Things To Do In Sydney When It Rains pt 2

Trip Start Feb 25, 2008
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Trip End Jul 15, 2008


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Flag of Australia  , New South Wales,
Wednesday, April 23, 2008

I remember Anton calling the Sydney entry of his blog the same so thought it was very relevant to mine also as its rained most of this week!! So since last Monday we've been in Sydney, the first few days of last week doing very little as the weather was pretty awful. On Wednesday I booked onto a day trip up to see The Blue Mountains, it meant getting up at 7:30 but was supposed to be really good. So on Wednesday I was up early and stood waiting outside the hostel, only for the tour company to not turn up! When I went back to my room I noticed they had tried calling me and apparently had looked for me but couldn't find me - either way they moved me to do the trip Friday which was fine. Instead of the trip I just wandered around town that day and also went up Sydney Tower for some really good views of the city. That night we went out in Kings Cross with an english guy called Dan from our dorm, he had been there several years ago and said it was a good night out but it had definately gone downhill since then Some Downey Jr guy!
Some Downey Jr guy!
 . Full of sleezy bars and prostitutes, there was a club called Porky's though and a Tudor Hotel!

On Thursday I decided to go on a tour of the Sydney Cricket Ground or SCG and also the Aussie Stadium (surprisingly Ben didn't bother!). This was really interesting and got to see loads of things, couldn't stay on the ground for long though because the Sydney Swans had a closed training session. I assumed they didn't want me using my extensive Aussie Rules knowledge to pass on tips to that weekends opposition. That evening was an early night as the next day would be Blue Mountains attempt 2!

This time I was picked up for the tour so it was a success already. They took us to see some Easteren Grey Kangaroos and then on a walk to a pretty amazing waterfall. After lunch we got to see the 3 sisters rocks and then went on another walk around a place called Scenic Park (including a ride on the steapist railway in the world and i'd say one of the most dangerous). It was definately worth doing the day trip - also got talking to a few people whilst there. My aim is to try and do a lot more day/overnight trips in Oz as you seem to get to see a lot of things. After all that walking I surprisingly wasn't tired that night so headed out to The Rocks area of Sydney with Ben, Dan and 2 other guys we were sharing our dorm with - was a quietish night except Ben revealed that he used to be Wacky Warehouse's Wesley in his old job Porky's of Sydney!
Porky's of Sydney!
 ! He kept that one quiet!

Saturday was horse racing day! I hadn't had a flutter for 2 months now so decided to go to Golden Slipper Day at Rosehill Gardens. This was quite a massive day in the Oz racing calendar, they had 5 group 1 races (if that means anything to anyone else!) and the main race was worth $2 million to the winner. I had set aside 100 pound for my bets as I usually do with Cheltenham etc, but was hoping i'd get at least 1 winner. Unfortunately I didn't get anywhere near so it was a bad day betting wise! Thats 2 race meetings i've been to now and i've never picked out a winner - think i'll stay in front of the TV in future. Even without winning anything it was really good - though at times I felt a bit underdressed in jeans when some people seemed to be treating it like Royal Ascot! That evening I decided to stay in and watch TV - though i don't know how I ever manage this because the TV out here is dire. Reality TV and chat shows seem to be all they show!

The next day was my last in Sydney so ended up having a bit of a lazy sports day. Went to watch the Calzaghe fight in the morning, watched an Aussi Rules game in the afternoon, and then all the Premiership footi in the evening with Dan. I can't believe whatever the match out here the pub is always full of fans My hotel
My hotel
 . Hopefully I will be in a pub full of Blades come the playoff final.

On Monday we ended up moving on from the town centre and to Bondi Beach. I expected to see Scott working on the beach in full lifeguard gear but I didn't notice him! Anyway that day we just looked around and then did the hostels quiz with some Irish guys from our dorm in the evening. On Tuesday I did a 5 km coastal walk from Bondi to Coogee Beach, which had some quite spectacular views along the way. The hostel was pretty nice and clean, and we even had the dorm room to ourselves on the second night. One minor complaint I had was someone had a shit on the floor on the toilets on the first night - but i suppose you get what you pay for!! I didn't complain as I didn't want to sound stuck up!

Plans for the next week are I am moving to Manly Beach today and going to stay there for a few nights. And then we are heading up to Newcastle.

Í haven't really mentioned the weather as its been similar every day. Cloudy all day with a few downpours in the afternoon/evening. Not too cold but not warm enough! And really windy at times which i hate!!!! I'm sure it will get better as I work up the coast though.

(will add pics soon)
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