Sydney Zoo!!!

Photos:

• Top left: Kangaroos! These are red kangaroos, and you actually get to walk right through their pen. There was nothing in between me and them except a few feet of ground when I took this picture.
• Top right: Koala.
• Middle left: Tigers. The one on the bottom was still working on tearing up a huge piece of raw meat.
• Middle right: penguins. Can't remember the specific name of this penguin, but they're supposed to be the smallest penguins in the world.
• Bottom left: This was what Carla was the most excited about. This lion was obliging and looked right at me for the picture! Click on the picture to see the larger version.
  
• Bottom right: Just a minute or so before the ferry hit a wave and we all got wet...

Carla and I went to the Sydney Zoo yesterday. What a trip! It was really expensive (even with the student discount), but worth it. I got the long-awaited pictures of kangaroos and koalas, and I also got to see some other interesting things.

Absolutely no rain, either. We couldn't have asked for better weather, really. The only time we got wet was on the ferry ride home, and we got pretty wet then. Yucky salt water. Back at Circular Quay, Carla and I went and got 50 cent ice cream cones at McD. It's probably the only time in Sydney that I've gotten something for less than $1.

Well...this is my last post from Sydney. I'll be home in about 48 hours or so. I've had so much fun with this blog, and I hope all of you have enjoyed the pictures. (I've got lots more pictures that I'd love to share, by the way. But you'll have to come hang out with me to see the rest.)

Thanks to everyone who stayed in touch while I was gone. It was really nice to hear from people at home, and I hope we can do the same when I leave for Japan in a couple months. I will be using this blog again when I get there, so keep this address handy. Until then, I'll try and update every once in a while so everyone can know my exact departure, etc.

Thanks again! See you all soon.

Woolloomooloo Wharf

Photos:

• Top left: Harry's Cafe de Wheels
• Top right: Custard tart from the cafe
• Bottom left: Woolloomooloo Wharf
• Bottom right: Sydney Harbour at night, one more time

Yesterday was only a day for "semi-adventure", as I will refer to it. Found a place in the tour books/maps that said Garden Island and thought it sounded interesting. I had to take the bus to Woolloomooloo to get there and then found out that this is where the Australian navy has barracks, so you can't even get to that part of the bay...

Walked back up the hill and caught a bus to "Harry's Cafe de Wheels", which is another site that I keep reading is a huge tourist attraction. Apparently a lot of famous people have been there and I read that they have their pictures up all over the cafe. Too bad I didn't recognize a single one of their so called "famous celebrities." I felt like it was just another twisted ploy to get me out there to spend money. The cafe is also supposed to be famous for its pies. (Note to American readers: "pies" in Australia are not fruit/dessert pastries, but instead are more like chicken pot pies. It's a VERY popular meal here.) Now, the pie thing is one rumour that turned out to be true. They must have had at least 20 different kinds of pies: chicken, beef, chili, you name it. They pile them high with toppings, too. I wasn't hungry enough to eat one, so I just got the dessert custard.

Next, with some extra time on my hands seeing as there's nothing to do in Woolloomooloo, I decided to go on yet another ferry ride. I just took the Darling Harbour/Pyrmont Bay route, which is round-trip and brought me right back to Circular Quay where I caught the bus home.

By the way: it's official. Now that I've actually bought the umbrella I went so long without, there will be absolutely no good reason for me to use it. The weather forecast of "rain all weekend" apparently really meant "shower Saturday morning and then blue skies through Sunday night". I keep finding myself actually hoping for rain tomorrow so that I'll get to use it before I leave--just in case I can't take it home with me. But really I can't complain too much; such nice weather today made our trip to the Sydney Zoo even better. But you'll have to wait until tomorrow's post to hear about it.

Church tours and final trips to Art Museum and The Rocks

Photos:

• Top left: St. Patrick's Cathedral
• Top right: window at St. Phillip's
• Middle left: rooftops and blue sky at The Rocks. (I took the picture through a chain link fence, which is why there are black spots at the top.)
• Middle right: Doorway to St. Mary's
• Bottom left: gallery of 19th century European paintings at the Art Gallery of NSW
  
• Bottom right: the Qing Dynasty table that I've waited so long to see in person... :)

As mentioned before, I finally went and bought that umbrella yesterday. Used it for 5 minutes on the way to the internet place and then for the rest of the day didn't see so much as a drop. Figures... I'll probably get a lot of use out of it this weekend, though, because it's expected to rain until after I leave.

In the afternoon yesterday I wanted to squeeze in some final photos of the places I've been. I made the rounds to four different churches, two of which I'd never seen before. Got some nice pictures. My route took me back through The Rocks and to Observatory Hill, where I also got some nice pictures.

