Sydney

  Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Monday, April 27, 2009

27.04.09: We are going to Sydney! Incredible! I remember in Brisbane when the sign said it was over 950km away! After some phone calls to Norman, Sean's cousin, we decided to go to Manly before he was leaving work. Lovely beach, really relaxed. We enjoyed strolling down the Esplanade and the wharf while eating a big ice-cream.  We drove in Sydney with Marilyn and she did great. Roads are quite large so it is not too much of a hassle, except she has some blind spots! We drove over harbour bridge and she felt really proud! We arrived in Newtown, the neighbourhood where Sean's cousins live and tried to park somewhere.

playing didgeridoo

It happened that we parked just two minutes down their apartment, how lucky! Norman took us around the city for a night tour. We saw the infamous Opera House and the bridge. We walked down Darling harbour where lots of yachts are parked and nice restaurants all around. We had a drink in a nice pub and the tiredness hit us, especially after the cold previous night. We had some Indian food at night and came back to the apartment and had a nice night with Sonja, Norman's sister. They gave us loads of advice on what to do during our stay. Sonja gave us her room. It was so great to sleep in a warm bed!!

Opera hosue by day

28.04.09: We had a very productive tourist day today! Real Japanese style! We started with a free tour of the library. Their resources are unbelievable and we could even go down the archives in the basement: the rooms are the size of 7 football pitches. They have different apparels playing old microfilms. You could see people watching 100 yrs old documentary or reading the 1st edition of the New York Times. That was quite great. We also could get into the Parliament House. Unfortunately, no session was on. We walked towards the old barracks which were used during the immigration periods. Many Irish, among other nationalities, slept and worked in those barracks for years. Hyde Park is nice park to chill out.

Sunset in Sydney

A guy was playing some music nearby a fountain while a couple was getting their wedding picture taken. Nearby the park is St Mary's cathedral. It looks recent enough (200 yrs old) but is beautiful inside. Sydney is a very green city. They have a big Botanic garden with big bats living in trees. Even during day time you can hear them,: some are sleeping, some are fighting for their spot. Quite funny. We walked back to the harbour where an Aborigine was playing the didgeridoo next to a hippie Australian woman selling his CD. We walked the length of the bridge by sunset, with a lovely view of the opera house. We passed by Luna Park, which is a large old style fun fair before taking the ferry back. In the evening, Sean cooked his infamous risotto for Sonja, Norman and his girlfriend, Melissa. Yummy!!  
PS: Bon 30e anniversaire de mariage, Papa et Maman.!

Sonja, Melissa and Norman

29.04.09: We felt really lazy today and the weather was not that great. We headed to the observatory. It was interesting to see the instruments and the dome moving for the large telescope. There was a school group tour while we were here and decided to tag along but when everyone was queuing up to look into the binoculars, the guy waited until the very last minute to tell us that we could not because we were not part of the group. What an a**! We were a bit disappointed and left. The area looks less modern, it is nice to see the style of the old houses and get a vibe of the old Sydney. There are even two pubs there claiming to be the oldest pub in town. A fight that has been going on for years now!

Marly beach

We went to the famous Bondi beach, the famous surfers beach. Nice atmosphere but not good weather. Must be great to live in sydney. On a good day, you ditch your suit after work and jump into your swimming shorts and grab your surfboard and head to the closest beach! We originally wanted to do the Sydney museum, but were so tired that we could not bothered reading stuff so just gave up. We went to K-Mart (similar to Penny's) to prepare ourselves with the cold part of our trip: we bought a heater, a travel hairdryer and some warm clothes: Victoria and New Zealand...here we come!