It’s hard to believe that I’ve already been in Sydney for a week but at the same time we have done so much that it feels like longer. After our city excursion on Monday, we decided to get some rest on Tuesday and stayed at the house while Georgie worked. But that night we got our first taste of the nightlife in Sydney. Lola and I went out with one of our old neighbors from Santa Barbara who is studying abroad here and living near Sydney in Bondi Beach. We went to a bar called Scruffy Murphy’s which you could tell was a tourist/American hotspot because there was a huge banner in front that read “Christmas in July,” playing off the differences in our seasons. The atmosphere was fun but it was surprisingly crowded for a Tuesday and we almost lost our coats. Luckily we found them because it was a super cold night and getting home involved a long walk through the city and a bus that was 20 minutes late.
The next morning even though we were tired from bad sleep on small couches, we headed out to talk a walk in Bondi Beach. The night before we could see that the water was across the street from the apartment but didn’t really realize how beautiful the view was. Stepping out of the building onto the sidewalk instantly energized us (and our big breakfasts at a beachside café helped too). The walk is a popular tourist attraction because it is a beautiful path that winds around the beaches small cliffs. The shoreline was unique because it looks more like canyon walls carved out by a river than a typical beach cliff.
After our peaceful little midday excursion, we headed back into the city to plan our trip away from Sydney. We headed into a travel agency and two hours later came out with a combination of four different packages and a lot less money. But no worries because we were careful to stay within our budget and also include almost everything we want to see. I don’t want to go into the details because I will write about it after I experience them, but look forward to rainforests, beaches, wildlife and of course—the great barrier reef!
Georgie had Thursday off so she guided us around the opera house, botanical gardens, and circular quay. We also walked over the harbor bridge (very similar to walking over the golden gate) and got to see some great views of the city.
Last night we got to experience what they refer to here as “uni parties.” Uni is what they call college and the party was at a bar on campus to kick-start the new semester. It was fun but sort of felt like a high school dance (except for the fact that they were selling alcohol). Overall we were glad we went and got to experience some college life, but probably won't go to any others. Tonight will be very different because we are going out for Georgie’s boyfriend’s birthday and it will be at a fancier club or bar in a “posh” part of the city. It will fit more with the Sydney experience because in general, everything seems to be more proper here. It may just be the city atmosphere in general, but everyone dresses up nicer day-to-day and even inexpensive stores and restaurants feel more formal than back home. It's fun to go along with while visiting but dressing up all the time would be tiring and expensive. Who knew I would miss California for its fashion?
It's time for me to get all washed and polished for my big night out in the city. I promise I will get some pictures up next time!
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Monday, July 28, 2008
NYC of Australia
Yesterday afternoon we got our first views of Sydney from Georgie's grandparent's house near the South harbor. I wouldn't be surprised if photographers rent their patio to do photo shoots for postcards. We could see the Opera house, the bridge and nearly all of the harbor. Later we walked around the South Head which is the southern piece of land that creates the harbor in Sydney. Again, there were beautiful views but also some unsettling ones due to the fact that the walking path went by a nude beach. Not surprisingly the only patrons were old men even though it was cold, the tide was up and it was windy. Imagine five old men, sitting on rocks, in windbreakers and hats but with no pants on... a bit disturbing. Regardless, the natural scenery was awesome (in the literal sense).
Today we had our first real day in the city. We took the morning train from Georgie's house, which was very similar to commuter trains in Jersey and Penn. Most of the riders were business people in suits and there was standing room only. After coming up from the train we split from Georgie and went to explore the shopping district of Sydney. Right away there were huge similarities with New York-- everyone wearing black suits and coats, crossing streets based on traffic and not signals, and buildings blocking most of the sunlight. However, one difference I noticed right away was the pedestrian pattern on the sidewalks. Forward traffic moves on the left of the sidewalk and the opposite traffic moves past you on the right, whereas at home you walk on the right side. This obviously parallels the difference in driving, but it is not something you notice until it has changed.
Keeping with the true tourist spirit, Lola and I hit the pavement shopping. We scoured one of the main malls (which is really just a street with a lot of shops) and didn't stop until we met Georgie for lunch around 1pm. She took us to this fabulous place called Pancakes on the Rocks that serves pancakes for all times of the day: breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert. We split pancakes au gratin (potato and onion cakes with hollandaise sauce) and devil's delight (chocolate pancakes with strawberries and vanilla ice cream). Yum.
After lunch it started raining and the coats we bought earlier in the day saved us. We wandered through shopping centers to keep out of the rain and window shopped for a while. When exiting a store we actually saw someone important enough (of at least self-important enough) to have an assistant trailing them with an umbrella while the assistant was left running behind her getting wet. The "posh" parts of the city are very clear when you suddenly come across Ralph Lauren, Lacoste, Burberry, Cartier, and Louis Vutton all in a row. Wet and weary we caught the evening train back, but again at peak hours. The sea of black suits and trench coats moves so fluidly in one direction that it wouldn't be possible to go the other way.
Somehow I've managed to write as much about one day of shopping than I did about a week in Fiji, so kudos if you've made it this far. I'm cutting myself off now and going to sleep (11pm Monday night) as many of you are just waking up (6 or 9 am Monday morning)... strange.