Next, I went back to the art museum. Took even more pictures. (Had to make sure I got one of the Qing Dynasty table and porcelain, you know...) I found a couple of exhibits that I didn't go see the other times I'd visited.

Didn't do much else yesterday. Rainy weather kind of makes me want to stay inside all the time. I'll be out and about today, though. And hopefully I'll have more pics to share tomorrow!

A Maritime Museum and a look at Australian television

Photos:

• Top left: a view of the side of the museum from the ferry
• Top right: I guess these paintings are a tribute to Australian beach-goers...
• Middle left: lighthouse outside the museum
• Middle right: playing around a bit with b/w on the camera. This is one of the ships that people can take a tour of at the museum, but you have to pay for that. So I didn't.
• Bottom left: a tiny bit of blue sky as I was taking the ferry home.
• Bottom right: yet another view of the harbour...

The sky in these pictures--unlike the ones from the other day--give you a really accurate idea of what the weather's been like this week. When I left the house this morning, it was barely sprinkling. Seconds later, the rain was falling in sheets. I was completely soaked by the time I got to the bus stop a block away. Needless to say, I went straight into Randwick and bought an umbrella. (The little twist of irony is that the store I went into to get out of the rain had the air conditioning on.) As I sit here typing (hours later), I'm still wet.

But anyways...

Yesterday I went back to Paddy's Markets. This time, I actually bought stuff. Came away with some good deals. Got really wet walking back to the CBD from Chinatown. Not much else exciting to say about that.

Next, I went to the Australian National Maritime Museum via the ferry. It was definitely worth the trip, and the fact that it was free was an extra bonus. This place has museum-ized nearly everything that can fit in the category of "maritime". Right down to the exhibit on bathing suits, including a display of a 1970s bikini and bathing cap. There's also a pretty big section on US-Australian maritime contact. I guess it was the US's gift to Australia to commemorate the bicentennial of European settlement on the continent. There's a big plaque on the wall where George Bush (sr.) made the dedication in 1992.

After the museum, all I wanted to do was go home and put on some dry clothes. Which is pretty much how I feel right now. But a little rain's not going to stop me from making the most of my last few days here...

And to conclude, I have another list for you: "Australian TV Shows Based on American Television".

• Bert's Family Feud. Complete with a guy who actually kind of looks like Louis Anderson, a former host of the US version of the show.
• Australian Idol. This one's pretty much self explanatory.
• Dancing on Ice. I think this one's called "Dancing with the Stars" (or something like that) back in the states. This season boasts "Stars" which include a morning news anchor with more chest hair than I've ever wanted to see, an ex-cricket player who now fills his days working as a cricket commentator, and to top it all off there's also a member of parliament.
• Big Brother. This one's definitely the winner by far. Now in season 6, this is one of the most popular shows in the country. Reality TV just wouldn't be complete without a zookeeper and a gay farmer-slash-model living in a house together for weeks on end...

Museum of Sydney and another look at the Gardens

Photos:

• Top left: the Museum of Sydney
• Top right: model of one of the earlier boats to bring British settlers and convicts to Australia, at Museum of Sydney
• Middle left: Conservatorium of Music
• Middle right: Government House in the Royal Botanic Gardens
• Bottom left: view of Royal Botanic Gardens (I think this section is in the herb garden) from the hill by the Conservatorium of Music
• Bottom right: statue at the entrance to the Royal Garden

Yesterday it was raining so hard spent the afternoon walking around downtown completely soaked. (I have no idea why the sky looks blue in all the pictures, because it definitely didn't look that nice.) I decided that this morning I would go first thing and invest in an umbrella...but it's not raining *yet* so I've decided to hold off on the extra expense. I may regret that later.

I ended up going to the Museum of Sydney. It was interesting, but not a whole lot of stuff there. I was glad that they gave me a student discount because if I'd paid full price I would have been disappointed.

After the museum, I walked back towards the Royal Botanic Gardens because I was only a couple of blocks away. Took a few more pictures, but couldn't get into any of the buildings; the conservatory because I couldn't find the entrance and the Government House because it's only open on weekends. Still nice to look at, though.

When I left the Gardens I went back to use the internet before going home, just to get out of the rain for a little while. Went home and got into some dry clothes before going out for dinner with few of Carla's friends from her Master's program. Very cold, wet night last night, so we didn't make any plans for afterwards, other than going home and curling up with the fleece blankets.

