Sydney

 

 

Day One: Catching the Train

 

A lot of people laughed at me or questioned why I would catch a 12 hour train to Sydney when I could just fly up in one hour. There were 2 reasons I chose this mode of transport:

• It was significantly cheaper than a flight (with international luggage)
• I like train travel (but not in a Sheldon Cooper kind of way...)

 

 

The train trip was absolutely brilliant. I loved having the time to relax, enjoy the Australian countryside and read a few books. The majority of customers on the train were pensioners, with a few backpackers, 20 something year olds and families scattered into the mix. The staff on the train were absolutely fantastic, they were kind and patient, even cheekily flirting with some of the old ladies. It would have been one of the more relaxed modes of transport I have ever taken. 

 

I spent my time reading and managed to finish 'Will Grayson, Will Grayson' by John Green. The book was interesting. Not one of the usual books I would enjoy, with only male lead characters, and the predominant themes centred on high school drama. However, I found it thought provoking, challenging and emotionally moving. I would highly recommend it to anyone after a good, quick read.

 

Whenever I needed to rest my eyes, I would find myself looking out the window onto the Australian countryside. What a view!

 

Once we reached Sydney at around 8pm, I decided to walk the 15 minutes to my hostel instead of hoping on another train for only one stop. It was an easy walk through the city, getting used to the twisty, illogical roadmap that is Sydney once again. As much as I love Sydney... Melbourne's town planners beat them by a mile.

 

I stayed at the Base Hostel Sydney for 2 nights. There was nothing special about the Hostel, standard sort of accommodation, clean, staff from lots of different countries and it had a large common room on the ground floor for people to chill and socialise. I stayed in a female only dorm, which was hilarious with a bright pink door and feature wall. my room was never full, with only two other girls staying there on the first night and a snoring granny making an appearance after midnight on the second night.

 

Day Two: Going Walk-about

 

 

I decided to take advantage of the amazing weather in Sydney and went for a walk from the Hostel down George St to Circular Quay before heading to The Rocks, taking a few happy snaps of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House, before walking to Darling Harbour, following the line of the Bay. It was a pleasant walk, there was a historic path that was very interesting to follow, documenting early Australian History.



 

Once I had finished up at Darling Harbour, I swung past the Qantas Credit Union Arena to see how long the line for General Admission was before heading back to the Hostel to get ready for the best concert in the History of man kind (Ed Sheeran was amazing and so were his supporting acts).

 

 

Day Three: Northern Beaches

After the best night in my life, I decided to take it easy and go relax at the beach. I walked back down George St to Circular Quay and jumped on the Ferry to Manly. I love catching the ferries in Sydney. Once I reached Manly, I walked down The Corso and sat down at Manly Beach looking like the biggest tourist... Carrying my whole world in a suitcase, taking photo after photo of the best beach in Sydney.

 

On the way back to the Ferry Wharf, I saw the best thing in the entire world. This cat was taking itself for a walk. No joke. It was just casually strolling down the path dragging it's leash across the ground. Amazing.

 

Sadly my time in Sydney was up! I hoped off the ferry at Circular Quay and on to a train to the International Airport to begin my adventure in the land of the free.