Of Bad Nights, Trains, and Fish - Cairns

My first night in Cairns was, well, interesting.

No, actually it was just plain awful. It was a little too hot when I went to bed for my liking and then at 4am I was completely freezing and the hostel only provided a sheet so I was wrapped in that like a caterpillar. The girl sleeping in the bunk underneath me kept wriggling throughout the night so I would jolt awake every time, and the "curtains" only covered half the window so basically let in all the light from the streetlights and neon signs outside. I don't know how many times I woke up, or how much sleep I got. Maybe 3 hours?

Anyway, in the morning I had a wander round Cairns to see what it as all about. Cairns is a strange place. Fantastic for backpackers travelling in groups, quite a lot of shopping in outside stores and inside malls, plenty of restaurants on the Esplanade, which is the road that runs along the "beach". I say "beach" because there is a tiny patch of sand that you can sunbathe on and the rest is grass and boardwalk. It is very pretty though, and usually there's an outside pool area but it was under construction when I was there.

I found Cairns quite strange. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I found it quite commercial and a bit tacky in areas, and I wouldn't go on a family holiday there, but it is the perfect place to travel with a group of friends where you just want to relax, shop, sunbathe, swim, and party.

After having a snoop round the main area I found a free internet cafe and started looking up hotels. Yes, for $15 a night what was I expecting? The problem is I'm a light sleeper, and everything keeps my awake. I found a hotel further out that wasn't completely out of my price range and booked it for the last few days of my stay. After that I felt much better and went a sunbathed on the beach/grass listening to my audiobook (if you travel alone, it is the best way to pass time and keep yourself occupied).

I booked a couple tours while I was there. One was the Karunda Railway and Cableway, which some people said was worth it, and some people said it wasn't. I have now experienced it, and can tell you all that it is worth it. A coach picks you up from your hotel (delapidated hostel) and drives you to Freshwater Station, which is a cute little station with a small museum and an old carriage by the cafe. The train itself has seats to one side where all the views are, and there was some commentary on the way up which did prove interesting, although I'd heard a lot of it already from the coach driver. The history is apparently not very long, or very elaborate.

So the train takes ages to get to the top, about an hour, and goes quite slowly, but it is nice, and when you reach the top it is easy to walk to Karunda village. There are lots of shops and market stalls, which sell some quite unique souvenirs that I hadn't seen before (I have spent 4 months looking in souvenir shops in many different cities, so this was a pleasant surprise). Aboriginal art, local art, jewellery, opals, kangaroo skins, aussie hats, ornaments, accessories, etc etc. There was also a koala place to hold a koala, but I'd already done that, and the butterfly enclosure just plain freaked me out so I decided not to go in there, but they are nice ideas, and there are also a lot of restaurants and cafes.

On the way down, I used the Cablecars, and met Deena and Colin, an elderly retired couple from a town near Brisbane who were on holiday, and we had a great chat on the trip back down, which is supposed to take about an hour apparently but really only takes half that. As we almost reached the bottom of the mountain Colin provided us with some interesting commentary on the water skiers in a lake to the side of the cable car station which consisted of "Woooaahh, he's going for it, he's going for it, aw he chickened out! The bogun. I really thought he was going for it that time. Oh that guy made the jump! I give him a 6."

 The other tour I booked was a snorkel cruise, which is a massive thing for me because I hate the ocean. Seriously, the whole idea of the ocean freaks me out, but I was so close to the Great Barrier Reef I just knew people would ask me if I saw it, so I gathered all my courage and went out to sea. It was a lovely sunny warm day which was great, and the staff on the Ocean Freedom (the boat we were on) were great and encouraging. I sat in on the talk about diving and ruled that out straight away, and then donned my uber attractive wetsuit, flippers, flotation jacket, and snorkel, and made my way into the water. Flippers are seriously hard to keep in the water when you are wearing a flotation jacket. It was fine propelling myself forward, but to get myself upright required a bit of a twist, kick, flip dance move that I'm sure the fish weren't impressed with.