Sydney Olympic Park

Photos:

• Top left: view of the stadium from Olympic St.
• Top right: statium entrance
• Bottom left: Sydney Olympic Park Wharf...just as empty as the area near the stadium, but much prettier.
• Bottom right: sunset from ferry back to Circular Quay

Yesterday I decided to take the ferry (I know, I know--BIG surprise) to the Sydney Olympic Park, site of the 2000 Summer Olympics. In the end it turned out to be pretty uneventful, but at least now I can say that I've been there. The area of Sydney where the stadium was built is just an industrial park, some new apartment high-rises, and a neighborhood of half-million dollar homes. Nothing else. So apart from a few construction workers and a tour bus of Koreans (which you see absolutely EVERYWHERE here), there weren't really any other people around. Pretty quiet even on the ferry ride, which is about 45 min. from the city center. But I did get to see most of the sunset on the ferry ride back to downtown, which was nice. It was so windy at times that it just about took my breath away. I had a really nice case of "wind hair" by the time I got back to the Quay, too. :)

Back to the Aquarium

Photos:

• Top left: Platypus...at last!
• Top right: Thought the sign over the croc cage was pretty funny.
• Bottom left: This fish is definitely real, even though everyone at the aquarium thought it was a statue. You have to look really closely for a while to see it's gills move, otherwise it doesn't move at all.
• Bottom right: Melon soda with a scoop of ice cream. Doesn't come close to a root beer float, but it was still pretty good.

Yesterday was a nice change of pace. The first time I met Carla's roommates, we were discussing how the platypus didn't come out at all during our trip to the Aquarium, and how that was really disappointing. Turned out that one of the roommates works at the Aquarium and told us to come back sometime. So yesterday Francis and I went back. Let's just say that our admission price to the Aquarium was *really inexpensive*. (And just so we're all on the same page, when I say *really inexpensive*, what I actually mean is free.) So that was nice. Saved me about $27, and all we had to do was look, um, inconspicuous when making our entrance.

And this time, the platypus was out! Two of them, actually. AND to make it even better, the crocodile was out, too. The roommate who let us into the Aquarium had just finished his shift, so he was also able to go through the Aquarium with us, which was awesome because it was like having your own personal tour guide. This trip was definitely better than the last. (Except for the part when I dropped my digital camera. It still works, but now I'm walking around with a camera that's duct-taped on one end to hold the batteries in.)

After the Aquarium, the three of us went for lunch at a Japanese restaurant in the Galleries Victoria. I didn't get anything to eat because I'd had something before Francis and I left the apartment, but I did order the drink pictured above.

Next, we went back to St. Mary's to try and get a look inside the crypt. Unfortunately, it was already closed for the day by the time we got there, but that's only another reason for me to go back again...

