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So we arrived in Sydney after a long overnight bus journey from Byron Bay. We had booked our accommodation from a website called wotif.com that gives really good prices on last minute accommodation; the only thing was that our place ended being a 40 minute train journey out of the city centre in a place called Parramatta. When we did arrive it was well worth it though- a really nice apartment with its own little kitchen and separate bathroom. We even had a choice of movies available!Parramatta was really nice- it had a huge shopping centre so we went and had a coffee and a look around. It was also Australian Election Day so there was loads of last minute campaigning going on all around the streets. We then spent the rest of the day relaxing in the room- well we had to make the most of it- it was like a palace compared to our usual accommodation!
Next day we rose early and ventured into the city- we had a lot to see and do!First stop, unsurprisingly, was the harbour which has the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge.Its really nice around the harbour- loads of nice restaurants and bars. The Opera House was well worth seeing but I couldn't help thinking that it looks better in the photos- it's a bit70's close up- lots of brown and the roof is made up of off white tiles! The Opera House was also hosting the final of the Australian Idol contest (Pop Idol) and they were rehearsing all day. There were screaming school girls everywhere and the show didn't start for hours! We could also see people on the bridge because you can climb (well walk) across the arch for about $180 (75 quid) but we decided against it in then end.The views must have been pretty good though. We then spent some time around just walking around before the climax of our day- Sydney FC vs. Queensland Roar in the A-League (the Aussie equivalent to the Premier League). We headed to the stadium which was a good size and got our seats ready for the action. We then proceeded to watch one of the most boring games of football I have ever seen in my life- a 0-0 draw. There were about three chances all match and these were invariably missed in spectacular style- think headers towards open goals that somehow go wide of the post- and this guy was Brazilian. Michael Bridges (once of Leeds) played upfront for Sydney and looked OK and they also bought Juninho (once of Middlesborough) off the bench late on- but he didn't have enough time to do anything at that point. Probably the best bit was when they introduced the LA Galaxy team (inc. Mr. Beckham) at half time as they were due to play an exhibition match against Sydney FC a few days later. I think that brought the biggest cheer of the night also (Maria was probably shouting loader than anyone else!).
The next day we moved into the Sydney YHA in the city centre and ended up getting a four bed dorm to ourselves which was nice! We went to Kings Cross (everywhere in Sydney has names from London) which was where a lot of backpackers stayed. It seemed a little seedy because there were loads of strip bars with not so attractive women trying to tempt the men in.Next day we were headed off bright and early to Alice Springs so a nice meal and then to bed- we would be back to Sydney in a few days but our first impressions were that it was a cool city.
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