I did see some amazing fish, of which I do have photos but they are in an old school camera which uses film (I know! Such ancient technology!) so I can't share them with you, but I did see a puffer fish, parrot fish, angel fish, and I found nemo.

When I got off the boat, I think the adrenaline of the day, plus packing my stuff and hauling it to my new hotel kept everything at bay, but when I sat down for dinner, spending 9 hours on a boat definitely caught up with me and it felt like I was still out at sea. I don't get seasick, but that feeling afterwards always knocks me for 6. Still, I was so happy to be in my wonderful new hotel room I couldn't let it keep me down. Seriously, I am not a hostel kind of girl. Hotels all the way. So for the next 3 days I just swam and sunbathed, and only ventured into town to have dinner. It was the most wonderfully relaxing time ever, and such a relief after the hostel.

Next blog post: Melbourne!

TTFN!

Of Walks, Reunions and the Next Adventure - Brisbane

It's been a while! But my access to internet has been severely limited since leaving the wonderful Souyave residence. Right now I am sitting in a cafe in Adelaide having a hot chocolate and waiting for the Grand Prix to start. I figured I would take this time to update you guys on what I've been up to. Which is a LOT. The rest of Brisbane, all of Cairns, and all of Melbourne. I'll do it in stages so you don't end up reading a novel instead of a blog post.

So, the day after the koala sanctuary I met up with my friend Ross who lives in Brisbane now, and told him to show me the Brisbane that tourists don't see. So we went for a walk round the city. For hours. And hours. After about 4 hours I asked if he had any particular destination in mind and he said he never actually came to Brisbane city (being a geologist and always "on site" wherever that may be) so he didn't know anything about the place either. But it was still a nice way to spend an afternoon, and I was already very grateful to him as he got me through the difficult first few weeks of Sydney when I had no one to talk to.

A new day, a new blast from the past. I met up with my friends from Hong Kong, Tanya and Clara. It was quite surreal, and they were nothing like I'd imagined them to be. Then again the last time I'd really hung out with them we were 6, so they weren't going to be exactly the same as my memories. They did actually show me some different areas of Brisbane, such as the casino, which we just walked through without gambling because we're good girls and would NEVER do that kind of irresponsible thing...... and then convinced ourselves to go for a drink in a bar. I say convinced, because at 9pm we acknowledged how old we are now, nothing like our 6 year old selves who stayed up all night partying, and wanted to go back to Tanya's to go to bed. I know, it's lame, but we did manage to take ourselves to a bar for a drink, and then went back to look at old photo albums where we all wore the same dresses from the only shop that sold western clothing and had many many parties with elaborate cakes our mums made.

I'm on the far left, then Clara, then Tanya. The good ol' days where our parents would also dress siblings in the same outfit. Bet you can guess who is Tanya's sister in the photo!... I had so much hair!

Tanya, myself and Clara nowadays

Rather than take the bus or train into the city, you should definitely take the Citycat at least once. It was a nice trip in, despite the Change Nazi from whom I bought my ticket and who was furious that I as a young person (she actually said "you young people," apparently I'm representative of my entire generation) come on board with our flashy paper notes and take all her change... erm.... isn't that what your change is for? Okay, I amend my recommendation: Rather than take the bus or train into the city, you should definitely take the Citycat at least once, but remember to carry exact change, even though it doesn't tell you how much it is until you are actually on board and can ask. So just guess.

We went into town to check out the markets, and Southbank market rates up there with Sydney's Rocks Market for me. I loved it! Such great things to buy, really interesting and different, and I loved all the jewellery there. There was so much I wanted to buy but mostly they were things that wouldn't fit in my carry on baggage, so when I eventually live in Brisbane (which could happen... sure... please let me in!) I know where to come and get all my things to decorate my house.

