Pavillion which is basically where you can purchase goodie bags chock full of candies or toys or whatever. So many people there! After that we went back to the main arena to try and get seats for the rodeo, but all the seats were taken. We eventually got into a queue to be seated when they became available, but people kept cutting in front of us and we ended up standing for two hours through several presentations. I was a bit cranky and dehydrated at this point, so we bought some Krispy Kremes (a novelty for Canberrans) and dinner and headed home. We got back around 11 so it was a pretty full day!
Yesterday
we went to Bondi Beach after checking out of the hotel. Australian beaches are nothing like the ones at home. Even the nontropical ones have deep blue and turquoise water and soft sandy beaches. Because it was a public holiday it was decently crowded. We laid out on the beach for a little, although it was really too cold and we eventually went for lunch and to walk around the town. We found a great little patisserie for dinner and then caught the bus back into central sydney.The funniest part of the trip was that we then had to drag our huge suitcases up a fairly steep incline to get the train station from the hotel. We must've looked a mess, all windblown and sunburnt dragging our bags, hahaha! But eventually, after a few near mishaps getting onto the trains, we made it back to Canberra around 10:30 last night!All in all, a great weekend in Sydney!
And now it's time to start cracking down on all the work I need to get done! I miss everyone at home and I hope to hear from everyone soon!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Love
Lo
posted by Lauren @ 3/29/2005 02:52:00 PM
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