Backpacker Student: A Weekend in Sydney

Eventually I found my way out of Melbourne Airport Terminal 4 Departure Lounge and boarded a plane, in which the pilot apologised that our original flight had been cancelled, but failed to acknowledge the fact that the flight we were now sat on was an hour delayed itself. So I arrived in Sydney two hours later than planned, but I was happy to finally meet Chris at the airport. We made it to our hostel in time to get to the local pizza place just before it closed for a massive pizza takeaway. I can't deny that my first day in Sydney was a little underwhelming as the sky was so grey, and later on we even had a downpour. Without a blue sky in the background the Opera House is really quite disappointing, looking off-white on the big concrete slab it sits upon. Nonetheless, it did feel special to sit in a coffee shop at Circular Quay with Sydney's two iconic structures at either shoulder. We had a leisurely walk around the nearby botanical gardens and enjoyed catching up after a month spent apart.

I was very grateful on Saturday to have the good weather I had been hoping for, and we leaped upon the opportunity to get out of the city into the Blue Mountains. The landscape truly is stunning, and if you can elbow your way through a thick swamp of tourists there is a blue-hazed and tree-covered canyon of epic proportions in front of you. We saw most of the main sites before travelling a bit further afield, where the crowds disappeared, the day began to draw to a close and we enjoyed a gorgeous drive through the mountains as the sun set. After a long day of sightseeing we returned to Sydney and decided to spend our Saturday night with a leisurely stroll around the harbour at night to see the lights and eat an ice-cream, before meeting a friend of Chris's for a nightcap.

Sunday was another underwhelming weather day, but by now we had accepted that a bit of Melbourne had stalked along with me on my journey, and resolved to get on with our day regardless. Without much of a plan, it made sense to go out for a delicious brunch first of all, and I chose a trendy cafe in Glebe that I had spotted when walking past on Friday. This was a fantastic idea, and we both felt in optimum spirits after a good brekkie (plus a cake for good measure). Next we took a walk down to Darling Harbour, where a Thai festival was taking place. Too full to eat any more, we enjoyed the smells before moving on to the Chinese Gardens. This was a tranquil little spot with a ticketed entry- inside were ponds, water features, bamboo-lined paths and a miniature pagoda. Essentially it was a place for couples and families to come and take photos, and we followed suit, trying to avoid the massive construction sites beyond the garden's perimeters when taking photos.

Later we returned to Circular Quay and bought a ticket for a boat ride over to Manly Beach. I hadn't anticipated what a difference being out in the harbour on the water would make to the view of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge, and now I was truly impressed. Manly was a nice place too, and Chris and I enjoyed a leisurely barefoot stroll from one end of the beach to the other. Unfortunately for us, we were at the very remote end of the beach when a sudden downpour hit us, and we ran to shelter at the local surf club building, which was closed but luckily had its doors open and was occupied by others who had also been caught out like us. When the rain died down we made our way down the wet, empty street until we found a nice-looking restaurant for dinner. Already I was beginning to feel sad that my weekend with Chris was drawing to a close, as my flight back to Melbourne was early the next morning. We waited for our food for what seemed like a long time, until it turned out that the waitress had accidentally forgotten to put our order through, and we were offered a glass of wine each on the house along with many apologies. We didn't mind waiting though- we just wanted to make the most of our last evening. So we drank our wine and relaxed in the cosy candle-lit beach-side joint. We took a late ferry back to the city after it had already gone dark, and it turned out to be a choppy journey. Chris and I had procured the very front space on the outside deck so that we could get photos of the harbour uninterrupted by other people's heads and elbows. However, just as I was looking up at the starry night sky above, the boat hit a heavy wave and a ton of water was thrown into the air and onto our heads- not quite so romantic any more. This was accompanied by a chorus of laughter from every other person on the boat, which only got worse as we shuffled inside shivering and drenched with water. This went on to happen to a few more people, so at least we weren't the only drowned rats on board. Luckily the waves settled down as we made our way into a more sheltered part of the bay and as we rounded into Circular Quay we could enjoy the night views of the harbour from the boat.

The next morning was a very early start for my 8.45am flight, and I made it to the airport with five or ten minutes to spare before check-in closed. Tigerair was more reliable on the way back and I got back to Melbourne as scheduled, although I wouldn't have been too devastated about missing the four hours of lectures I had that afternoon. In the evening some friends and I went to Wholefoods, the student-run vegetarian and vegan cafe that runs a free dinner for students on Monday nights, as funded by the Monash Students Association (which also runs free breakfasts on Wednesdays and the odd free ice-cream as a random surprise- I love it). I'd wanted to go to this for the last two Mondays running and was glad to finally have the chance. It certainly perked me up after feeling low at the end of my weekend trip and saying goodbye to Chris again.

The rest of my week was spent much as usual; going to classes, getting last-minute readings done and going to salsa class, which I have started doing on Wednesday lunchtimes. On Wednesday evening I caught up with my Aussie friends Juliana and Cathy to go to the night market at Queen Victoria Market, the second-to-last one this year as summer draws to a close (boo hoo- I hadn't expected it to end so soon after my arrival!). I also went out last night with the Monash Overseas and Exchange Club (MOVE), to a bar crawl they had organised in the city. The first two bars were nice places I'd go to again, but I wasn't so keen on the last place we went to, a massive club with some kind of Middle Eastern/ 'Oriental' theme and lots and lots of people. It was so heavily stewarded that wherever we stood a member of staff asked us to move because we were blocking one thing or another. Thursday happened to be Ladies' Night and all the female members of the group were given drinks cards to a total of $40 each, which was almost so much that I was taken aback. I don't like the concept of giving lots of free drinks to girls (much as I enjoy free drinks), so I was both pleased and sceptical. To resolve this I got myself two amaretto and cranberries and gave the other two drinks cards to guy friends to try to redress the balance a little. As it was a Thursday there was no Nightrider bus home so we had to get a train and taxi back, which all felt like a bit more hassle than the night was worth. Today, despite the fact I didn't drink much last night and certainly wasn't drunk, I have a nasty headache and am feeling sorry for myself, remembering the times I could drink as much as I wanted and spring out of bed the next morning. I'm definitely getting old.

My task for today was to finish my video presentation from my visit to Footscray, Yarraville and Williamstown. It has been quite a frustrating effort due to my lack of technical skills and my hangover, and I was glad no-one else was in the apartment to hear the sporadic shouted swearword and banging of the desk coming from my room. Finally, I finished it and though it is far from perfect and very amateur-looking, it represents many hours of work, not including the six hours it took to complete the walks themselves. Click here to have a look at the finished video! And here are a few thousand photos from Sydney....