Brisbane was one giant reunion really, because the next day I went to visit out family friends the McQueen's. The two boys are the 2 blond boys in the photo above and are now rugby players living in Hong Kong. I am so jealous! Well, I'm no rugby player but I'd love to live in HK. Plus they have a cat in Brisbane called Charlie who likes me. Who really likes me. Cats don't like me. So I love Charlie. And I love the McQeen house and its inhabitants. It was so nice to see everybody again on this trip.

Anyway, then I went into a whole booking an American embassy appointment palava at 1am trying to call America, and Melbourne in the morning. Basically I was trying to sort out getting my student visa here in Australia instead of England as England was being a royal pain in the backside and had become ridiculous over the demands of the Olympics on the US embassy's time (which should surely have no effect whatsoever except if the employees have been fobbed off with tickets to the games). Anyway, it took over a week to sort out, but it is finally sorted and the UK have come through (which is always nice). But it was a very stressful last morning in Brisbane which ended with some tears, but then I got ahold of myself and swore at the visa system and felt a lot better. After that I said goodbye to the house and to the wonderful Linda and went to the airport. Good thing to note is that Virgin Australia, despite being a budget-ish airline, actually have TVs on the plane! That was a nice surprise.

And then I was arriving in Cairns, waiting in the dark for a bus I thought would never come, and then arriving after hours at my hostel where I was sharing a room with 7 girls at $15 a night, which was absolutely a bad idea and not worth trying to save money over. But more on that next time.

TTFN!

Of Views, Cities, Koalas, and Kangaroos (finally!) - Brisbane

I live in a mansion on a hill (temporarily). And the view is as follows:

I KNOW RIGHT???

I wish I'd taken a picture of the hostel I was in previously, you know, as a comparison. That would have been interesting. Anyway, this is not a hostel, it is in fact the house of a family friend who I am staying with while I'm in Brisbane. I am certainly trying to make use of all the Aussie connections on my travels. It's been really great seeing people again who I haven't seen in years!

I was supposed to leave the Gold Coast on Tuesday, but I had had enough of the rain. It was going to rain until I left, so I figured I would try and beat the rain to Brisbane and hope that it was sunnier there. The coach only takes 1.5 hours and I was picked up by my parents' friend who took me to her fantastic house. Immediately my soul lifted. Seriously, I had a great view and someone to talk to, and that really makes all the difference. And it wasn't raining.

The next day we went to Mount Coot-tha which had great views of the city. If you are every visiting Brisbane then it's definitely worth a look, and it's free!



After that we went to Indooroopilly (I just say Indro) shopping centre for lunch and a look around. Put me in any mall with a food court and I'm happy. And then went back to the house for dinner and watched a really huge moon rise up from behind the mountains in the distance.

The next day we went into the city itself. I'd made a map with lots of interesting buildings on it (yes, I'm actually quite a fan of building architecture, and I always aim to see the main buildings in cities). Brisbane is definitely a nice city. It's not as big as Sydney but seems a great city to live and work in. From a tourist point of view, again, if you're not interested in art galleries and museums then it's just a matter of wandering round looking at the buildings, eating and shopping. But that's the same with all cities, and I do quite like to spend my time that way.



This building had a bite taken out of it. Bet the architect was annoyed.

Beautiful rainbows in St John's Cathedral.



If you go into any of the churches or cathedrals like St John's or St. Stephens, there is always someone there who is happy to give you a leaflet and talk about the history of the building. Factoid: St John's Cathedral began construction in 1906 and was completed in 2009. An almost never ending project, it seems.

I'd like to work in the one on the right, and live in the one in the middle.

Finally, finally people, I have cuddled a koala. And fed a kangaroo. Lone Pine Sanctuary in Brisbane is an absolute must. They have exotic birds, platypus area, wombats (I wrote wombles first, I'd love a womble sanctuary!), snakes, koalas, lizards, kangaroos etc etc. I have so many pictures of koalas. And kangaroos. I will only post a couple here, promise. I finally really feel like I'm in Australia. I got my cuddle, had a staring contest with the most deadliest land snake in the world and had a conversation with a cockatoo. I can deal with this kind of nature all right.

