So as a starter, I'm really sorry that I did not update my blog for so long even though I promised a bunch of you that I will, but now I'm starting it, and making two entries, maybe three if I will be really productive today.
As for a few comments:
- No I won't close it down just because I did not have the time to update it for 2 weeks, that's not the end of the world :)
- Yes I will still write it... but I'm not promising that my updates will be any more frequent, because I really have a lot to do, and this is not really a trip, I have to live here, I go to school here, I have friends here, and I also want to work, and find a good place to start to train again, so I don't really have that much time on my hands.
As for a first hand walking around tourist guide:
So as I was living in a backpackers accommodation back then I did start from Wake Up which is just across from Central Railway station. For the first day I did start off with a little detour. I started walking in the opposite direction to Sydney CBD which is just short for the central business district. If you do that, you will probably find yourself on one of the biggest streets in Sydney Central: Broadway. Just some additional information without picture if I remember correctly: Broadway is a big shopping district in Sydney, there is quite a big shopping mall as well surprisingly it's called Broadway :) Why that's interesting at all is the following: it do house a K-Mart and a Target which are both big home depots, and both American if I'm not mistaken, A Coles and a BI-LO supermarket, and a fresh product 'market' Harry's Fresh Market or Harry's Farmer market or whatever, where you can buy all types of food products. It is 5 minutes away from my dorm and I do shop there most of the time, except for certain veggies and fruits that I buy at Paddy's Market - but I will tell more about that later.
So if you start walking back on Broadway back from central, more or less the first important thing you will run into is the UTS campus itself. First you will cross Harris Street, and on the two sides of that there is building 04 and 06. If you go a little further, you will meet the Tower Building, or building 1, which is not so nice, but somehow for me it just fits in right with the image of the university. - No that was not a negative comment :) Everything is too easy here anyway... :)
Tower Building from distance.
If you go some further you will run into Victoria Park in some time. It's just a nice park, I can't really write much about it, but I will let the pictures tell the story. At the end of Victoria Park there is the Sydney University campus, that is the high end school around NSW, as I got to know later on. It looks like that for sure though. I don't have any pictures, but just imagine Oxford, double the free space and the size of everything, add some sunshine, subtract some rain, and you are more or less ready. :) It's a good old English University.
Victoria Park 1
Victoria Park 2
Victoria Park 3 - little duckies everywhere :) and seagulls of course
After walking around in the Sydney Uni campus and VP, I did set goal to Darlington Harbour, which is one of Sydney's many ports. There are a lot of food courts and restaurants, the Naval Museum, a lot of ships, the Sydney Conference Center, and a nice park with the Chinese Garden there. I did not go in anywhere that day, even though I did eat there since :) I will let the pictures tell everything else.
On my way there - this is a really iconic style of flats on certain parts of Sydney - Glebe for example.
The Chinese Garden, at least the square in front of it.
The entry for the Chinese Garden.
Parkway to the Harbour.
CBD view from the Harbour.
Ships at the Naval Museum - yes I will see that sometimes, but no I did not had the time yet.
Bay view from the Harbour.
Looking back to the Harbour.
Bay view from the Harbour 2.
Panorama picture looking back - yeeyy :)
Panorama picture of the bay - yeeeey :)
This is the really interesting thingie, with the northern parts of Sydney.
Another panorama picture of the Harbour the thingie, and yes, that's the iconic Harbour Bridge. :)
Looking back with the thingie and CBD.
An egg :) Nice place to nest :) - this is already walking over from Darling Harbour to Circular Quay and The Rocks.
Old building in the Rocks.
This is just a little detour once again. This is the Sydney Observatory.
The building itself, and what's more important is the yellow sphere that blocks the other yellow sphere (the second is the Sun, don't think too much :)) For quite some time, there was no way in Sydney and the surroundings to tell the exact time. Well that sphere - as it is on a quite high standing place in Sydney - was used to determine exact time. If I recall correctly, it was let down as it is right now at this picture exactly at 1pm. :) Nice facts right??? :)
And this is not a mast, but a communication system. They used the different flags to send out messages to whomever.
The view 1.
The view 2.
The view 3 - panorama picture yeeeyyy :) (I don't really know why I'm that happy about those... It's strange...)
Letter box on the side of the road. :)
The actual Rock once more, looking back to CBD. Old and new together - I told you so :)
Looking down to the bay, and the International Passenger Terminal for cruises.
Rocks :)
Can you guess it?? :) Yess all of you did it right, it's the Opera House.
How about this one?? Too easy, right mates? Yes, it's the Harbour Bridge from the other side.
A picture that was taken from my favorite place. This is the bench I was reading at for the first few days. Not so nice seagull in the middle... They are annoying... They want food from you, even when you don't have any... They are quite dumb...
And the other side of the bench, the working class is trying to have a rest.
Sailor academy at the rock - at least the building was once.
Circular Quay, the docks and CBD in the background.
Park next to the Circular Quay.
