Sydney By Day
February 27 2009
What an exciting day! Carrie, Dana, Hannah, and I all went into Sydney. We took the free train line from Macquarie University to Chatswood to transfer over to Western line to get to Wynard Station. However, when we go to Wyndard station, we did not have a ticket since we boarded on the free line. Oops! So we made Dana talk to the rail security guy and he let us through the gate. Well, we learned.
The trains on the new Chatswood to Epping line are really nice. They, like all the trains in Sydney, are double deckers and the seats flip around so you can either sit facing each other or it can be traditional row seating. You might just have to see it. I am not sure if I am explaining that well enough. Anyways, since the line was new, the trains was super comfy and smooth. The train stations were also new and very nice. The Macquarie University one reminded me of a theatre or concert hall. It is very big.
So we got into Sydney and then it was time to hunt down a Starbucks for my mug. We walked down George Street until we got to the Wharf and turned right. There it was. My first Australian Starbucks. Thank goodness! I splurged and ordered an iced mocha (skim milk of course). However, they did not have the Starbuck’s city mugs. I asked the guy at the counter and he said they were very hard to find, so if I did find one, I should definitely buy it. We resolved to try and find another one later.
Carrie ordered a white mocha frappucino, it was so good! The barista suggested getting the whip cream blended in, I think that sounds fantastic! We then walked down along the street that Starbucks was on and found a souvenir shop that sold Australian Uggs. Now, Australian Uggs have a different tag on them but they cost the same and are apparently made by the same people. Later that day we also found a “traditional” Ugg store and boy was it amazing!
We then had lunch at this café on the same street. I had this really good chicken sandwhich on Turkish bread (which is pretty much an obsession here) and it came with a small salad. The sun started to come out about this time and it started to warm up.
After lunch, we headed down to McDonalds to get 30 cent ice cream. Yep, it is the cheapest dessert you can buy in Australia, I am pretty positive. They actually give you a pretty good amount of ice cream for how much you pay! I was extremely happy.
We then went to the opera house. Oh my gosh, the first time I saw it was running by it trying to catch a cruise. It was nice to take in the site and revel in the moment. The building is gorgeous in its own artistic sense and it was great to walk up the steps and get close to it. We went in to see if we could get tickets for a show. The box office lady was really nice and we ended up getting tickets for the 21st of March to see “The Best of the West Side” which is a compilation of songs played by the Sydney Orchestra from famous musicals. It should be very fun. We have the last row however, but at least it is just music and it only cost us $35AUD! I will let you know how it goes.
We then continued on our walk and went back up George Street. We basically just wandered until we found a street that looked somewhat interesting and then turned up it. By chance, we found the shopping district so we stopped in at Tiffany’s, Chanel, and George Jones (? a kind of Australian Saks).
Next, we came across this park that had a really cool mythical fountain in the middle (see Facebook album soon) and a church off to the side. We walked around the park for a little bit and then went into the church, St. Mary’s. It was absolutely gorgeous. The rafters were gorgeously cut and styled wood and it was styled in true Catholic fashion. The outside was made of what I believe is sandstone and it was so pristine that I could not believe my eyes.
At this point, we picked another street to walk up and ended up walking past the hospital, which was in this older style building, it looked like a very scary hospital. We also found two museums and the banking district.
So, we headed back to George Street after awhile and tried to find the next Starbucks,. Little did we know that it was way up this huge hill directly across form the next train station. It was a very long walk. So we went into that Starbucks and I was able to find the Sydney city mugs. They also had an Australian one, but I figured I could buy that one if I ever went to a city that did not have their own city mug. So I picked up two and then we headed back to the train station to go home.
Along the way we crossed this enormous amount of people waiting outside of this theatre. On the scrolling screen above them it said that McFly was showing/coming that day. I have no clue who this is, I will do some research. They were all teenage looking and carrying signs or wearing t-shirts that said McFly.
The train ride home was not bad at all, I am so happy that we have the line that connects to Macquarie now, it is cheaper and much more comfortable. Once we arrived back at the station, Dana, Carrie and I went to the store to pick up some stuff while Hannah went to go on her run. After a long day it was nice to relax and watch some tv.
Overall, I have to say Sydney is a really easy town to get around. I really enjoyed just wandering because eventually you will get tired of walking up a hill or you will hit the water. Makes it easy for navigation and horrible map-readers like myself! I think the next trip into the city will have to be to the Botanical gardens. I might make a day of it and take a nice book! I might also have to explore some of the museums but I think I will save that more for the rainy days that I am sure are to come.
Tomorrow is Manly beach again! Talk to you soon!