Probably not the same koala....



Say hello to my little friend.

We used to be the same height

I am very popular with kangaroos.

I love how they sleep. Hilarious. Jee Eun could do this!

After I had my fill of koalas (next birthday present please?) we went and had a look around South bank, which is across the Brisbane River from the city. On a sunny hot day it would be excellent because they have created a man made beach with a pool as the 'sea'. It's also where the Wheel of Brisbane is, which is a London Eye on a much smaller scale. These things have to be done though, and thankfully it's a lot cheaper than the London Eye, only $15. It takes 10 minutes which is just a nice amount of time, compared to the Eye which takes FOREVER ZZzzzzzzzzz. Southbank has a row of cafes for the peckish, and praise the lord a Max Brenner! I'm not sure if I've mentioned it before, I probably have, but just in case, Max Brenner is a chocolate cafe, and sells the most amazing desserts. So of course we had to have one.

Stay tuned for my continuing adventures in Brisbane!
Although there are no more koalas :-(

TTFN!

Of Spectacular Shows, Theme Parks, and Everyday I'm Shuff-el-ing - Gold Coast

The Australian Outback Spectacular was, in a word, spectacular. I got a free stockman's hat (already a plus, I love freebies) and the meal was fantastic. Nothing beats a nice piece of Australian steak and mash potatoes. The pre-show is basically you, sitting in a room full of strangers, with a bar, and several horses. This would be excellent for anyone except a lone traveller. As long as I kept moving it didn't feel strange, but the second I stopped I ended up standing next to people who looked at me strangely. Seriously, what's so wrong with being on my own? I'm not eavesdropping on your conversation! Well, maybe I am. Anyway, in the actual show I sat next to an older Aussie couple named Julie and Paul. Paul was actually hilarious, because as the night went on, the wine flowed, and he got more and more drunk. The Aussie accent with a slur is even more difficult to understand than an Aussie on the phone.

I love you Phar Lap!

 The show itself was fantastic. Lots of horse tricks, quad bike tricks, songs, stories of Australian history and the story of Phar Lap (a bloody amazing horse by all accounts with a sadly tragic end, look him up), and then they pitted the two "stations" against each other. Basically it was one side of the arena against the other, with half wearing yellow bands on their hats and half wearing red bands (I had red). I can't spell or pronounce our station name, but it began with a W and was something like Wagarra... and we won! Of course we did. I was on the team.

I was over on the distant side of this photo, with red hat bands. Boo Yellows!

When I got home I had new roommates. A couple with the guy from Newcastle (hilarious accent) and the girl from Yorkshire (also hilarious accent). She introduced herself as "Emeh" so, as I am so used to getting to know people with strange sounding names now, I said "nice to meet you Emeh" and then realised she'd said "Amy" with a Yorkshire accent.... basically I had just mocked her accent to her face. Maybe that's why she didn't say much to me after that, but the boyfriend was willing to chat some, although I can't remember his name.

Today I went to Movie World, a theme park in the Gold Coast. It's, well, muehee. Say it out loud and elongate the vowels and it turns into a sort of reluctant sigh. It wasn't bad or anything, but I've been spoiled by the Disneylands of the world and so it just seemed small with not enough rides and not enough restaurants. And some of it was closed, like the fairground games, either because of this weather (which was appalling) or because of the fact it was off season. And I paid $80 for it. $80!!!! Waaaaay overpriced for what it is. And then I had lunch for $14. And then a slushie for $5. And then a chocolate and marshmallow stick covered in chocolate for $4. Very expensive, but it had started raining again so it was get wet or eat and I chose the latter (when don't I?). There were 4 rollercoasters that were genuinely good though, so I did have fun. And one of those was the Scooby-Doo ride, which I was not expecting. And the stunt car show was AWESOME!

