In a New Town

I arrived in Sydney nearly 3 1/2 weeks ago. To my delight I arrived rested after my my 9-hour, overnight bus ride into Central Station in Sydney. On our way we crossed the famous Harbour Bridge and weaved our way through China Town.

I have been lucky enough to stay with a friend of mine from Portland, who is living here in Newtown, as I try and sort out a plan for my time here. It is definitely nice to have the company of an old friend, that is American as well. He was just completing his school year when I arrived, so for the first week I was here, there was one party after another to celebrate. This was nice as it took me to homes all over Sydney and allowed me to meet a lot of new people.

A breakfast place, that reminds me of the many good places to eat in PDX

Enmore Rd  - Newtown is lined with cafes, bookshops and Thai Restaurants

Gelato at it's finest - Newtown

We also were able to celebrate Thanksgiving here, complete with a Tur-Duc-En (a turkey stuffed with a duck which is stuffed with a chicken which is all wrapped in sacrificial bacon). It was amazing! Not to forget, we had candied yams, salads, both roasted and mashed potatoes, and a yummy chocolate moose, passionfruit pudding, and Australian pumpkin pie for dessert. We stuffed ourselves and hung out, watching James Bond movies before we all fell into a deep sleep.


The past few weeks have had me traveling all over Sydney as well, for job interviews.  While I had one job interview after the next, I am still looking for work. Trying not to end up a fruit picker or a door to door salesman. So the hunt is still on...

I have seen a lot of Sydney however and love wandering by foot around it, as there is always something to be discovered!

Signage here is pretty helpful...

First day walking around, I ventured to Darling Harbour (where Harbourside, the Sydney Aquarium, Convention Center, Maritime Museum, and Wildlife Conservation are located to name a few of the big attractions.) On the way, I passed through China Town and a few parks before coming across the visitor's center where I finally got a map to the city and its surroundings for ideas of things to see.

China Town has excellent Dim Sums for an even GREATER price!

Chinese Classical Gardens

The Wheel of Sydney, across from the Powerhouse Museum 

Darling Harbour

Maritime Museum

Wildlife World & Aquarium, best to get a 4-park pass, if planning to visit here

 So fun! Too bad I don't really know how to play chess that well!

Gum trees line the paths in Hyde Park

The view of St. Mary's Cathedral from Hyde Park

The Gallery of NSW, open free, daily until 5:00PM

After viewing the harbour I continued walking, making my way to Hype Park and St. Mary's Cathedral before heading to the Gallery of NSW, Botanical Gardens and the Opera House (for the first time, but definitely not the last.)

one of the many entrances to the gardens

Colorful plants, I think these are cacti

No idea the name of this nor any of the plants, but its pretty!

 There were heaps of Bats in these trees in the gardens! 

Funny story...so I was just wandering about, with no agenda. I made it to the Gallery of NSW with one hour to spare before it closed. I looked at the exhibits while keeping an eye on the clock. I had hoped to see them too. So, I left the gallery at 4:30PM and walked to the gardens up the road. As I walked about taking heaps of pictures, I for some reason thought that the gardens closed at 5PM. Scared I was going to get locked in, only to be found later and fined, I started running.

So there I was...running just as fast as I could...through the gardens...passed heaps of people leisurely relaxing at the gardens. As I made my way through the northern gate, my eyes gazed over the sign that said - "gates open daily, till 8PM" while at the same time, I became all aware of where I just had ended up - at the Opera House!

Found it!

I took a million of this guy, so prepare...

Mesha at the Opera House

view of the Harbour Bridge from the Opera House

I laughed to myself afterwards, realizing that all those people casually enjoying the gardens that saw me race past - must have been thinking to themselves "oh, my, look at that girl, she must REALLY want to see the Opera House". It was one thing to be at the Opera House, another to be surprised by it. The smile did not leave my face all night and it wasn't until my paining empty stomach dragged me away that I left it.

There is heaps more to explore here...and I look forward to doing such.