week two
new pictures at the link -------------->
Sept 6th.
arrived in sydney without complication and checked into our new hostel, where the owner turned out to be a civil engineer from queen's university in kingston with an iron ring to prove it.
Sept 7th.
we were searching for shelter and headed for sydney aquarium, which turned out to be a decent choice. although i shot many a bad photo, it was exciting to see all the aussie marine life on display. the platypus were really cute, as were the little penguins. not cute at all were the sharks, jellyfish and saltwater crocodile.
for dinner, we headed to woolworth's and bought some steaks to barbeque in order to SAVE money on our meal. eating out has hurt our budgets..
Sept 8th.
slept in, but managed to drag our asses out to the koala sanctuary in the quiet suburb of penant hills. some nice photos of the landloving wildlife to counter the marine species of the previous day. this was our tourist thrill of touching koalas and kangaroos. (roos are softer)
also of note, a wiley bird gave us a piece of his mind with quite a vocabulary and some skill at head bobbing competition... not sure if i won, but it was fun.
Sept 9th.
surprise, rainy all day. went to sydney opera house via the botanical garden nearby. did the tour of the building which has an intriguing design, inside and out.... as well as history and prestige up the wazoo.
after dusk we went up to the bar in sydney tower and rotated about 270 degrees of the view of the city - all lit up in the dark. somehow the only good pictures were of the exquisite light fixtures that came around overhead.
finally got back to the hostel to catch the second half of the footy game between sydney and west coast. i cheered sydney on to a victory, but ultimately the game made me yearn for my NFL.
Sept 10th.
met up with poeli's relatives today. they were at our door at king's cross waiting for us to roll out of bed at 9am. they were kind enough to take us out for breakfast at hungry jack's which in north america is known as burger king. the "whopper" is a dead giveaway if the logo hadn't tipped you off.
as a group of 8, we walked around the city centre and darling harbour, snapping a few pictures. they were very excited to meet poeli, as she wasn't born the last time her mom had seen her half-brother et al. burritos for lunch and we were cut loose once again.
Sept 11th.
with the last day, we tried once again to get some decent views of the city in the limited amount of sun we were afforded. first to the fish market, where we scarfed down fresh deep fried barramundi and chips for a late breakfast and made acquaintances with a few large pelicans on the wharf.
afterward it was straight to the famous harbour bridge and we walked its length before the rain came down and trapped us at a cafe on the wrong side.
finally made it back to the hostel again and were wisked off to the airport for our flight to what was supposed to be our weather salvation, surfer's paradise on the gold coast.
our late arrival made things interesting, causing in turn, an expensive cab ride and a late check-in but luckily everything ended up as planned.
Sept 12th.
got our first look at the ominous surf just across the road from our hostel. winds were high, so if you didn't want to get sandblasted on the beach, you had to risk getting a bit wet. surfer's paradise is an obvious tourist trap, but surprisingly we found some of the cheapest (and best) souvenir stores so far.
after a couple of drinks with dinner, the bartender at the irish pub recommended a mini-guiness shot consisting of tia maria topped with bailey's. i gladly pass along his recommendation.
Sept 6th.
arrived in sydney without complication and checked into our new hostel, where the owner turned out to be a civil engineer from queen's university in kingston with an iron ring to prove it.
Sept 7th.
we were searching for shelter and headed for sydney aquarium, which turned out to be a decent choice. although i shot many a bad photo, it was exciting to see all the aussie marine life on display. the platypus were really cute, as were the little penguins. not cute at all were the sharks, jellyfish and saltwater crocodile.
for dinner, we headed to woolworth's and bought some steaks to barbeque in order to SAVE money on our meal. eating out has hurt our budgets..
Sept 8th.
slept in, but managed to drag our asses out to the koala sanctuary in the quiet suburb of penant hills. some nice photos of the landloving wildlife to counter the marine species of the previous day. this was our tourist thrill of touching koalas and kangaroos. (roos are softer)
also of note, a wiley bird gave us a piece of his mind with quite a vocabulary and some skill at head bobbing competition... not sure if i won, but it was fun.
Sept 9th.
surprise, rainy all day. went to sydney opera house via the botanical garden nearby. did the tour of the building which has an intriguing design, inside and out.... as well as history and prestige up the wazoo.
after dusk we went up to the bar in sydney tower and rotated about 270 degrees of the view of the city - all lit up in the dark. somehow the only good pictures were of the exquisite light fixtures that came around overhead.
finally got back to the hostel to catch the second half of the footy game between sydney and west coast. i cheered sydney on to a victory, but ultimately the game made me yearn for my NFL.
Sept 10th.
met up with poeli's relatives today. they were at our door at king's cross waiting for us to roll out of bed at 9am. they were kind enough to take us out for breakfast at hungry jack's which in north america is known as burger king. the "whopper" is a dead giveaway if the logo hadn't tipped you off.
as a group of 8, we walked around the city centre and darling harbour, snapping a few pictures. they were very excited to meet poeli, as she wasn't born the last time her mom had seen her half-brother et al. burritos for lunch and we were cut loose once again.
Sept 11th.
with the last day, we tried once again to get some decent views of the city in the limited amount of sun we were afforded. first to the fish market, where we scarfed down fresh deep fried barramundi and chips for a late breakfast and made acquaintances with a few large pelicans on the wharf.
afterward it was straight to the famous harbour bridge and we walked its length before the rain came down and trapped us at a cafe on the wrong side.
finally made it back to the hostel again and were wisked off to the airport for our flight to what was supposed to be our weather salvation, surfer's paradise on the gold coast.
our late arrival made things interesting, causing in turn, an expensive cab ride and a late check-in but luckily everything ended up as planned.
Sept 12th.
got our first look at the ominous surf just across the road from our hostel. winds were high, so if you didn't want to get sandblasted on the beach, you had to risk getting a bit wet. surfer's paradise is an obvious tourist trap, but surprisingly we found some of the cheapest (and best) souvenir stores so far.
after a couple of drinks with dinner, the bartender at the irish pub recommended a mini-guiness shot consisting of tia maria topped with bailey's. i gladly pass along his recommendation.
posted by scott at
4:36 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home