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The journey to Sydney proved to be uneventful and just what the doctor ordered. Stepping out of the airport into the Austrailian sunshine was a welcome alternative to the rain that had chased us around the South Island of New Zealand. From the airport we took a taxi to Lane Cove, just outside the city, where we would be staying with Daniel's friend Sam. The fare hit us hard and we were immediately assured that the prices of South America were very far away. We had dinner that night with Sam at his local pub and went straight home to bed where we stayed until late the next morning. We must have appeared a primitive, cave-like pair as we wondered excitingly at the actual shower, in an actual home, with an actual toilet and an actual washing machine. After rejoicing in these luxuries we spent the afternoon in a beer garden to celebrate Sam's birthday before returning to the apartment for a late night barbeque. The next couple of days were spent washing our clothes before we could venture in to the sightseeing metropolis of Sydney. Our first stop, of course was the Sydney Opera House, so we took a bus into the city centre travelling over Syndey Harbour Bridge. We arrived at Sydney Harbour in the glorious sun and took a slow and long around the chic restaurants and bars before turning a corner to be greeted with the awesome sight of Sydney's most famous builiding and one of the worlds most famous city sights. Naively, I hadn't imagined the Opera House to be quite so big. It is certainly an awe-inspiring structure. The steps of the Opera House are literally crawling with tourists, businessmen, couples walking hand-in-hand and waitresses taking a quick stroll in their lunch breaks. Everything about this place screams money! And, whether you have it or not, it invokes a feeling of being part of something very elite.
We climbed the steps into the foyer of the building and stood in line to buy tickets for a Sydney Opera House tour. Tickets in hand we began the tour of the halls, corridors, bars, and performance halls. Each hall has a different colour scheme which matches the foyer just outside the doors. We were lucky enough to catch the Austrailian Ballet School and the Austrailian choir reharsing for the respective performances and a very lively art exhibition. Walking through the builidng it is impossible not to notice and inspect the different architectural tecniques used in the assembly of the Opera House, and the famous curves of the waves and sails are just as apparent on the inside as they are from the outside. The Opera House took ten more years than planned to build and ran over budget by $95 million. Taking in the building as a whole, it is easier to see that the original estimate of $7 million dollars was a little optimistic. But then hinsight is a wonderful thing which embarrasses a great number of people. After our tour we had lunch on the harbour and watched the thousands of Austrailians and tourists that cross the bridge every day in Sydney. That night, back at Sam's, I was fortunate (???) enough to be formally introduced to the Huntsman spider, one of the largest spiders in Austrailia it's leg span can reach 9.8–11.8 inches and move so fast they give the impression of jumping rather than running. This particular Huntsman however, was big enough to be sporting a hard hat and steel toe cap boots. I half expected to see footprints in the plaster of the walls. Truly frightening.
The next week was spent catching up with friends and family at various destinations across Sydney and the surrounding areas. We took a trip to Bondi Beach, a smaller than expected beach with golden sand and crashing blue and white water. A surfer's paradise, to borrow a favoured phrase of the Lonely Planet. We had a couple of drinks overlooking the beach and enjoyed a barbeque that night at Tamarama beach, a smaller, lesser known beach near to Bondi. We met with Daniel's uncle at the Harbour and took a longer walk around the exterior of the building, seeing it from hundreds of different angles. We had drinks and lunch at one of the many welcoming harbourside retaurants and viewed the bridge across the water as the setting turned from day to dusk to night. The Harbour, unsurprisingly, is even more beautiful at night when the dozens of skyscrapers overlooking the water are illuminated by hundreds of lights that match the Opera House and the Bridge. It's very hard to stay away from the Harbour; it genuinely has a magnetic personality.
Before we were due to fly out of Sydney and into Singapore we took a trip over to Manly Beach. This is beach is much more typical of the Austrailian stereotype; beautiful women in tiny bikinis, even more beautiful men in boardies! We ate at a very cute little Thai cafe before taking the ferry back to Sydney Harbour which turned out to be a very pleasant surprise. By the time the ferry had the Opera House in it's sights the sun was setting, and this amazing moment would be etched forever in our memories. It really was a romantically wonderful way to say goodbye to Sydney. We went to Sydney to see a handful of sights and now want to return in order to see a hundred more.
It was a surprisingly sad experience leaving Sydney. it's a home from home, and although we were very excited about out next stop, Singapore, Sydney is certainly a place one does not relish leaving behind. Nevertheless, that's exactly what we did as we boarded the plane and began our South East Asian adventure.
Thought of the Day: Whilst Dan appears to have the luck of the early bird, I'm stuck with the luck of the early worm!
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