So amazing and really funny

Couple incidents though made me laugh and made up for everything.  The first was overhearing a family where the son asked his parents how they met [insert name here] and they said "America, hun." And then the son asked "Where did you meet?" and the mum said "Pub." That's it. Just "pub." Gotta love these Aussies. Also, twice I was waiting for rides where people had to get up and leave the seats for the ride because they were too... um... big... i.e. fat. I have been to quite a few theme parks, and not even in America did I see people actually get asked to leave because the harness wouldn't fit over them. Must be so embarrassing! And then at the "parade" (it had NOTHING on Hong Kong Disneyland) Bugs, Tweety, and several other characters danced to LMFAO - Party Rock Anthem. "Everyday I'm shuff-el-ing." Actually awesome

I have cut my trip to the Gold Coast short, people. I was supposed to leave on Tuesday but I am instead leaving tomorrow as the weather is not going to improve and I can't bear to be trapped inside my hostel again. Plus what's the point in being at the beach when you can't, you know, go to the beach. But hey, I will be back to the city, and you guys know how much I love cities. So till next time...

TTFN!

Of Rain (again) and Travelling Alone in the Gold Coast

Okay people, this is Eleana reporting to you from Surfers Paradise in the Gold Coast. I am currently surrounded by people in an internet cafe and trying not to feel too self-conscious about how the people next to me can just glance out the corner of their eyes and see past the flimsy dividers and read as I type. But anyway.

What is the Gold Coast like? Well, if you asked me on the day I arrived I would have been saying things like "this is just like Pensacola, Florida, where I went on Spring Break," "I love the stretch of beach, it looks fab," "So many restaurants, can't wait to eat!"

It is now my second full day here and now I'm like "Will this rain never STOOOOOOOOP!!!!! ARGHHHHH!!"

Yeah.

Actually the rain has stopped, but apparently only for a couple of hours, and tomorrow it might rain, and the next day it will rain, and the next day it will rain, and the next day I leave so.... oh.

Despite this I am actually having a nice time. I am sleeping a LOT which is nice because I had an average of 7 hours back in Sydney which is so not enough for me. And at the backpackers place I am staying at (Gold Coast International Backpackers for anyone who wants to know) I have a room for 4 all to myself mwahahaha. I didn't chase them out or anything, it's just off season right now. Not sure why. Such lovely weather. Oh wait.

The Gold Coast would be a great place for a Spring Break (that is if you Americans can afford the flight... if you can and you're a pretty male then call me!) because there is so much party stuff going on, and fairground rides, and the beach, and shopping, and theme parks, and Condom Kingdom. Yeah, they are totally prepared for Spring Breakers.

But I am not on Spring Break and also travelling alone, which presents its own problems. As a mild introvert travelling alone, while I would love to have a chat with somebody, I will not be the first to approach them, and if they come and talk to me, my first reaction will be to put them off. Crazy personality. And the number of times I've had to say "Just me" is unreal. If I go to a restaurant, they will say "For two?" and I reply, "Nope, just me." If I book a tour, they say "for two people?" And I reply, "Nope, just me." Nobody seems to expect that I could be on my own. People naturally travel in pairs or groups, it seems. And I do seem to be the only lone person staying at my hostel.

Anyway, tonight I will be going for a steak dinner and a show at the Australian Outback Spectacular (poster above) which I am very much looking forward to, and tomorrow I am off to Movie World theme park which also looks amazing. Plus I'm on my own so I can go through the single rider lines and get on the rides faster. Haha! There are bonuses.

Well, I have 6 minutes left of my dollar of internet. Man, I miss my computer and wi-fi! Definitely experiencing those withdrawal symptoms I talked about. All I ask now is for you, dear reader, to do a Sun Dance for me so that I can get some Vitamin D please.

TTFN!

Of Blue Mountains, Karaoke, and Bon Voyage

My, my, time does fly. You don't know, but I know that i was supposed to write the Blue Mountains entry the next next day, and it's now Tuesday. My excuses are good though, promise. More on that later.

