Sydney
The best way I could describe Sydney is "a more modern, cleaner, warmer San Francisco." You have the bay/harbor, an iconic bridge, wharf, and a very diverse ethnic makeup. Since they speak English and use the dollar, we did not feel very much culture shock at all - it was a comfortable adjustment.
Links to random highlights and pictures. Since we wrote so much in the captions for the pictures, won't really need to re-write everything here. If you only check out a few pics:
The ferry to Manly Beach and Taronga Zoo is the best and most economical way ($5.50 one way) to get the best view of the skyline.
The Taronga Zoo is an awesome place to check out the diverse and unique Australian wildlife, as well as plenty of other interesting animals from around the globe, backdropped by the gorgeous view of the skyline. In particular, we got a kick out of:
- The firefox
- Kangaroos and wallabies
- Emu - incidentally, the kangaroo and emu are both on the Australian logo
- The free-flight bird show is entertaining with trained owls and other birds flying right above your head to get to the trainer, all with the best view in the background
- Of course, the koala
We were fortunate to be in Sydney at the time of the International Food Festival, similar to San Francisco's "Dine About Town", a month where restaurants have cheaper tasting menus, there are different exhibits about different countries' cuisine, etc. During our 3 days, we experienced the Night Noodle Market in Hyde Park, which was a great atmosphere with locals hanging out with food and wine during great weather.
The beaches in Sydney are world-renowned destinations for surfers, and are great places to just hang out. We went to Manly Beach on the ferry, getting great pictures on the boat and then watched the surfers try to navigate the waves.
Walking through the Botanic Gardens next to the Sydney Opera House is pleasant, feels like many urban parks like Central Park in Manhattan. I like this picture.
Notable foods:
Fish and chips at the famous Doyle's seafood restaurant.
The gozleme (a Turkish quesadilla) from the Night Noodle Market.
We had yogurt mixed with different fruits most days for breakfast. In particular, passionfruit seems more widely available across the Pacific.
The braised pork belly with horseradish mustard at Azuma's izakaya. Definitely one of the top 3 foods we had all vacation.
The tiger pie, a popular hangover food from Harry's Cafe de Wheels - meat pie topped with mashed potatoes, mushy peas, and gravy.
The kangaroo and emu pizza from the Australian Hotel. Kangaroo is really tasty.
Finally, this guy was playing the didgeridoo (traditional aboriginal instrument) accompanied by a techno drum beat - surprisingly cathy:
Final thoughts:
3 days is about right for visiting Sydney. If you're from California, the "international-ness" of the city is not nearly as unique as the guidebooks make it sound. Definitely visit the zoo, the beach, and take a ferry.
Cairns / Great Barrier Reef
It was kind of neat that on the same trip, we were able to snorkel the Great Barrier Reef and also visit glaciers in New Zealand - two natural formations that are slowly disappearing/dying out due to global warming. We haven't gotten our pictures developed from our underwater camera yet
A few thoughts
After finally getting the hang of snorkeling, I was able to enjoy vistas like this and this. Coral and fish of all different colors, sizes, shapes. I wasn't able to spot a Nemo clownfish (Shally did) but I did see a whole bunch of Dorys. We only saw one turtle from the boat, none from the water.
It was definitely worth spending one night on a boat anchored off the Reef rather than taking a boat out from the city twice in two days for snorkeling - the boat rides out can lead to a considerable amount of seasickness.
No comments:
Post a Comment