Sydney Day 1

What a wonderful first day in Australia! Really, I couldn't think of a better way of doing it. Arrive at 6:30 in the morning and then have the rest of the day to bum around and get our bearings. Throw in a shower in the morning and a nap in the afternoon and whaaapowww...you've got yourself a first day.

Heather and I started our adventure with breakfast at Joe's. Turns out, Australians can make a great French Toast and bacon. The eggs, tea and chai were also fantastic. Joe also gave us a map and some great ideas for tomorrow as we are planning on seeing the Opera house and some other places on the harbor.

After breakfast we walked around Kings Cross and saw the sights. Fantastic and lots of things to see. Turns out we are in Backpackers heaven because not only are there tons of places to stay, but also lots of "adult clubs" if you know what I mean. I am already glad that Heather and I are staying a little off the beaten track.



Next, because we are staying at a hostel we want to cook some of our own food. So we went on the look for a grocery store. What we found was Woolworths, a very fine establishment and all underground. A bit different than we are used to but a great variety. We got our breakfast fixings and have our spot in the fridge where we are staying.


The rest of the day we devoted to Hyde Park and Downtown Sydney. It was awesome, a beautiful city and pretty easy to get around. Here are a few shots of Hyde Park:



But I did learn a few things about traffic in Australia. First, look right. Traffic is coming from a different direction than I am used to and I almost got hit a few times. Talk about looking like a tourist straight away. (Straight away is Australian for immediately). They even have help because apparently I am not the only person that has no clue.



The way you know to cross is signaled by a Green walking guy rather than white, and a laser -beam sound coming from the button I just pushed. So to sum up: look down so you remember to look right, and wait for the laser.

Finally, dusk came and I got some awesome pictures of a huge Catholic Church and the down town area. The panoramic pictures are from the roof of Eva's where we are staying.



Now it is off to bed to try and get some real sleep, meaning laying down and not in an airplane.

You can check out more pictures of our trip on my flickr page: www.flickr.com/photos/dmswanso

Blessings and good night,

dain