We decided to finish up the afternoon with a trip back to the Art Gallery of NSW (see my post from Sunday). Francis wanted to show us some paintings that he'd looked at in his art class the week before. Then we went downstairs and took a look at the Asian art gallery, which was interesting. I got to see some furniture from the Ming dynasty in China; and those of you who went to college with me know just how much I can appreciate that. :)

~~~

And now for today's list: "Important Australian Words and Phrases to Know"

• Sultana = raisin
• "Good on ya, mate" = "Way to go!"
• session = (TV) season
• kerb = curb
• chemist = drugstore
  
• Flat white = regular, black coffee
• "Yeah yeah yeah, right right" = yes

I Guess You Could Say I Have a Ferry Addiction...

Photos:

• Top left: A look at The Rocks from George Street
• Top right: Sydney Observatory and garden
• Middle left: view of Sydney Harbour bridge and The Rocks from Observatory Hill
• Middle right: doorway in a neighborhood in The Rocks
• Bottom left: Museum of Contemporary Art; I think these are images from Israel
• Bottom right: Pitt Street Mall

Yesterday we started out at The Rocks Market, once again. But this time I found lots of cool stuff to take home with me. Spent about an hour there before heading off to the Sydney Observatory, which is just up the hill from the market. Entry is free, but we soon found out why: who wants to pay money just to see a bunch of really old telescopes? The best part about it was the view of the city we had from the top of the hill.

Returning to The Rocks, we went to the Museum of Contemporary Art after a walk through some of the quieter streets of the area. The museum is another free attraction that we decided to check out and was fairly interesting.

Ate lunch downtown and went (window) shopping after that. Then Carla and I separated and she headed home, while I went to the internet cafe to write yesterday's post. I had thought about going to the evening service at the Garrison Church, but it was dark out and the church is in a less-occupied area of The Rocks--I wasn't sure if I should go there alone at night. Maybe next week?

Instead I returned to Circular Quay and once again took the ferry to Neutral Bay. I got to the pier just as that ferry was boarding, and didn't want to wait 1/2 an hour for the next ferry to Darling Harbour, so that was a quick decision. (Plus, it's the only ferry I'm familiar with that goes round-trip, returning to the Quay at the end.) I've decided I really like taking the ferry at night--if you get far enough away from the reflection of the city lights on the water, it sometimes looks like the ferry is floating on nothing at all. Freezing cold on the harbour at night, though.

Took the bus back home and spent the night watching movies with Carla and her roommates.

Rainy Day in Randwick

Photos:

• Top left: a park in Sydney through a rainy bus window
• Top right: grey skys over a building in Carla's apartment complex
• Bottom left: got a peek at some blue sky towards the evening
• Bottom right: Yay for clean laundry!

Yesterday was the wettest day I've seen here so far. I came downtown to use the internet in the morning and then went back to Randwick to do a little grocery shopping. Nothing like a little ice cream on a rainy day...

Not much to say about the rest of the day, really. Carla didn't feel like going out in the weather, and we both had clothes to wash anyways, so we stayed at her place all afternoon and did laundry. Later, a friend who had just returned from a week and a half in western Australia came over and told us about his trip. Watched the Simpsons and that's about it. Didn't stay up late because we planned to get up early this morning, but you'll have to wait until tomorrow if you want to hear about that...

And now for the latest edition of my lists: "Languages I have watched the news in since coming to Australia."

• English (BBC, local Australian news, as well as news from the States)
• German
• Greek
• Spanish
• Italian
• Portugese
• French
• Arabic
  

I guess it all goes to show just how "international" the city of Sydney can really be. (Never mind that I couldn't understand every word of the German, Greek, French, Arabic and Portugese broadcasts; they were fun to listen to anyway.)

Back to the Market...and the Ferry

Photos:

• Top left: Paddy's Market
• Top right: outside St. Andrew's Cathedral
• Middle left: inside St. Andrew's Cathedral
• Middle right: a bit of Australian fashion for you... (see list at end of post for further clarification). Trust me, pretty much every young woman in Australia dresses like this.
• Bottom left: a much closer look at the Opera House
• Bottom right: a view of the city from yet another vantage point. The trees to the left of the Opera House are all part of the Royal Botanic Gardens (see yesterday's post).

After picking up lunch yesterday morning, I made my way over to St. Andrew's Cathedral, which was apparently the first cathedral in Sydney to be completed. The foundation stone of St. Mary's chapel was laid much earlier--in 1821--but the foundation stone of the St. Mary's cathedral wasn't laid until the same year that St. Andrew's was consecrated (1868). St. Andrew's is again a beautiful example of architecture in Sydney but, as I've said about the other churches I've been to, still doen't hold a candle (pun intended?) to St. Mary's.

Went back to Paddy's Market after I left the cathedral. Did some more looking around, but still no purchases have been made. Decisions, decisions.... But at least now I have a better idea of where to go to get the better prices.

Next, I spent a while walking around the central shopping area of the city--a few blocks from Paddy's and Chinatown. Mostly all I ever end up doing is window shopping, but I did find a quirky little ring for just $1.

Continued walking once again towards Circular Quay, which seems to be pretty much always where I end up when I don't really have any specific ideas about where to go next. On a whim, I took the ferry towards Neutral Bay. The name pretty much tells you how exciting it was, too. But yet again, I got exceptional views of the Opera House and the city. I know that everyone at home is probably getting sick of me posting pictures of the Opera House and the skyscrapers of downtown Sydney, but I have to say in my own defense that the pictures don't really do it justice; I wish everyone could have the chance to see it for themselves. It's spectacular.

But anyways.... Took the bus home as usual from Circular Quay. Made myself some instant soup for dinner and wrapped myself up in my fleece blanket. TV is (unfortunately) the most exciting thing to do in the evenings here, unless you're willing to go spend a lot of money at a restaurant or the cinemas, etc. I watched "The Simpsons" with two of Carla's roommates, Francis and Tetsushi. Then watched "Temptation," a game show that gets addicting really fast. (If only Dan hadn't paid $15 dollars to get a crack at the jackpot, he might still be returning for another win on Monday. Shame...) Later, I guess one of the channels was making an attempt at some sort of Guy Pierce marathon, because they showed both "The Count of Monte Cristo" (love that movie!) and then "Memento," which I fell asleep halfway through. It was pretty late though...

And now, once again, I have a list for you. This list is entitled "Characteristics of Australian Fashion" (refer to the photo above):

• Skin-tight, extra-long tapered pants
• Knee-high boots (with the pants always tucked inside)
• Polka dots
• Navy, red and black

In other words, I might not stick out as a foreigner just because I'm wearing jeans, but the fact that my jeans are boot cut and not tucked into my boots would be the dead giveaway.