The Urban Voyage

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Fully rested and ready to take on Sydney, Gene and I ventured out of our hotel toward the marina, Darling Harbour. People of young and old strolled about the wharf, taking in the warm sun and quayside scenery. Eyeing the sign for Sydney Wildlife World, I tugged on Gene’s shirtsleeve like a child, insisting that the new attraction might just be the place for me to cuddle a koala and take home my souvenir photograph.

“Excuse me? Do visitors have the opportunity to have their picture taken holding a koala in this park?” Having recently seen a photograph of a friend of a friend on My Space, I knew that this opportunity was afforded to visitors in Australia somewhere and I was determined to get my chance.

“No, I’m sorry. It’s against the law in New South Wales to touch koalas, but you can have your picture taken with a koala resting in a tree in the background right behind you,” the girl responded as though I was supposed to get excited over this. She enthusiastically held up a sample photograph. Not quite as enthused, I accepted my temporary defeat and continued on my way.

Heading in the direction of The Rocks and Circular Quay, a 1970s redevelopment turned into narrow cobbled lanes, colonial buildings, old pubs, art galleries and Australiana shops, Gene and I were moved by the spectacle of the Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House in the distance. After taking the opportunity to capture Sydney’s two greatest attractions on camera, Gene and I continued on our urban voyage, taking in the sounds of the amateur musicians, the culture of the native aboriginals and the speechless talent of the mimes - all looking to make an extra buck.

Stopping to peruse several art galleries along the way, Gene and I fell upon a lithograph exhibition produced by Nelson Mandela, a famous South African civil rights leader and Nobel peace prize winner. As I frequently do when I am at a loss for background information, I consulted my human encyclopedia for the history surrounding Nelson Mandela’s political imprisonment and life journey. As we considered the probable return of investing in a piece of Mandela’s work, Gene muttered that we just couldn’t justify dishing out that kind of money at this juncture and crossed the street to Fortune of War, Sydney’s oldest pub, for a pint of Guinness.

Our day was not complete until we had scoured the streets of Sydney, visiting the wide assortment of shops and St. Andrew’s Cathedral, the oldest Cathedral in Australia. Sydney’s business district exudes the hustle and bustle common to many big cities, yet possesses a multicultural energy unique to its place in Australia.

Curious to glace a view of the city by water, Gene and I reserved our seats on the next evening’s Harbour Cruise before calling it a day.

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