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| Shiny Sydney |
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| So many sex shops here! And tons of ‘massage’ places too… |
I heard so much about how boring and horrible and not half as good as Melbourne Sydney is from various Victorians, that now I almost feel bad saying that I actually quite like it. The architecture isn’t bad, there are loads of interesting small shops and cafes. Yesterday we checked out bits of the botanic gardens and went to the art gallery. Astonishingly, it didn’t cost a fortune to get in, it was free! While the 19th C. and before collections were quite average, there was some good selection of modern Australian art, as well as some Aboriginal stuff. I need to learn more about it – apparently there is a way of reading all those dots and lines, but it is far from obvious for a European. Still, it’s really fantastic to look at. Also, the museum told me more about aboriginal culture – the only works which were marked with a ‘no photos’ sign were Aboriginal ones, and all photos of Aboriginal people had a disclaimer: ‘members of Aboriginal communities are respectfully advised that people represented in those photos may have passed away.’ Interesting.
Although Sydney has the reputation for being a shiny and pretty straight line city, to me it seems to be actually somewhat more diverse and alternative than Melbourne. Though it may just be this time of the year – it’s Mardi Gras! The biggest gay, lesbian, bi, trans, queer and intersex festival in this part of the world! Everything is alternative and rainbow coloured here now! We met up with Ivan and Amanda who work/volunteer at the festival, went to the Mardi Gras! museum, and then Genna took us to Chinatown for some food and more general sightseeing.
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| The right way to drink Bubble Tea. |
On the next day we left Genna’s long house to visit her at work. (The houses in that district are quite wicked, about 4m wide and 20m deep, with one corridor all along the way and rooms standing in a queue.) After some yummy for and coffee we set of towards the harbour. The wharf was indeed pretty damn shiny, there was even a police brass band playing there! Since this part of the wharf was close to Chinatown (and Chinatown is really big here compared to Melbourne), we ended up in the Chinese Garden Of Friendship. They weren’t friendly enough to let people in for free, but it was worth it, the garden is beautiful. Around that time Charlie admitted that although it feels wrong, she actually really likes Sydney! I don’t know I’d she’ll be able to show her face again in Melbourne after she said that…
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| Swimming pool at the university |
We then met up with Amanda for lunch in the university gardens and checked out uni grounds. The main building looks like taken out of OxBridge! The same gothic, the same courtyard in the middle, the same dining hall and chapel in the corners… what is different though is that Sydney Uni has an open swimming pool right next to the main building. How cool is that?! End lectures, swimsuit on and dive!
And now: botanic gardens and the opera house. So you know how it’s on every bloody postcard, and it’s just so disgustingly famous and iconic? Well… justly so, it’s friggin’ fantastic. Most importantly, it’s amazingly well located. Most great architecture can’t really be properly appreciated simply because it’s tucked in between other buildings, often in completely different styles. Sydney opera stands on the waterfront, about 500m from the nearest building, surrounded by water and the botanic gardens. Not only is it visible from every angle, but its surroundings greatly add to its looks. And it’s just really well designed to fit those surroundings – the seashell looks next to water, the curves work great with the bridge, and the way it emerges from behind the trees is fantastic. It looks great from close up as well – it’s a shame that they don’t let people into the shells except for concerts and tours, but we at least managed to get into the restaurant part.
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| The bets use for a TV I’ve ever seen. In Newtown, of course |
We spent the rest of the day walking around Newtown. How different! No shiny skyscrapers, just tons of small funky houses, a relaxed alternative feel, many small ships with antiques, curiosity items, costumes, accessories, some atmospheric restaurants… My part of town! A bit of a shame we didn’t come there earlier, because by now everything was closed, but the general evening feel was totally worth it.
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| Newtown is different |
Tomorrow I’m off to New Zealand, from now on traveling alone. I’m quite excited about it, and to be honest, traveling with Charlie has been great, but enough is enough and I’d really like to be alone now. Don’t worry, she feels the same. So: stage two, here I come!
Although Sydney has the reputation for being a shiny and pretty straight line city, to me it seems to be actually somewhat more diverse and alternative than Melbourne. Though it may just be this time of the year – it’s Mardi Gras! The biggest gay, lesbian, bi, trans, queer and intersex festival in this part of the world! Everything is alternative and rainbow coloured here now! We met up with Ivan and Amanda who work/volunteer at the festival, went to the Mardi Gras! museum, and then Genna took us to Chinatown for some food and more general sightseeing.
And now: botanic gardens and the opera house. So you know how it’s on every bloody postcard, and it’s just so disgustingly famous and iconic? Well… justly so, it’s friggin’ fantastic. Most importantly, it’s amazingly well located. Most great architecture can’t really be properly appreciated simply because it’s tucked in between other buildings, often in completely different styles. Sydney opera stands on the waterfront, about 500m from the nearest building, surrounded by water and the botanic gardens. Not only is it visible from every angle, but its surroundings greatly add to its looks. And it’s just really well designed to fit those surroundings – the seashell looks next to water, the curves work great with the bridge, and the way it emerges from behind the trees is fantastic. It looks great from close up as well – it’s a shame that they don’t let people into the shells except for concerts and tours, but we at least managed to get into the restaurant part.
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