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.