A Beautiful Saturday Afternoon at Sydney Uni

Sorry about the camera shake! :)

The Royal Botanic Gardens

Another thing you can do when you are in Circular Quay is take a stroll through the Royal Botanic Gardens. Entrance to the Botanic Gardens is FREE and there are definitely some beautiful sights, photo opportunities, and interesting plaques and signs to read along the paths. I didn’t walk all the way through the Botanic Gardens because it was getting dark, but I certainly want to go back and see more!

Off To See What All the Fuss Is About...

Now that I knew how to get to the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House, I was anxious to see these monumental landmarks. The Bridge and the Opera House are located at Circular Quay, which can be reached by either train or bus. I decided to opt for the train and bought a return ticket to Circular Quay for $3.20.

(**Tip: When you get your Uni Student ID Card, you have the option to apply for “concession” which gives you discounts for bus, train, and ferry fares, as well as at some food places!)

When I got off of the train you can see the Bridge and the Opera House from the station. I was so excited! I finally felt like I was in Sydney, Australia! I was finally able to witness probably one of the most photographed and renowned landmarks in Australia.
The Bridge is absolutely breathtaking! Here are some fun facts about the Sydney Harbour Bridge:

+ It is nicknamed the “Coathanger”
+ The Bridge was opened on March 19th, 1932
+ The Bridge took six years to construct
+ It contains six million hand driven rivets
+ The Sydney Harbour Bridge is the world’s largest bridge, spanning 1,149 meters!

The Opera House is also a fantastic sight! The design is meant to evoke thoughts of a ship’s sails. While I was there, there were two different couples that had just gotten married that were posing and taking pictures on the Opera House steps. It was amazing! Here are some facts about the Opera House:


+ The Opera House was opened by Queen Elizabeth II on October 20th, 1973
+ The roof has over one million tiles
+ The Opera House conducts 3,000 events every year
+ It hosts an annual audience of two million people for its performances!

After visiting the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House, I feel like I have finally witnessed what the world considers so extraordinary about these landmarks. I can now say that I have seen the world’s largest bridge and I have climbed the steps of the Sydney Opera House! What a memorable day!

Another benefit about seeing the Bridge and the Opera House is that you can enjoy these remarkable sites for FREE!! All you have to pay for is getting there :)

So It Is Kind of A Funny Story: The Checkout Clerk at Coles

I was Coles (which is a common grocery store in Sydney) and as I was at the checkout line I must have looked like a foreigner because the clerk asked me where I was from. I responded with a smile that I was from California. The clerk lit up and he got big eyes that exuded pure excitement. He said, I looooove the song “California Girls” by Katy Perry. I laughed as I wondered if his notion of American girls, particularly girls from California, was based entirely on the lyrics of Katy Perry’s ridiculous song. Then he started singing the tune, “Ca-li-fornia girls…we’re unforgettable….Dai-sy Dukes…bikinis on top!…”

I didn’t know exactly how to respond, but he said he would love to come to California to meet all of the California girls. Then he asked if I had seen the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House yet. I said no, because I didn’t know how to get there. He quickly gave me directions, as I was clearly holding up the checkout line, and he exclaimed as I left,

“Good luck California girl! Enjoy Sydney!”


After this unexpected conversation, I decided two things:
1) I had to go see the Bridge and the Opera House now that I knew how to get there!
AND
2) I would desperately try to make a positive impression on Australia and prove that Americans are much more complex than the lyrics of Katy Perry’s song.

Gotta Go See Coogee!

