Sunday July 5th : Out and about in Sydney

Checked out of the hostel early and decided to walk around Sydney before heading back to Husky. Walked through the botanical gardens to the peninsula next to the peninsula the opera house is on, so got some really good views of the opera house and bridge. Today was actually a really nice day, clear and not too cold, actually a bit warm. Then heading over to Circular Quay, a series of jetties next to the opera house where all the ferries across the harbor leave from. I sat in a café and had a coffee and a slice of banana bread for breakfast that cost about 3 times what it should have, but I guess that’s what happens when you sit at an outdoor café overlooking the harbor. I jumped on a ferry to cross the harbor to go over to north Sydney, where I walked around a fair bit. Not much was going on because of course it was a Sunday morning, but I can tell that even during the week this part of Sydney is more relaxed and low-key then the CBD. I don’t actually really like the CBD very much, it’s too busy and hectic and dirty. After walking around a bit I made my way down to the water’s edge and walked along the water back towards the harbor bridge. I came across a little amusement park for kids. Rather a quite large complex. It had ferris wheels and a bunch of other rides as well as games and what not right there along the “boardwalk” next to the water. It would be a great place to bring kids. I think it was called Luna Park and had great views over to the bridge and opera house, so of course I stopped to take some more photos (I think I now have about 20 million pics of the opera house from all different angles). I made my way to the base of the bridge and walked up a bunch of stairs to get to the bridge itself then started the trek across the bridge to get back to the southern side of the harbor. So of course got more wonderful views of the harbor, city and opera house, so more picture taking ensued. Walking across the bridge is really neat, if you are ever in Sydney, I recommend it. It’s not too long and you get higher up and get great views of the surroundings and of course it’s free and you can stop and take as many photos as you want. I got to the southern end of the bridge and headed down the stairs to head back towards Circular Quay to catch the train to central to get the train back to the south coast. I ended up passing through the area known as the rocks. Side note: they are building a new YHA there that will be in the most primo spot, on the water, with views of the bridge, Quay, city, opera house, hell of a sopt for a budget accommodation!). I saw a mall that I popped into and guess what I saw for the first time in Australia, a Coach store! I don’t think I’ve seen anyone in this country with a Coach bag except for maybe the occasional woman who is obviously from somewhere in Asia. I wasn’t even sure if they had them here, well they do! So of course I had to go in. Well, you think the prices in the US for Coach are expensive? They are even more expensive here! Say you are looking at a small wristlet that in the states would be $60 US, which of course, is already atrocious. Here it’s the equivalent of like $150 US for a tiny wristlet! How anyone would play those prices is beyond me! But at any rate, they do have them here, but apparently they are only for the super rich. I caught the train to head back to central and then in turn back to Nowra to be picked up by Tom. All in all, today was a pretty nice day. Much better than yesterday. The weather was good, I got to see some different areas of Sydney, take the ferry, get some good views of the harbor, etc. Even though I had only left the day before it felt good to get back “home” to Husky.