Mom and I do Sydney

It all started at 4:15 am when my alarm went off.  The usual routine--shower, eat breakfast, and go!  I was flying out of the Gold Coast at 6:20 am to meet my mom in Sydney, her flight was to land at 7:00 am, so she would be waiting for me...BUT there was a twist.  Due to the wonderful service provided by airlines these days my mom ended up being delayed from Boise to San Francisco, causing her to altogether miss her flight to Sydney.  She was put on the same flight the next night--therefore my early morning arrival to Sydney was all for nothing!  And my first night was spent alone....which wasn't all that bad.  I admit, I enjoy my own company from time to time!

Our Studio apartment was located just across from the amazing Hyde Park situated in the center of Sydney--perfect location for us!   Studio 414 on 38 college was home for the two week 

stay in Sydney with an incredible view and a "homey" feeling.  For the first time in 4 1/2 months I didn't have to worry about

 waking up to shattered beer bottles, and sticky floors covered in some type 

of alcohol....YAY! 

I was finally reunited with my Mom on the 2nd morning at about 8 am, and despite her exhaustion we headed out for a look around the city, some breakfast and groceries.  

Our second day together in Sydney was spent wandering around Darling Harbour, Circular Quay, the Opera House and the Botanical Gardens.   All of which were pretty breathtaking.  The city itself has this vibe about it, a vibe that is indescribable and sensational at the same time.  The garden tour was pretty magnificent, huge, and unreal.  The plant life that exists in their gardens is insane---thousands and thousands of different types, all in one area.  They even had a tree planted that was considered endangered before a man who was o

ut in the "bush" discovered a group of them growing in the Wollemi forest of New South Whales.  Fortunately, the "Wollemi Pine," as it came to be known has made a comeback and Scientists around the world compare the finding of this tree to as if they had found a Dinosaur roaming around.

We ventured out to Manly beach on our third day in Sydney.  It was a fun town packed with beach side shops and cafes'.  The beach was beautiful, and the day itself was rather relaxing for both of us.

Sydney is known for its numerous markets, so on our third day we headed to a place called Paddy's Markets and did some shopping.  Paddy's Markets is situated in China Town, and is jam packed with souvenir vendors and lots of flea market type booths.  After a look around we headed into China town for some traditional food, despite being a bit skeptical...and landed upon the best fried rice and honey chicken I have ever had, in fact I could go for some now!

The next morning came fast, as we had a tour booked to see the famous blue mountains.  We ventured off through the city and into the "mountains" with a group of tourists and a tour

 guide.  Our first stop was for morning tea on a river, and then we headed further into the wilderness to get some incredible views of the Blue Mountains.  These "mountains" are not exactly what we would refer to as mountains in the USA because they are situated in a deep gorge, and instead of looking up at them---you get to look down at steep cliffs, and they are called blue because the tint of the gum trees makes them appear a blueish tint.  After making a few stops to check out the view we headed to a place to take the "steepest incline railway" ride, and to continue enjoying the scenic views...unfortunately for us the fog came in and the views were invisible, causing us to altogether miss the main reason I wanted to visit the Blue Mountains in the first place--which was to see the Three Sisters, a rock formation with an interesting story told by Australian Aboriginals!  Oh well--I guess I will settle for the ancient stories and the pictures.  We headed into one of Sydney's quaint outskirt towns to enjoy lunch and a quick look around. It was such a fun town with lots of beautiful stores, I hoped to  go back before the end of our stay, but we never made it.  After a few more stops to view waterfalls and Aboriginal rock art we headed to a National Park where we were lucky enough to spot a few wild Kangaroos, although I have seen them several times since I have been here--I have never seen them in the complete wild, so it was great!  Mom loved it!  After the National Park we headed back into Sydney and boarded a river boat near Olympic park that went to Circular Quay, where we took a train back to Hyde Park, and headed home after an amazing day in the wilderness.

The next day we decided to take a trip to a different set of markets, known as the Glebe Markets.  This part of Sydney was something that reminded me a lot of the Haight/Ashbury district of San Francisco.  Lots of hippies, lots of love, and some very cool/interesting things to look at.  The market on Glebe was more of your typical flea market, with a variety of different vendors and things to buy.  Although a very low key day, we still managed to see another  great part of the city.

Another day at the Markets.  

Mom and myself headed to Circular quay for an "aroma festival" where about 100 booths were set up with different coffees, sweets, herbs, spices, and  a few other things for people to enjoy. Next to the aroma festival is the Rock's district, which is the old traditional style Sydney.  With a plethora of shopping, and another market we found a lot to do in the Rocks.  We also hit up a psychic for my first ever reading---very interesting, and although I may not be a complete believer, what she had to say definitely hit home for not only myself but also for my Madre'. After our reading we decided to take the ferry to a place called Watson's Bay, where we enjoyed an amazing seafood dinner with a spectacular view of the Sydney Harbor.   

We decided to spend the next day at the Harbor for a day of tourist"ing."   With a plethora of attractions, we were able to keep busy the entire day.  We visited the Chinese Gardens, the Aquarium, and the Wildlife Sanctuary.  The Wild Life Sanctuary 

was my favorite for a few reasons--first of all they had most of the wildlife that lives within the Australian continent, and among them is this massive/deadly bird known as the Cassawary Bird--it is in fact the most dangerous bird in the World.  Even as it sprinted behind a strong glass wall, I was scared!   It was fascinating to see as it chased after pray.  Another interesting component of the Sanctuary had nothing to do with the wildlife...as we walked around looking at everything we noticed an area with vending machines, and among those vending machines

was a "french fries" machine--NO JOKE!  It was rather ironic, considering for the most part I have found Australia to be much healthier than America in general...yet here I stood in front of a vending machine capable of making french fries in 90 seconds--hot and ready to eat!  The Aquarium and the Chinese gardens were also amazing, but lets face it--without the french fries I couldn't dare rank them above the sanctuary!

We set out toward Bondi Beach on an explorer bus and were once again able to see some incredible parts of Sydney.  The beach was amazing, but the town itself didn't really meet my expectations...for being such a popular and talked about place in Sydney, it was noth

ing spectacular and it seemed a bit rundown to me.  

We booked another tour, this time to a place called Hunter Valley, which was home to Sydney's wine country.  This ended up being one of my favorite days...we ended up meeting and visiting with a few amazing people from Norway and Singapore....in fact I think my Mom wouldn't have minded giving my hand in marriage to a dread locked, handsome, and motivated Norwegian boy, we fell in love for a day!  We enjoyed some delicious wines, and a perfect lunch, and we both came home with a few bottles for later!  

Of course I can't forget to mention that we did do some shopping, checked out a few museums, and got plenty of walking in on our trip.  It was a great trip, and I was so SO glad to have been spending it with my Mom.  We had a blast, and it was great to be together again after being away for a few months!  I am glad I could share with her what I have learned about the Australian culture by giving her a hands on tour!  

I miss you already Mom!