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O'hoy there me hearties and welcome to Sydney. What a city and what a way to end our stay in Australia. We landed in the city just as Captain James Cook did way back on 1770, well not exactly - just swap the fleet of tall ships for a Greyhound bus and you're pretty much there!! There's so much I have to say about this place and I really enjoyed our time here, in my opinion its way up there on the list with all the great cities (NY, London, Paris). Driving into the city from the north was brilliant we passed straight over the harbour bridge and sat on the edges of our seats as we marvelled at the Opera house, city skyline and harbour below....we were so excited to be in Sydney and couldn't wait to live it up and that's what we did!!!
Our hostel was perfectly situated next to Alfred Park and from our attic room we could view over the park (awash with joggers and dogwalkers) down to the central city itself. On the first day our legs carries us to Darling Harbour which is a modern addition to the city built in 1988 but very cosmopolitan and surprisingly pretty . We visited the Aquarium and saw sharks, seals, turtles, crocodiles, manta rays and nemos all from the underwater tunnels which enabled you to see these animals so close....the sharks were awesome so gracious and streamlined. Unfortunatly for the first couple of days some freakish weather hit southern Australia.....snow was falling on bush fires that hours before had been raging, temperatures dropped to 8 degrees the lowest recorded Nov day since 1905 and orange sized hailstones were falling in Brisbane!! Crazy....so we were literally shivering through the wind and rain (my feet turning blue as I only have flip flops)!! So, whats a girl to do in this cold spell....SHOP! To the shops it was, we explored markets a plenty, Pitt Street, The boutiques of the Rocks and the vintage/2nd hand shops on Crown Street. I bought two jumpers, jeans, sunglasses, a leather belt, a leather bag, and a T-Shirt all for 60pounds. Sam also bagged some bargains!!
Newtown we discovered offered good nightlife so we spent some time there with a glass in hand, Sam's officially now a wino as one night I had to "look after" the special one who was so drunk at the restaurant she could order her food through fits of laughter......On 16th we had the perfect day, everything about it from start to finish was fantastic and at times I had to pinch myself to check it was real. I even contemplated that my morning coffee had been spiked with something!! The air was so fresh, the sun so warming and the sights just incredible. We spent time at the opera house and harbour bridge and visited the museum of contemporary arts. Everywhere we went music followed us and street performers kept us entertained. Sam visited Sydney hospital and the Florence Nightingale wing, and we strolled through Hyde Park (a smaller, prettier version of London's). That evening we treated ourselves to some posh nosh at Circular Quay washed down with some Sauvingon Blanc! Bliss.....It was great people watching and an amazing area just to soak up the atmosphere and feel part of city life. The sights, sounds, smells and conversation that day made it our best day travelling as yet and like when you see a band or go to a festival the following day was a bit of a come down. Even still we went to the Botanical Gardens and soaked up some rays......Glebe Festival was another highlight, great live bands, market stalls, free food tasting and amazing asian clothing at bargain prices.....it was an unexpected find and we spent a few hours listening to jazz/funk, watching brazilian dancers and sampling olives/breads and cheese!! It was a brilliant end to a wonderful city!! Everyone must visit Sydney its a very cool place, with beautiful sights and stunning people!
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