So last Wednesday I spent a leisurely morning in bed, and then just before lunch headed for Central station. My housemates thought I was barmy going so late but I really wanted to see the Blue Mountains nearer the sunset. The train ride was 2 hours long but some of the views were fantastic as we climbed up into the mountains. Oh by the way, $11.40 return, for a, in total, 4 hour train trip. What's that England? Is that you spluttering in the background?

If you stay in the Blue Mountains overnight, then the hop-on-hop-off buses are probably a good deal, but if you just want to do Scenic World in a day like I did, just get a taxi. It's $10 and you don't have to wait, but make sure you get the taxi phone number because they don't sit and wait outside Scenic World as I discovered. Anyway, it's $28 for the steepest railway in the world (says Guinness Book Of Records, and Scenic World Staff over and over and over and... *repeats somewhere in the background*), the cable car, the walk through the forest, and 2 trips on the Skyway (just another big cable car really). I loved the railway, although when I was little I apparently felt very differently about the experience, and walking through the forest was cold this time of year but I was on my own the entire way round so I ran around quite a bit while squealing (I honestly did this. It was awesome).

No one to the left of me, no one to the right, here I am, running round like a lunatic, LaLaLaaaa

The views are really quite stunning, even for someone like me who looks at scenery and says, to quote Flynn Rider (Tangled), "I could get used to a view like this..... yep, I'm used to it." I have about 100 photos of the same view, just from slightly different angles. After the first Skyway trip I made my way along the walk to the Three Sisters and just about died going up the stairs on the way back. I'd passed an older couple coming the other way on the way down and they were absolutely fine. Me? Thought I was going to pass out. Honest to god. I had a sit down just to make sure I didn't faint.

The sunset over the Blue Mountains will be different for different times of the year, so the spectacular colours I'd seen in some photos online must be at a different time of year to now. But what I can say for May is that, at sunset, the Blue Mountains are very very blue. During the day I could not see what the people were talking about. Everything was clearly green and brown. But just before the sun hit the horizon the views went kind of misty and then turned blue. Happy I am to see that I saw blue Blue Mountains.

Also, here is my video of my 2 days off so you can see my experience in moving picture form:

Those Sunny Days In Sydney <-- Click Here

On Sunday I experienced something that I've wanted to try for aaaaaaaaages.

ASIAN KARAOKE!!!

If you haven't a clue, Asian karaoke is where you book a room in a karaoke... place, and you go with a group of friends and sing endless songs and drink a lot. I LOVE IT! It is absolutely hilarious to sing Japanese/Korean songs when you can't speak Japanese/Korean. Luckily I do know some of the dance moves so I provided the back up dances until they sang a line in English. And I introduced My Asian roommates to the musical masterpiece that is The Fast Food Song.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaa Pizza Hut, a Pizza Hut, Kentucky Fried Chicken and a Pizza Hut!

Oh Yeah!

So, in terms of my excuses for posting this 4 days late, well, I am leaving Sydney *wells up, fans eyes*. I cannot believe it has come so quickly, but I have now saved up my monies (and spent them again on flights and accommodation) and I am travelling for the next month and a bit around Australia. I'm feeling rather nervous about going into the unknown, although you'd think I'd be used to it by now. Once I'm away, I'll be absolutely fine, which has always been the case. No backwards glances for me. The hardest bit has always been the actual motions of leaving. I am leaving behind some awesome people and great colleagues and a city I have come to adore (and I haven't eaten at all the restaurants I wanted to yet! Damn).

BUT.

I am off tomorrow (Wednesday) at 2.30pm on a plane to the Gold Coast. After a week I shall get a coach to Brisbane and stay with some friends I haven't seen since Hong Kong (when I lived there, not when I holidayed there which wasn't that long ago), and then I shall fly to Cairns for a week of beaches and the Great Barrier Reef. Then it's a longer flight down to Melbourne (and probably a goodbye to any warm weather) where I shall see another old friend and my DAD IS COMING TO SEE ME! He misses me that much. Oh yeah! ...... or rather he misses Australia and is using me as an excuse to participate in a mini gap year. Either way, my accommodation gets a little better halfway through the trip, haha! Excellent.... only joking Dad (he reads this).

