Sydney is a beautiful city. It is probably one of two cities in the world (that I’ve been to) I would consider beautiful - the other being Paris. [The Swiss cities are beautiful but they are not big nor really "modern". Rome is gorgeous but it's not "beautiful". London is amazing but it's not "beautiful".]

This was my third trip to Sydney and I had a grand time. The weather was good - we had generally bright sunny days with temperatures rising to 20C (yes, it’s Spring already here in Australia). The company was lovely. We did lots of fabulous stuff, as you’ll soon read. And I wasn’t worried about work because the day before I left Canberra, I finally took a small but important step forward in the research process: I think both my supervisor and I have actually, finally, agreed on a topic!

Day One
I arrived in Sydney on Wednesday, 24 August, at 1230H. I met up with my cousins and had lunch in a food court in Australia Square, sitting outdoors under the sun. We then popped into Lincraft (they’re running a yarn-clearance sale nationwide) where I bought two types of yarn - one to make a loopy & lacy shawl and one for a sweather. We then dropped by a cafe to take-away coffee and lounged on a lawn under the sun in Hyde Park. Dinner later that day was a AUD5 steak in the infamous Slip Inn (the one where an Aussie girl met a Danish prince).

Day Two
As with most people on holiday, we had a late start to the day. Breakfast at 11H was take-away coffee and doughnuts from Krispy Kreme that we consumed sitting on a bench in Wynyard Park. As we were still stuffed from the late breakfast, lunch was just french fries in McDonald’s - they are the best, they taste exactly the same all over the world. We then walked around the shopping area of the CBD, finally plonking down in Gloria Jeans on Park Street to watch the world go by. We then had an early dinner of pizza and pasta in Zia Pina, located in the Rocks area before strolling over to catch an opera - Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel - at, where else, the Sydney Opera House! The day ended with drinks at the Sidewalk Cafe & Bar, located under the Opera House, where a jazz band was performing.

Day Three
We had yet another late start on Friday, so late that we decided to dispense with breakfast and went straight to lunch at Bay Swiss (I’m addicted to their Thai Chicken Soup). This was followed by a leisurely two and a half hour Afternoon Harbour Cruise - a very sedentary affair that was an absolute pleasure! When that ended we decided to sit down some more at the Grumpy Baker Cafe on Oxford Street, but only after a quick stroll in and out of shops in the area. Then it was a quick succession of the Borders bookstore, drinks at the Swissotel, a leisurely stroll through Darling Harbour to Chinatown and finally supper seafood buffet in the InterContinental Hotel.

Day Four
We had big ambitions for this day. Really big ambitions. We wanted to climb the Harbour Bridge at 08H but some of us (i.e. not me!) were watching Gilmour Girls late into the previous night and couldn’t wake up early enough! So we trooped off to the Saturday Glebe Market instead and then sat down for a big late weekend breakfast, i.e. lunch, in Badde Manors. Breakfast/lunch ended at 1430H and I was quickly swept away to Central Station for my 15H coach back to reality, work, and home…

p/s more photos from the Sydney trip will be uploaded in a week or two…

Posted on August 29th, 2005 by jl
Filed under: Posts with Photos, blah blah