Ten Days in Sydney (*very* pic heavy)

It's funny how traveling across the international date line works.  I left Michigan on a Wednesday, flew back in time to California, and ended up in Sydney on Friday.  Thursday did not happen.

My body is slowing returning back to normal.  I was having trouble sleeping last week, but it's getting better.  I don't toss and turn for two to three hours anymore.

Here are some details about my time spent in Sydney.

Walking around the city:  My first two days were spent walking around the city using free guided tours.  The hostel offered a tour on Friday and one of my roommates and I went on a free-ish tour on Saturday.  The hostel tour was quite extensive and included a walk to Martin Place, Darling Harbour, Paddy's Market, and ended at Central Station.  

 Sydney Opera House

 Sydney Harbour Bridge

 Martin Place

 Archibald Fountain at Hyde Park

 St. Mary's Cathedral

 Central Business District (taken from Pyrmont Bridge)

The international bird.

Marvelous meet-up:  Beverly of On the Road to Sew Wear arranged a sewing-blogger meet up in Cabramatta (also known as "little Vietnam").  She graciously offered to pick me up and drive us out to meet with the others who came from all over. 

 left to right:  Wendy, Maria, me, Beverly, Alison, Sharon, Valerie

Can you spot my fabric purchase?  Genius thinking on my part.
Everyone is wearing something they made.  Freakin' awesome!

We started with tea and coffee at a local cafe and then fabric shopping!  Beverly researched the shops in the area and mapped out everything so as to maximize our time and energy.  Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of the stores.  I was so engrossed in the moment, I forgot I had my camera!  I showed immense restraint and purchased only two pieces.  The third piece was gifted to me by Maria (Velosewer).  

We had lunch at...um...help me out ladies!  I had so much food that I had leftovers for lunch the next day.  These lovely ladies were kind to treat me to lunch.  Thank you!

Gifts from Maria:  Joey and Koala.  I *love* stuffed animals.  How did you know?!

 gorgeous ITY border print (2 meters); also a gift from Maria

 left:  reversible stretch woven (3 meters)

right:  black on white houndstooth doubleknit (1 meter)

Many thanks to Beverly, Maria (for the ride back to the hostel), and everyone for such a warm welcome.  I enjoyed our laughs and will never forget this.  We must keep in touch!

Museums and more walking:   

 Royal Botanical Gardens

 Barracks Museum (former holding places and courts for convicts)

 Chinese Gardens

 

I found Tessuti Fabrics with no problem; I didn't buy anything, though.  The fabric was divine, but really expensive.

Student fashion on display at the Powerhouse Museum

 Representin' The D!

This photo was taken atop one of the pylons at the end of the bridge.

OMGosh.  There were SO many steps to get to the top.  

There was a water fountain half-way up.  Yeah.  That many steps.

Climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge:  Yup, I climbed it.  I was all I-am-woman-hear-me-ROAR about it...until I got there.  Then I was like, holy shit, what the hell am I doing?!  Fortunately, the climb is very safe and well managed.  I made it up and back with no problem and no soiled undergarments.  If you're ever in Sydney, definitely do it! 

 

 

 This is a picture of a different group of climbers.  Look at how tiny they are!

Ferry to Manly:  I went to Manly Beach for a few hours, rented a bike, and rode around.  The weather was great and the view was nothing short of remarkable.

 

 

Day trip to the Blue Mountains: I definitely recommend taking a day (or two if you can) and go out to the Blue Mountains.  Majestic is one of many words to describe the view, tranquility, and smell.  Our tour guide said that the blue color we see is due to the sun reflecting off of the eucalyptus oil in the atmosphere.

 

 

 

 

These pictures were taken from the Skyway, Cableway, and Railway - all at Scenic World. 

Featherdale Wildlife Park:  As part of the day tour package, we visited Featherdale Wildlife Park.  I chose Featherdale over the Taronga Zoo because some of the animals are not caged - as you will see below!

 Roos everywhere!  You can feed them, too. 

 Pelicans

 Awww.  Koalas are so darn cute!  
We weren't allowed to hold them, but we could touch this one.

 

 Tasmanian devil

 Peacock just out for a casual stroll

 Dingos!

 I didn't get too close to the emus.  They looked aggressive - especially this one.

 This was a big kangaroo!  

It looked as if he had had enough of these two-footed uprights in his domain!

Super Saturday with Sarah Liz:  Sarah Liz of SarahLizSewStyle drove several hours with her DH to meet up on Saturday.  How sweet is that?!  We met at the Royal Botanical Gardens and visited the Art Gallery of New South Wales.  We had a lovely tour of the gallery and many wonderful conversations. We talked about Australia's art history in addition to many other things.