From Melbourne we get The Overland train to Adelaide, and after Adelaide we get the overnight Ghan train to Alice Springs where we get to feed wild wallabies *EEEEEE-contain yourself, Eleana*, and then a shuttle trip (plus optional camel ride, although dad opted out straight away) to Ayers Rock. After a few days there it'll be back to Sydney for a few days and then back to England and onto a whole new adventure. I guess I'll have to change the name of this blog then, as I'll no longer be a pommie. What is a British person in America called? Hmmm.

So there you have it. I will be trying to update this blog while on my trip because I'm addicted to the internet and will be suffering withdrawal symptoms when I can't just google something. Here's to brave new adventures!

TTFN!

Of Tall Towers, Seas, and Cities

So my planning is impeccable. I googled the weather in advance, saw it was going to rain on the days when I planned to do some last Sydney sightseeing, and so took the days off work when it promised to be sunny instead. And it was glorious. And warm. And I was severely overdressed. My bedroom is cold, as is work, so each day I have been wearing leggings under my trousers, a tank top under a long sleeved top under a jumper, and my scarf. Right now I'm at work (shhh don't tell anyone I'm blogging) and am sitting in a rather fetching yellow fleece (work colours of course).

Sex-ay >_<

But anyway, Tuesday morning I was off work and arrived at Sydney Central Tower at 11am. There I got lost in the food court for about 10 minutes trying to find the entrance to the Sydney Tower Eye, but eventually found it and collected my ticket and 3D glasses and made my way to the 4D cinema. 4D cinemas are always overhyped, and this one was really no different as we followed a brightly coloured and very fake looking bird from a boy and his father flying a kite (aw) over the Sydney Opera House towards Central Tower (very quick trip). There were, however, some pretty good bubbles that floated down during the shark scene (where did that come from?) and one thing I did really like was the coastal scenes where they blew wind at your face. That bit was good.

There was then just a short trip up in the elevator and I arrived at the Observation Deck. It may be uber touristy, but the Ob Deck is not overrated. The views are fantastic. If you've spent some time in the city it's even more interesting because you can recongnise buildings and streets and find out things you weren't aware of. Like how the Botanical Garden is massive when you're in it, but it looks much smaller than you'd expect from on high. And buildings that I pass all the time actually have playgrounds and small football fields on the roofs. And the University of Sydney seems quite close but it looks very far away from central tower.
 

Darling Harbour

The beautiful city

Botanical Gardens

The University of Sydney, and I live just in front of the massive square yellow building.

 It's definitely a must do, and I bet the night view is fantastic as well. Tempted to go back and see...

Anyway, next I went to Circular Quay and met up with my roommate Olina for a trip on the ferry to Watsons Bay, which my parents have asked me every few weeks if I've done yet. Well yes, now I have. The ferry does not cost a lot, and you can get some great photos of the other side of the Sydney Opera House.

And Watsons Bay is absolutely lovely. A must do (which my parents did with me when I was a wee thing) is go to Doyle's for fish'n'chips. It is the most expensive meal I have every bought for myself, but it looks beautiful and it tastes great, with a fantastic view of the bay and the city in the distance.

If you walk through Robertson Park, you will reach the cliffs and the Tasman Sea. Leave enough time to walk along to the end of the peninsula; unfortunately the last ferry was at 4pm and we didn't have enough time to do the whole walk, but we did some of it, and the views on a sunny day are great. And you can see the actual sea, not a river or a harbour. It was very beautiful and blue. And sea-like...

Okay, so yeah, my favourite views are of the cities, I am truly a city girl, but I can appreciate a good sea when I see one (strange phrase).

But then we got on the ferry and I arrived back at my beloved city. *Sigh* Isn't it pretty?

N.B. As this blog is photo heavy I will be continuing with Wednesday's trip in a new post.