Today we had our first real day in the city. We took the morning train from Georgie's house, which was very similar to commuter trains in Jersey and Penn. Most of the riders were business people in suits and there was standing room only. After coming up from the train we split from Georgie and went to explore the shopping district of Sydney. Right away there were huge similarities with New York-- everyone wearing black suits and coats, crossing streets based on traffic and not signals, and buildings blocking most of the sunlight. However, one difference I noticed right away was the pedestrian pattern on the sidewalks. Forward traffic moves on the left of the sidewalk and the opposite traffic moves past you on the right, whereas at home you walk on the right side. This obviously parallels the difference in driving, but it is not something you notice until it has changed.
Keeping with the true tourist spirit, Lola and I hit the pavement shopping. We scoured one of the main malls (which is really just a street with a lot of shops) and didn't stop until we met Georgie for lunch around 1pm. She took us to this fabulous place called Pancakes on the Rocks that serves pancakes for all times of the day: breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert. We split pancakes au gratin (potato and onion cakes with hollandaise sauce) and devil's delight (chocolate pancakes with strawberries and vanilla ice cream). Yum.
After lunch it started raining and the coats we bought earlier in the day saved us. We wandered through shopping centers to keep out of the rain and window shopped for a while. When exiting a store we actually saw someone important enough (of at least self-important enough) to have an assistant trailing them with an umbrella while the assistant was left running behind her getting wet. The "posh" parts of the city are very clear when you suddenly come across Ralph Lauren, Lacoste, Burberry, Cartier, and Louis Vutton all in a row. Wet and weary we caught the evening train back, but again at peak hours. The sea of black suits and trench coats moves so fluidly in one direction that it wouldn't be possible to go the other way.
Somehow I've managed to write as much about one day of shopping than I did about a week in Fiji, so kudos if you've made it this far. I'm cutting myself off now and going to sleep (11pm Monday night) as many of you are just waking up (6 or 9 am Monday morning)... strange.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
First Update
The only way to really experience an 11 hour flight on a Boeing 747 is to sit in the middle two seats of the center four. After watching a movie and sleeping for 6 or so hours and losing Sunday somewhere over the Pacific, Lola and I arrived in Fiji. The airport was definitely different-- elevators called lifts, restrooms labeled toilets, and couches outside the terminal. But seeing someone wearing a Twins jersey and hearing New Kids on the Block playing in the background beckoned the American spirit and made me realized how much I was going to miss some things about home.
My first cultural experience came when trying to set my clock. Three different sources showed three different times. This was my introduction to "Fiji time" which essentially means no time at all. And that is exactly how the rest of the week felt. Except for catching the ferry to our destination island, there was no need to worry about time. Meals at our resort were signaled by a drum and the sun gave us an idea of the general time. We spent our days snorkeling and laying out, but also went on a cave expedition and visited a local village. One of the most interesting parts of staying in the dorms at the resort was meeting all the other travelers. There were very few Americans and almost everyone had been traveling for at least 6 months and Fiji was just a stop on their adventure.
Our flight to Australia caused one of the most stressful travel experiences of my life. We got to the counter to check in and the attendant informed us that she couldn't give us boarding passes because we hadn't applied for visas. We didn't even know we needed visas! So we rushed to an Internet cafe in the airport, filled out the forms online and made through immigration and security just in time to board the flight. Whew.
It is now our second day in Australia and there has been a total of 30 min where I haven't been absolutely freezing. We are staying with our friend Georgie in her suburb outside of Sydney and it actually snowed today. Snowed. We were in the city where it was thankfully just raining (with some lightening and thunder on the side). Tomorrow we are heading back into the city while Georgie is in class and the first thing on my agenda is to buy some warm shoes and maybe gloves.
I will get some pictures from Fiji up soon. Unfortunately, my underwater camera ironically got ruined by water but thankfully my memory card is intact and the pictures survived.
My first cultural experience came when trying to set my clock. Three different sources showed three different times. This was my introduction to "Fiji time" which essentially means no time at all. And that is exactly how the rest of the week felt. Except for catching the ferry to our destination island, there was no need to worry about time. Meals at our resort were signaled by a drum and the sun gave us an idea of the general time. We spent our days snorkeling and laying out, but also went on a cave expedition and visited a local village. One of the most interesting parts of staying in the dorms at the resort was meeting all the other travelers. There were very few Americans and almost everyone had been traveling for at least 6 months and Fiji was just a stop on their adventure.
Our flight to Australia caused one of the most stressful travel experiences of my life. We got to the counter to check in and the attendant informed us that she couldn't give us boarding passes because we hadn't applied for visas. We didn't even know we needed visas! So we rushed to an Internet cafe in the airport, filled out the forms online and made through immigration and security just in time to board the flight. Whew.
It is now our second day in Australia and there has been a total of 30 min where I haven't been absolutely freezing. We are staying with our friend Georgie in her suburb outside of Sydney and it actually snowed today. Snowed. We were in the city where it was thankfully just raining (with some lightening and thunder on the side). Tomorrow we are heading back into the city while Georgie is in class and the first thing on my agenda is to buy some warm shoes and maybe gloves.
I will get some pictures from Fiji up soon. Unfortunately, my underwater camera ironically got ruined by water but thankfully my memory card is intact and the pictures survived.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Welcome
Thank-you for visiting! Sorry for the brevity of this post but I am leaving today for Fiji and then moving onto Australia. I will write as soon and as often as I can.
The destination:
And my partner in crime:
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