Thursday in Sydney

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Thursday 18 July 2019

I landed in Sydney at 7:30 am (Australia time) after a 14 hour flight across the Pacific Ocean from LAX… to which I had a 7 hour layover prior. The flight went well, but it was tiresome trying to fall asleep with a new position each time in not the most comfortable seats. Once we landed and all got off the plane the airport adventures began. They had little kiosks for border check-in, in addition to the booths with people. I used the kiosks, but realized later on that meant I never got my international stamp in my passport:( But you would not believe how crazy the lines were at 8 am! Next came the waiting and watching game for my checked luggage. After that, I was off to customs, which thankfully went smoothly! I got out on the other side to finally see my driver who had been waiting a while and was about to call it quits... thank goodness he didn’t! Watching him drive on the right side of the car on the left side of the road was stressful to watch. And that also means they walk on the left side of sidewalks too! I guess I have to abandon all my American etiquettes. We arrived at the hotel shortly after and check in took a while since I had arrived so early my room wasn’t ready yet. At this point, I had not showered for 2 days and was very jetlagged… sooo the shower and bed in my room quickly became my new best friends! A couple of hours nap later and I was ready to go! 

Right outside of my hotel was a beautiful park named Hyde Park, which seems to be a very common name for parks (London and Tampa to name a few, although Tampa’s isn’t really a park). It had enormous trees, the Archibald Fountain, and St. Mary’s Cathedral. St. Mary's Cathedral is one of the oldest catholic churches in Australia and serves as a cornerstone of their Catholic faith. It was still an active church with mass and special choir performances that anyone could attend.

Just a short walk away was another park with beautiful trees and a huge art gallery, one of many I saw around Sydney. You could probably spend an entire week going through all of Sydneys art galleries and museums! A couple blocks down was the Queen Victoria Building that enclosed 4 levels of shops and restaurants.

The architecture of all their historical buildings is just breathtaking. All the attention to detail of the stonework and glass, it all comes together in such stunning and unique ways. The city very much had a London feel to it, especially with all their English namings and origin attributes. To top off the day I found a literal hole in the wall place for dinner called Mary’s. I got fried chicken with the best seasoning I have ever tasted on it with just the right amount of spice. A great end to my first day in Sydney!