We spent the entire day together and easily could have talked for hours more.  I love our sewing community.  It is so nice to meet someone with whom you've connected virtually.  It was fantastic to meet her and her DH.  We will meet again, for sure!

Vivid Sydney:  Every night for about two weeks, Sydney produces a festival in celebration of light, music, and art.  There are spectacular light shows displayed on various buildings downtown (including the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House) as well as concerts and street performances.  I had no idea this was to take place and was extremely fortunate to be visiting during this time.

 

 

 

 

This is only a few of the MILLION pictures (okay...hundred or so) I took of the light show.  It was spectacular!

Whew!  Up next I'll share photos of my trip to Melbourne.

L

Good Reason for Bad Blogging - Aussie Edition (Part I)

Australia has been on my travel radar for years.  I started saving for this trip a couple of years ago and, with the encouragement of some very special loving friends, I booked my flight and never looked back.  Seeing as how the ticket was non-refundable, I suppose I couldn't look back.  Hah!

Since this was an epic voyage of three weeks, I'll spread out the deets over a few posts.  If you're interested in traveling to Sydney and Melbourne, I hope the information I share will be helpful!

Traveling to Sydney:  I left on a Wednesday afternoon and spent about 24 hours in transit.  I had a 4-hour flight to LA, 5-hour layover, then 15 hours to Sydney.  I arrived on Friday shortly after 6am local time.

For the most part the flight was fine.  15 hours in a shiny metal tube at 40,000 feet can drive anyone insane.  Rarely do I complain about any flight.  Some flights/passengers can be annoying, but any flight that takes off and lands without incident is a good flight.  For international flights, I always get an aisle seat.  My constant-sitting limit is 2 hours.  After that, I have to get up and walk around.  Having an aisle seat makes this SOOO much more convenient. =)

Staying in Sydney:  I stayed at the Sydney Harbour youth hostel.  I picked this location for three main reasons:  price, location, and reviews.  The hostel is in an older part of Sydney's Central Business District called "The Rocks."  It is a less-than-five minute walk to the harbor and right next to the Sydney Harbour Bridge.  The view from the rooftop is spectacular with the Sydney Opera House and Bridge in full site.

 

 

  (view from the rooftop)
 

The other buildings are part of The Rocks neighborhood and are filled with eclectic shops/boutiques, restaurants, and offices.  There is even a vintage button shop!  I forgot to take pictures, but I did buy some buttons.  =)

Below is a picture of a passageway called the Suez Canal.  As described by the tour guide on a walking tour I took, the passageway got this name because of the amount of sewage it used to have.  People didn't have ways to dispose of sewage except for out of the window.  The sloping narrow passageway served as the outdoor toilet where sewage would collect at the bottom.  Eventually 'sewage' started to sound like 'suez' and the name was born.  The city finally made the name official and labeled the passageway with a sign.

 

The Suez Canal is also donned with lighted figures (and descriptions) to denote the types of activity that used to frequent the area.  Gangsters, drugs, debauchery - this was The Rocks of yesteryear.  Nowadays, it's a hip and happening spot with lots to do.  For my local peeps, it's like Cass Corridor meets Birmingham.

The hostel receives great reviews which are well deserved.  It's fairly new with a full kitchen, laundry room, rooftop patio, and each room has its own bathroom.  I stayed in a 4-bed female share which was moderately spaced.  There are other rooms available with more or fewer beds.  A hostel is not a hotel, so if you're accustomed to hotel treatment, then a hostel is not for you!  If you are on a budget and want some place to sleep and shower that is clean, free of vermin, and centrally located, this is the place to go.  I was visiting Sydney for 10 days.  Any other location would have cost me over $2000.  I paid less than 1/4 of that for the entire stay.

(dining area and kitchen)

The hostel sits on an active archeological dig.  Since The Rocks is a historical area, the city wanted to preserve the site.  The hostel won out all other bids because they agreed to maintain the integrity of the site and create an archaeological education center, now named The Big Dig.

The hostel is actually built on stilts to preserve the site.  Rooms wrap around the perimeter of the site so the interior of the building is hollow and open.  To date, over 1,000,000 artifacts have been recovered - many of which are on display at the hostel.

That's all I have for now.  This seems to be a pretty LONG post!  I'll try to be more brief in future posts about the trip.  I'll leave you with this statement I saw on one of the dining room tables:

Yes, it does.

L