Sydney

I flew into Sydney on Thursday, December 1st around midday and then hopped onto the Airport Link train for the 12 minute ride into the city (I wish Melbourne had public transport to and from the airport). I got off at Museum Station and walked up the street to the Y Hotel. The Y Hotel is great because it is centrally located and cheap. I stayed there way back in 1996 with the University of California group when I arrived in Australia for the first time. After checking in and unpacking some stuff, I headed out for a walk. First I went up Oxford Street, but they were doing sidewalk construction, so after a few blocks I turned back and headed toward Hyde Park. I walked past the ANZAC War Memorial, and down to the Queen Victoria Building. There are lots of great shops in the QVB, so I wandered around and got some Christmas shopping done. I also checked out the great architecture in this historic building. After a couple of hours it was time to head back to the hotel and get ready for the Finn Brothers concert that night.

On Friday I spent the day being a tourist. I walked past St. Mary's Cathedral on the way down to the Sydney Opera House. From there I walked to Circular Quay, and then onto The Rocks. It was incredibly hot and humid (31 degrees C/88 degrees F) and I was dying outside. A breeze did start to kick up in the afternoon, which made it a bit more bearable. I had a delicious chocolate thickshake from the Royal Copenhagen Ice Cream stand to cool down. The Rocks area has lots of shops and restaurants, but I refrained from spending money in them. When I couldn't handle the heat anymore I made the long trek back to the hotel. I walked past the Domain so I could check out the situation for Homebake. That evening there were huge thunderstorms, so I spent the night indoors.

Saturday I was at the Domain enjoying the Homebake Festival (see below). On Sunday I had some time to kill before my flight home so I checked out a Scottish Heritage celebration in Hyde Park, and also looked at the Christmas windows at David Jones. They have animated "The Night Before Christmas" this year. Myer in Melbourne has done The Santa Kid. Animated windows are big for the department stores here. Around 11:30 am I headed to the train station and caught the train back to the airport. The flight to Melbourne was a bit rough because of high winds, but I made it home in one piece. I will post pictures once I get my film developed.