Sydney in a Day

12-28-05

Sydney

Welcome to Australia. I like this place! I’m actually a little confused because Sydney seems just like your typical large American city. McDonald’s on every corner – only they are accompanied by McCafe, which rivals Starbucks in Australia. Burger King is also a little different, but still the same. The city is really a combination of different cities. It’s diverse like New York, warm like Miami, and it looks a lot like London (mostly due to funny signs and license plates).

I’m happy to report that my flights were uneventful, minus the two hours I spent waiting in the wrong lines (yes, plural) in LAX. I sat beside a nice girl who recently graduated from a Masters of Engineering Program and is now headed to New Zealand to catch her adventure. Getting through customs was a breeze. Adam picked me up and I grabbed some cash and my lifeline – a cell phone. Unfortunately, the telephone I borrowed from my Dad won’t work here because it’s “locked.”

We walked down to the Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. Both were cool to see in reality, but this experience still doesn’t feel very real. We then took a ferry over to Manly Beach and took a long walk along the beach walk. I put my feet into one of the salt pools and then Adam and I made our way back to the hotel. Another highlight of the evening was watching the sunset over Darling Harbour. DH is a complete tourist trap, but I really enjoyed eating outside and watching the sunset on the water. Now I’m off to bed to catch up on my sleep so that I can take on the zoo and botanical gardens tomorrow.