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Published: January 4th 2006
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Ive finally made it to Sydney and have met up with Gil and Laura. Its so crazy to be on the road again and be with friends and in hostels. I'd got far too comfortable in Lori's backhouse in California and then at Kathy's in Adelaide but Sydney beckoned and the girls had been hanging around for 5 weeks waiting for New Year.
We're staying in a Sydney suburb called Manly, its a 45 minute ferry ride from the City Centre. After a plane ride and a train ride I boarded the ferry and it pulled out of the harbour in time to see the sun setting behind the Opera House and the CBD. The sun shone through the skyscrapers and made the Opera House glow, it was totally stunning. On my flight from LA I had flown over the city centre to land at the airport and i thought that the bridge and Opera House looked pretty impressive from above but i wasnt prepared for the spectical that the ferry ride afforded me. The harbour is just so beautiful and the city with all the skyscrapers towering over the harbour was a sight ill always remember.
The girls
met me off the ferry at Manly. They exploded in squeels and screams when they saw me, i think everyone around us thought we were crazy! Well, theyd be right!!
We went straight to the hostel to drop off my stuff, it was a fair walk from the wharf when your carrying a massive backpack and the bedrooms are pretty cramped. In our room theres six of us and we all share one bathroom and a tiny kitchen with a microwave and toaster. Its better than some of the places I've stayed in and its clean enough but i dont think id like to stay there longer than is necessary! Theres plenty of cool people that have been there a while though. Gillian and Laura have been there for 5 weeks! and theres a few english people and a two italian guys Marchello and Paulo who are hilarious. They made us pizza one night from scratch. I saw them in the afternoon kneeding the dough for the bases. They made enough for about 8 massive pizzas, all with different toppings and they tasted fantastic. We were stuffed after about 3 pieces, although, i found room for another three!
Lonely Planet describes Manly as "the jewel of the North Shore" but there doesnt seem to be anything sparkly or jewel-like about it! Its OK, a bit like a rundown blackpool with better shops and a nicer beach and a perfect climate! Some of the houses look like theyve been picked up out of Liverpool and dropped right here in Sydney. Even the parade of shops has that kind of 1930's architecture that the shops in Rosyth do. The beach is pretty nice though and the sea is crystal clear and wonderfully refreshing after a hard days sunbathing. Although, on the Australian bank holidays the beach looks more like the costa del sol than australia. We went down for a look one day and there were more people than there was sand! Theres also a huge amount of tourists and ex-pats here, you have to play spot the local!
Today Gil and I took the ferry over to the city to check out all the sights. You can pretty much do most of Sydney in one day if you cut out the things that you have to pay for like the aquarium or other attractions. In one day we
did the Opera House, The Bridge, Darling Harbour, the Rocks, the City Centre and Chinatown. The city is so beautiful. Its also very clean. Its like the perfect balance between America and Britain. Very modern and clean but you can always get a decent cup of tea and they call rubbish rubbish, not trash. The cars also drive on the correct side of the road.
I got lots of photos of the opera house and the bridge and then we had a wander through the Botanic Gardens and then around the Rocks which is a nice harbourside area with cute little cobbled streets and kitsch shops that were way out of my price range. Along the dockside there were also many restaurants housed in redeveloped warehouses, identical to the ones along the canal in Lancaster! We went into Chinatown for dinner because Gillian knew this place where you could get a massive feed for only $6. the food was fantastic and there was enough to take away and have as lunch the next day! brilliant!
We visited Darling Harbour in the evening on our way back to the ferry. Its yet another redeveloped dockside with many shops and
restaurants but they have a lovely big fountain that you can walk in, and of course, gillian and I had to walk in it. There were also a couple of street performers doing some impressive tricks, a bit like Edinburgh during the festival. One guy squeezed his body through a ?Squash racquet and another guy jugled fire while standing on the shoulders of two voluteers from the audience!
After wandering about all day I had pretty much seen everything that I wanted to see, I think when I come back Ill stay in the city and get to know Sydney life a bit more in depth, Ive certainly liked what Ive seen so far and Im really looking forward to New Year, its meant to be fantastic but Ive been hearing lots of horror stories about the viewpoints in the parks being closed at 1230pm and 3pm and you have to get in there early to bagsy your place but everyone has the same idea so we'll have to see how it goes i think!
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Lisa
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Food for $5
Hiya - Remeber you need to go to Soup Plus on George St - where I used to work - you can get fed there for $5 - you might even get some work!!!