Sydney - Part 1

Sydney, where to begin....

I've never been in such a big, or beautiful, city. Our five days there we were constantly moving and had some absolutely incredible experiences that I am still in complete awe of.

When we got in on the night of Good Friday we took a train to our hostel where we greeted our two English roommates and dropped our stuff before setting off to explore a bit. We were right in the middle of the city, near Town Hall, and the are around us was full of shops and restaurants and heaps and heaps of people. We were hungry and wanted to grab something to eat and tried to wait until after midnight so it would be a bit easier to find cheap, meat free, food (since it was Good Friday) but ended up just grabbing some cheese pizza on our way back to the hostel because we were tired and didn't want to wander too far at night without knowing the area at all.




The next morning we continued to explore the area around where we were staying and did a bit of shopping. We covered quite a bit of distance; finding some stores we had seen in other places (though not many we're used to at home), some very unique stores, and quite a few tourist-geared souvenir shops. Once we took our new acquisitions back to our room we mapped out our route and set off for Sydney Harbor (a little over a mile away). The sun was starting to set and when we got to the harbor is was gorgeous.

 We grabbed a drink at the Opera Bar which is literally underneath the Opera House and watched the sun finish setting over the water and got to see everything lit up as well.

After relaxing at the harbor for a bit we headed back toward our hostel and on to Darling Harbor which was about two blocks away from us. We had heard there would be a free fireworks display that night and wanted to check it out. The harbor was much smaller than Sydney Harbor, but very cool and different. One whole side was lined with restaurants and a shopping mall while the other was set up with grand stands as the fireworks are put on every Saturday along with other scheduled shows that take place.

We explored the mall a bit and picked up some souvenirs then headed back in to plan for the next day - Easter! We pulled together our plans, mapped out where we would need to walk and slept well after an amazing day full of a lot of walking.

There was a Cathedral about half a block from where we were staying and three of us planned to go to the mass there at 8:30 on Easter, agreeing to get up and be there early knowing it would fill up quickly being Easter. We arrived and were surprised because they wouldn't let us in, informing us that the royal family would be attended mass and no one was allowed inside until after they had arrived and were already inside. Now we knew that William and Kate were in Sydney the same time as we were but had heard that they were going to a different cathedral for Easter Mass. Apparently they had changed their plans, seemingly late in the game, as there was no early service and mass was rescheduled for 10:30 and you could only get in with a special pass (which we guessed were given to regular members of the congregation).

Since we were so early there was only one line of people in front of us at the barriers and after waiting for about three hours we not only got to see William and Kate, but also Tony Abbot - the Prime Minister of Australia.

Tony Abbott 

William & Kate greeting the Archbishop

William & Kate

Later that day we went on our Sydney Opera House Tour which was really informative and offered us a new view of the harbor. The tour started outside at a spot we had already visited, but then took us inside into the various theaters and around to the front up on the balcony of one of the fins, offering a unique view of the harbor. The architecture both inside and outside was amazing and learning about why it was built how it was and how long it took to construct just added to the awe of seeing one of the most recognizable buildings/structure in the world. 

The Studio Theater

In the Largest Fin

In the Largest Fin

Concert Hall - largest theater

After the tour we grabbed dinner and ventured out for one more adventure with the goal of finding me a cheap pair of sunglasses (of course I had forgotten mine at my apartment) and picking up some granola bar/other groceries for breakfasts/snacks. We were able to accomplish both at Woolworths and  settled in to plan for the next day. I was going kayaking early in the morning and all four of us were climbing the bridge in the evening.

The day started out a bit unexpectedly with the fire alarm going off around 4am. After filing out with the numerous other travelers were waited outside for close to an hour while the fire fighters and police ensured it was safe to return to the building (someone had pulled the fire alarm as a joke - not a funny one).

 By the time we got back to our room it was close to 5, meaning it was too late for it to be worth me going back to sleep. I changed and got my stuff together and headed downstairs to the lobby of the hostel. I was able to get a hold of my parents and chatted with them for a while, going on speaker to say hi to the rest of the family at Easter dinner as well! It was really great to talk to them and it woke me up a bit as I prepared to head off to the North Side of the Harbor for kayaking.