An aboriginal guy, who plays there all the time. It's interesting... kind of feels fake, because he uses electronic amplification, has a white guy as a manager, a bunch of aboriginal sitting around in bum clothes, and his music is kind of a trance music mashed together with the aboriginal... So it is really wierd, at least for me. The aboriginals that were invited for us to the opening ceremony at UTS were much better and authentic for me...
This is a guy who is painting on a giant canvas a where is Waldo picture - street art Italian way - or half Japanese, I'm not really sure about the exact nationality of the guy :)
I did just look up what this was, and it seems, that it's a nice Victorian building it was originally built in 1845, and it is the Customs Building. For more details see: http://www.sydneyarchitecture.com/ROC/QUA05.htm
I just simply liked this one.
The Opera House from another side.
Panorama picture of the most iconic scenery in Sydney. - Yeeeyyy :) I'm not as happy about this as I was this morning when I started to write this entry.
I did miss the picture but it was so fun. They were doing photo shoots for wedding pictures, and the guy was walking a meter behind the bride carrying her veil or whatever with a face that usually only seen on children when they are angry with the world because they are bored... :D Hope they will have a happy marriage. :)
Overlooking the Royal Botanic Gardens.
Faun or what... It remembers me to you Sis :)
The Royal Botanic Gardens 1.
The Royal Botanic Gardens 2.
The Royal Botanic Gardens and CBD in the background... Nice harmony, eh?
A monument in respect of the Aboriginal Ancients in the the Royal Botanic Gardens.
The Royal Botanic Gardens, and me shadowing the place ;P
The Royal Botanic Gardens 3.
The Royal Botanic Gardens 4.
The Royal Botanic Gardens 5.
The Royal Botanic Gardens 6.
The Royal Botanic Gardens 7.
The Royal Botanic Gardens 8.
The Royal Botanic Gardens 9.
The New South Wales Art Gallery. - I'm going here tomorrow, if everything comes in OK. :)
So as I was telling, I did find paddy's market - even though that was already the next day, since the last picture was the last photo I made that day. :) - which is just a really big flea market/fresh food market run by mostly the Chinese. It has lot's of interesting things if we look around the food stands, usually also has a crowd around, and some really annoying merchants who talk to each other like birds do when it's mating season for them. It's like there are two really weird little Chinese guys, who are shouting out loud what product they have for how much. It is supposed to be English, and I usually don't have any problems understanding English, but I only understand half of it and that's only when I'm really concentrating. :) They basically don't really care about the costumers, they just want to make each other go crazy... :) It's strange... and sometimes annoying but only if one if them in a 3m radius of you... Then it's like an alarm... Once if I don't forget I will record them and add that to my blog :) I did a few pictures to show the place around.
Paddy's 1.
Paddy's 2.
The flea market part - god I'm still a sucker for funny T-Shirts... I will buy this as presents before going home... :D
Sooo. This is the UTS Blake Library behind that tower which was there for quite some time, but UTS did manage to put their hands on it. Behind the library, there would be building 5, where like half of my classes are... at least... It's the faculty for business and law. This picture is here, because this is right next to Paddy's, and because of this, I usually just go down to the market, buy my fruits and veggies for the next week sit into class and come home afterwards. :) I do look good with 5-7kg's of fruit at a lecture :D
I have no idea when, but sometime I also was at the Chines District so to speak. There are quite a few non Chinese people around here, but the place is called like that because the shops and restaurants are mainly Chinese. I can't really tell much more about the place, just google it if you want to know more... I won't really comment these picture because I'm getting lazy now.... :) Sorry for that. :)
Chinese district.
Chinese district.
Chinese district - an ordinary crossroad, with some nice directions, read, anything familiar? Right? :)
Chinese district. - Old and young once more.
Chinese district.
Chinese district. - This is not the best picture but it is the only one I took unfortunately... Do you see the wholecooked poultry there on the hooks? That's cool :D
This is on George street, and I wanted to go there soo badly...I don't really know what's wrong with me, but I love miracles, and I'd love to be healed by one... I did forget this place until now though...
This is the townhouse if I'm not mistaken, still on George Street. That is by the way basically the continuing street for Broadway, and one of the main roads in CBD besides Elizabeth Street which is just parallel with it.
I love these old buildings with the old titles still intact, but already occupied by high-end shops... It's a nice way for the past and present to live together in the middle of the city.
Just what I said before.
And once again.
And this is just one picture of CBD's more modern face with the skyscrapers.
So basically that's it about Sydney for this so long overdue post. I do have two more pictures - I have no idea why are they here, but they are nice, so I'm happy to leave them in. Thank you for whoever is still checking this, and I promise to write in it - even though it can easily happen, that it won't more often than every 2-3 weeks. :) Hope you enjoyed it, have a nice day, be happy, go out with friends, stay in with a good book or whatever.
Bye, Attila
Ok, so this one is just another panorama, that did not came in that good, but it's still nice.
Oh and I just love this building. :) It really must be a sailor's home.