“The purpose of my mission was to see the ocean…”

-“Mission in Vain,” The Mother Hips

I had been in the wonderful country of Australia (a continent completely surrounded by ocean) for two weeks and I had not been to the beach! When I realized this, I immediately felt the urge to change this predicament! On Monday, March 7th, I ventured to Coogee Beach with a fellow exchange student from Denmark. We decided that we would take the bus to the beach. I bought a return bus ticket to Coogee and back for $4.20 (You can buy bus tickets on campus or at any convenience store – most of the busses are pre-pay tickets only). We figured out which bus we needed to board and the intended arrival time as we stood at the bus stop. As we patiently waited, we eventually saw the bus we wanted (number 426) in the distance. Excited, we stood there and waited for it to come to the bus stop. However, we watched the bus get closer…closer….and then pass us…it didn’t even stop! We tried to run after it, flailing our arms as we tried to reach the next nearest bus stop before it passed when we came across a sign on the bus stop that said “Please signal driver to stop.” Feeling silly and embarrassed, we checked the times, and decided to wait for the next arrival time, fully prepared to showcase our bus-driver-signaling-to-stop skills. The next bus came and we waved our arms and I think I may have even jumped up and down a little. The bus driver saw our signal and pulled the bus over to stop, when I boarded the bus, the driver kind of laughed (I don’t think it was just in my head, haha).

The bus ride to Coogee from Sydney Uni was about 45 minutes. When we arrived at Coogee, I was greeted by the most beautiful sight of the ocean. Success! Coogee is a relatively small beach and I have been told it is less touristy than Bondi (when I go to Bondi I will let you know the details). The weather was perfectly clear and sunny and I was ecstatic to squish my toes in the soft and smooth sand. We laid out our towels and lathered on some sunscreen. It is very important to apply sunscreen in Australia because according to the Australian Government’s Department of Health and Aging Australia is unfortunately one of the places where skin cancer is most prevalent in the world (Click here for Australian Skin Cancer Facts).

Laying out at Coogee Beach was so peaceful. The scenery was gorgeous, the sand was warm and soft, and the water was crystal clear! I walked into the water up to my knees and I could still see the sand and my feet through the water! Now, that is perfection. Coogee Beach is definitely a must-go beach to visit when you are in Sydney!

Mardi Gras Festival– Australia Style

March 5th hosted the Mardi Gras Festival in Sydney. There were a lot of posters and advertisements promoting the event around Sydney and on the “What’s On” portion of the New South Wales website. The Mardi Gras Festival is one of the biggest celebrations of gay and lesbian pride in the world! The 2011 theme for the parade was “Say Something.” A group of girls and I decided to go to the festival to see what it was all about.

It was super crowded! The streets were so packed that you could not move! People had been camping out for hours to get front row views of the parade; the people in the front rows also purchased step stools to stand on, so if you were standing on the sidewalk, you would not be able to see anything unless you were over six feet tall.

However, my view from the crowd was quite intriguing: there were couples dressed up in handcrafted coordinating costumes, individuals in crazy masks, people donning colorful hats, and others decked out with outrageous make-up, glitter, platform shoes, and feathered wings. As it became closer to the parade’s showtime, the crowd became more chaotic and mass hubbub ensued. I felt like I was standing in the general admission section of a rock concert. I left the craziness relatively early, but it sure seemed like it was a successful event! If you are in Sydney for next year’s Mardi Gras Festival and you want to enjoy the show, make sure to arrive hours ahead of time to claim your spot!

$$$: Exploring the Pretty Australian Currency

The money in Australia is quite beautiful and brightly colored (purple, blue, red, yellow, and green); the bills are made from a type of polymer that makes them waterproof! They are also relatively sturdy, I have not come across a bill that was crinkled or bent. However, the Australian currency definitely took some getting used to; the bills come in increments of $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100. There are no $1 bills, like in the US. Instead, there are $1 and $2 coins. It is interesting though that the $2 coins are smaller than the $1 coins.

There are also coins in 5, 10, 20, and 50 cent increments. Goodbye penny and quarter! It is a lot easier to pay for items without being short a couple of cents and having to scrounge for the pennies in the bottom of your bag or pockets. However, because of the lack of 1 cent pieces, stores and vendors will often round up or down. For instance, if your total is $5.78, they will charge you $5.80. Conversely, if your total is $5.71, they will charge you $5.70. Also, the bills are not all the same length; the bills get increasingly longer depending on the amount. For example, the $5 bills are slightly smaller than the $10 bills, which are in turn smaller than the $20 bill and so on. Overall, I think each Australian bill is like a work of art and I enjoy seeing more than just the drab color green in my wallet!

Also, for your enjoyment: