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I arrived at Sydney airport and managed to find the hotel shuttle bus..I'm glad I did cos if I'd caught the train I think I might have been drowned on the walk from the station..the heavens opened and it bucketed down!!
Arrived at the hotel..ok it might be pretty central but it was a bit down at heel, not helped by the fact that they tried to book me into a room on the 18th floor that was already occupied! She was a bit surprised...almost as much as I was!! I dumped my stuff eventually, and grabbed a map and went exploring.
Found my way thru to paddys market and then the asian quarter, wandering around trying to find something to eat. I found kungfu ramen and ordered spicy beef and vegetable ramen..and yes, it was quite spicy! ! Just like Tokyo, there was a vacuum flask of tea on the table to just help yourself. I did think at one time I had landed in Hong Kong rather than Sydney...it seems to be the holiday destination of choice for many from China, Hong Kong, Korea etc..
Back to my room and an early night..have a city tour booked for tomorrow morning.
Saw all the important sites, but there weren't many opportunities for photos...we did make it to Bondi beach and I went for a paddle. The life savers were out practising their drill...lets jut say it wasn't really like bay watch!
I got dropped off at Sydney opera house for a tour..what a fabulous building! ! I'd love to have heard a concert there, the acoustics are amazing. Someone was tuning the grand piano and we could hear everything perfectly, even tho we were at the back of the gallery. Its a wooden box inside a giant concrete frame and the design of both the inside and the outside is just breathtaking.
The sing sing wantok festival was on and there were several troops of aboriginal dancers strutting their stuff, just outside the studio cafe.
I spent the rest of the afternoon just wandering...the contemporary art museum, the rocks, george street, the strand arcade and the queen Victoria building. What surprised me about Sydney is just how much Victorian architecture there is..lots of terraces built in a style that combines both the English terrace and the Chinese shop houses I'd seen in Singapore. They were cheap and cheerful when they were built, but are very expensive and desirable now!
Seems to be the wedding season here in Sydney...I must have seen 5 different asian wedding parties being photographed and dodging in and out of the rain showers
Back to the hotel and then a trip to darling harbour to see the Saturday night fireworks..only there weren't any as it was earth hour..I did take a trip on the monorail, as it is closing down for ever in June.
Its Sunday and I'm off for my trip to the blue mountains. We stopped at echo point, the three sisters, scenic world and then Leura. The views from echo point and the 3 sisters was fantastic, and I discovered that there are microscopic particles of eucalyptus oil in the air, which refracts the light causing the blue haze as you look to the horizon.
Caught the ferry back from the olympic park down river to darling harbour, which was a lovely way to finish my days in Sydney. Had supper by the harbour ..and used their free WiFi! I bought some cheese for Joey on the way back to the hotel..a slightly odd Easter present but one I know she'll appreciate!
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carol Sounds a wonderful time :) What's causing the microscopic particles of eucalyptus oil in the air? I'll have to ask Chris!