Another wonderful weekend

We didn’t have school Friday because of graduation ceremonies. I took the day to do some homework and relax at the beach. There was a post-graduation party at a bar in Manly so a few of us went to that but it was mostly graduates and their parents. A lot of the study abroad students took the long weekend opportunity to travel. I couldn’t go too far because I had tickets to the opera on Saturday. I know I’ve been talking about this opera a lot, but honestly, how many people get a chance to see an actual opera in the Sydney Opera House. I had pretty high expectations, and the performance exceeded even those! I went with Melissa and AJ... we had seats in the second last row, but the theatre was smaller than I expected and the acoustics were phenomenal. The sound was crystal clear without any echoing, it was beautiful. The opera was in Italian so it took a bit to get used to reading subtitles while following the action, but after the first few minutes it was ok. After the opera we walked around the Botanical Gardens for a bit before catching the ferry back for dinner.

Myself, Melissa, and AJ on the ferry over

Giant cruise ship in the harbor... seriously, biggest boat I've ever seen in my life. I kinda want to sail around the world in one of those.

Today was absolutely beautiful. I got ready before brunch and then headed back into the city with Deborah to follow a “walking tour” I found online. It wasn’t the best route, but I finally explored the city beyond the harbours. We walked across the harbour bridge and looked at all the sailboats in the harbour. Then we went up to Observatory Hill which is just another lookout spot, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Strand Arcade (a historic Victorian looking building built in 1891 with expensive shops), and the Queen Victoria building. It’s interesting to see the architecture change throughout the different areas of the city. We made a stop at SES (a clothing store, I’m not sure if we have them in the US) and I found 2 new dresses. I should be good with clothes now, just have to find a Halloween costume yet... if anyone has any ideas, let me know.

On the bridge with sailboats, yachts, and ferries in the harbor behind me.

Observatory Hill

After our mini shopping spree we made our way into Chinatown and quite honestly I was a little disappointed. Besides Chinese subtitles and a few more Chinese restaurants, there really wasn’t much to see. There is a Chinese Friendship Garden somewhere but we didn’t have time for that today. Maybe I’ll make a return trip there in the future. Our final stop on the walking tour was Paddington Markets. It is one of the largest markets in Sydney and has just about anything you might want or need. There were some good deals, but overall, I found these to be overrated as well. We wanted to make it back to college for dinner we went back to catch the ferry. Next weekend is pretty booked, but hopefully the weekend after we’ll be able to go back and finish our tour with Town Hall, Hyde Park, a few cathedrals, the Parliament House, and the Art Gallery of New South Wales. The city is just too big to cover in a day. It’s nice to have so many things to see and do, especially on nice days like today.

Paddington Markets

We’re now on week 5 of class. I really have to start knocking out some of my big projects. It’s crazy to think that in 9 weeks I’ll be home. I don’t know where October has gone. Tonight I booked our hostel for Auckland and we figured out some activities for our time there. I’m also going whale watching, sky diving, and surfing in November. December will be left for studying for finals and maybe a road trip to Melbourne.

Thanks to everyone who has sent emails or kept in contact via facebook and instant messaging. Australia is amazing, but it’s always nice to hear what is going on back home. Have a great week everyone!