First Experiences in Australia!

Welcome to Sydney!

Wow....that was a LONG flight! What an understatement! After twenty and a half hours on planes, and about five hours in airports, Kaitlyn and I finally made it to Sydney, Australia. After getting through customs, we took a shuttle to our hostel (with a rather crazy driver). Having lunch at a small cafe called 'Bella Vita', we got our first taste of life in a part of Sydney called King's Cross. Chicken Snitzel seems a rather popular food choice around town and the smoothies were amazing. Once we checked in, we both crashed on the beds (which felt super comfortable after spending so much time in economy airplane seats) for a few hours before taking some well-needed showers and fell asleep once more.

Today, Kaitlyn and I decided to walk around Sydney and explore a bit of the town ourselves. Tracing out journey later over Google Earth, it turns out we walked fifteen kilometers over about five and a half hours. We set out intending to find our way towards the Sydney Opera House and a rather large park called The Domain. Turns out that we went the wrong direction; however, we found several small beautiful greenspaces along the way, a few marinas, and got a great look at a bunch of what I'm guessing were million dollar houses along the waterfront. Viewing the top of the Opera house from a marina, we retraced our steps and found what we were looking for. We also walked through the Royal Botanical Gardens, had lunch at a small cafe (with really good hot chocolate), and saw the Government House. Needless to say, we saw a lot of Sydney; some tourist attractions, residential districts, the downtown business area, and lots of parks. Our shoulders and feet are sore but it was definitely worth it. I feel satisfied that tomorrow we will see a bit more of Sydney before heading off to New Zealand for ten days.

One thing I have noticed is that the buildings are all VERY close together, with tons of tiny shops and cafes. Many of the houses had green roofs, decks, or walls. No matter where you go there is always a lot of people around and I have no idea how anyone finds a parking spot on the street! It's a really great atmosphere and I definitely love how green the city is. Its filled with hidden gems (parks/small gardens) that you would have no idea existed if you didn't explore. At one point, we found this small place in a triangular area between streets that had a waterfall! It totally took you away from the noise and stress of the city and it felt like you were in a tropical forest. I feel like I have learned so much about the architecture and environment in Sydney in just one day. I can't wait to see more of Australia! However it'll have to wait a week. Next stop: Auckland, New Zealand.

P.S. Here's the route we took through the city: