Trip to Sydney

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On Sunday 9th March, Tom dropped me off at Richmond Station and I took the train in to Sydney, journey time a comfortable 1 1/2 hours writing postcards and listening to my ipod. Janet recommended I booked my accommodation as there was a boating event on in Sydney making the city very popular, so I tried to consult Quick Beds (thanks Julie for the tip) and Tripadvisor (thanks Denise for that one). Unfortunately I didn't have much choice left so booked into Pensione Hotel Sydney, luckily not as bad as the reviews, the stroppy receptionist must have had a day off. The central location near China Town was very convenient too. I headed off to lunch in China Town for dim sum, then went to the Powerhouse Museum and saw the Princess Diana exhibition, which was worthwhile, showing history of her life etc. Then I went to the Sky Tower, which had some nice views over Sydney and also saw the Oz Trek interactive video (where you're in a moving seat 'flying' around Australia) which was quite fun, got eaten by a crocodile etc!. I bought a ticket for the Darling Harbour monorail and had a relaxing time hopping on and off.

Monday 10th March I met an old friend for lunch, Kevin, who'd contacted me via facebook and suggested lunch so we had some tasty sushi and a catchup. Then I went for a walk into the Botanical Gardens, which was very interesting and beautiful. Wondered what all the squeaking and flapping was, looked up and saw loads of roosting bats in the trees! Maybe they were dreaming???! I wandered around and got some shots of the Opera House, Harbour Bridge etc. Got the train back to Richmond, to arrive at 9pm ish when Tom kindly picked me up again. Coffee and cakes (from MacDonalds Cafe - they have a cafe here and it's really quite nice) with Jan and Tom ended the day perfectly.

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Photos

China Town
Not far from my hotel

Powerhouse Museum
Saw Princess Diana's exhibition (originally at Althorp)

Botanical Gardens 3
Bats in the Botanicals!