Day 57.

Sydney!!!

So after a very early 4:30am wake up call I was on my way to my next stop, Sydney! This was one city I was looking forward to visiting from booking and I hope she doesn't disappoint!

I'd booked a super early flight thinking I'd get a head start on my day and get exploring nice and early. It was also a fair bit cheaper than the other flights... Or so I thought. I booked it without even thinking about transport at that time of the morning, so after saving money on my flight I stupidly had to end up spending $20 on a taxi to the station because the trams weren't on and another $20 on a express shuttle!! Well that bitch bit me in the ass quick! But never mind, I was officially on my way!!

I touched down and reached baggage claim at 8:30am. I'd received an email to call my shuttle service when I arrived and they would send one. Well, after spending $3 on a pay phone for it to just swallow all my money because it was so quiet I couldn't hear a thing! That option was thrown out the window. I then figured the information desk would be helpful, right? Well I couldn't see anything through his fog of self worth, which I'm surprised at on the height of his high horse! He just told me I'd wasted my $3 and all I had to do was 'wait down there'... Down where?... 'Down there by 5.' By this I figured out he meant baggage carousel 5 as there were several shuttle drivers, non of which were mine. AN HOUR LATER, no shuttle had arrived. Marching back, I asked where exactly it would pick me up as no one had come yet, he reaffirmed to me that this was in fact his job and he knew what he was talking about. Sir, I think your job is just a RUDE ASS! Luckily, I've gotten good at asking random people for favours and I managed to swindle the use of a mobile to request another shuttle, which this time actually turned up!

I reached my hostel at about 11am and had arranged to meet a friend from school who actually lives in Sydney now, how lucky!? So my first challenge, as check in wasn't until 2pm, was to find my way to Darling Harbour.

Darling harbour is essentially what it says on the tin, a harbour, but it's scattered with restaurants and bars and buzzing with a great atmosphere! The city's skyline lined the background as I walked away from the city and around the cockle bay. I grabbed an iced coffee before I met my friend and they actually did a proper coffee! No scoops of ice cream, no sundae glasses! Just strong creamy coffee on the rocks, perfection!! The sun had decided to show his face finally, so we spent a few hours on the roof top enjoying the sun and catching up. Not going to lie, mainly picking his brain for Sydney hot spots!!

I left mid afternoon and decided to walk across to the Harbour Bridge and Opera House. What else was I going to do on my first day!? I watched the length of George St and came to The Rocks which is an old cobble town area of Sydney which houses lots of restaurants and bars. Apparently there's a lot of history behind The Rocks area too, hoping to find this out when I do the Walking Tour again here!

After a few shameless selfies (I seriously need to get myself a selfie stick!) I walked from the Harbour Bridge to the Opera House, which are surprisingly close to each other, then I noticed the Botanical Gardens were right next to the Opera House! I was hitting 3 birds with 1 stone here! They were SO pretty and totally different to the Melbourne Gardens!

I'd worn my new shoes which had practically tore me new skin on my feet! So I kicked them off after walking round the water and took a walk through the gardens.

By this time it was evening and I still hadn't checked in, so after consulting my Sydney map I realised I was only a 10 minute walk away, what more harm was 10 minutes going to do to my heels!? The hostel (I never thought I'd be the person staying in hostels but I love them!) I was staying in was much smaller than the one in St Kilda, personally I've found I prefer these. They tend to attract solo travellers and have a much better atmosphere because of that. I've found larger chain hostels attract large groups who tend to be less open to mixing outside their groups, so not ideal for solo travellers! The moment I walked into my room, my theory on small hostels was confirmed! Hitting it off with my new Swedish room mates straight away! Hopefully if this hostel works out, I can prebook for Christmas and New Year here in Sydney!

So I'm now in Sydney for the next 7 days before I pick up my bus trip up the east coast, let's see what it brings!

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