Sydney in a day. "The question isn't 'what are we going to do?' The question is 'what aren't we going to do?'"
In order to take on the daunting task of seeing such an enormous city in
a single day, I took advice from the inspirational Ferris Bueller.
Yeah, he's a lunatic of a character, but he sure does know how to
explore a city!
Given, I've already been to Sydney.
But on that weekend, I only managed to hit the major highlights. In
other words, I made it to the Harbour Bridge, Darling Harbour, and the
Opera House. I knew that I had to make it back to Sydney soon to really see the city.
Being the frugal person that I am, I decided against staying the night
in a hotel and instead opted for a Ferris Bueller-style day in Sydney,
exploring as much of the city in as little time as possible.
Luckily
(or unluckily, depending on your outlook), a loud noise woke me up very
early in the morning, so I left my house at 5:30 a.m. and began my
journey to the city. It was still dark when I left, so I was pretty much
alone for the first hour or so of the train ride.
I arrived just before 9 a.m., so naturally, I went for coffee! After
caffeinating the best way I know how (yes, I mean Starbucks), I began my
walk through downtown.
First stop was Town Hall, and while I did not go inside, I did take a couple snaps of the beautiful architecture.
Just across the street from Town Hall is the Queen Victoria Building,
which is currently home to a high-end shopping centre. I felt ten times
classier just walking through the building.
(I still wasn't above taking awkward mirror selfies, though...baby steps, people.)
After some window shopping here
and at the Shops on Market Street, I continued on to toward the museums
and galleries, but I took breaks along the way as I saw beautiful sites
to photograph.
The church shown in these pictures is St. Mary's Cathedral, and the butterfly is named Fred.
Then
it was off to the Australia Museum--the first museum that opened in the
country. It was small, but they had great exhibits on Aboriginals and
dinosaurs.
The Art Gallery of New South Wales was even better because it was 1)
free and 2) much bigger with many more exhibits, including ones for
19th, 20th, and 21st century art, Aboriginal pieces, and Asian art,
including calligraphy-style pieces.
From here, I made my way down to the Royal Botanical Gardens, Opera
House, and Harbour Bridge. It just didn't feel right to make a trip to
Sydney and miss these iconic sites, and I can always use more
photographs.
After grabbing a bite to eat, I decided it was about time to start
making my way home, and four and a half hours later, I made it back
home, exhausted but content.
In the words of my inspiration for this whirlwind of a day:
"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."
Disclaimer: No classes were skipped in the making of this awesome day.
Read more from Caroline at http://newiintown.blogspot.com.au/
Find out more about the University of Newcastle exchange at http://studyabroad.uark.edu/exchange/newcastle
Find out more about the University of Newcastle exchange at http://studyabroad.uark.edu/exchange/newcastle
