Sydney. Where to begin? I guess I should
start by saying how necessary this trip was. Not only is Sydney internationally
recognized for its landmarks (and for being a stereotypical Australian touristy thing to
see), but it also celebrated the end of the semester (and in this case, our Australian Education). So after finishing several reports, Olivia, Tyler, and I
packed our bags and flew to Sydney.
The first thing we did when we got there was check into our hostel, which happened to be located in the heart of Chinatown. We had 8 other roommates in our room: a British couple who had been living there for 3 months, an old man who wore Uggs, a guy who was consistently asleep, a girl who never spoke to us, a middle aged woman who mumbled to herself and only surfaced at odd times of the night to get potato chips that she chewed very audibly (we nicknamed her munch), and then there were 2 beds that were filled with different people each night we stayed there. All in all, it was a very interesting and memorable mix of people. Let's just say I'm glad we didn't spend much time hanging out in there.
Sydney hosts an incredible amount of really cool things to do, many of which are free and cater to the broke uni student, thank goodness. We explored Darling Harbor, took the 5k coastal walk from Coogee beach to Bondi Beach, saw the Opera House, walked through the Royal Botanical Gardens, played the slot machines in the Star Casino, had drinks on a rooftop bar, watched street performers, and visited the contemporary art museum. We also found some incredible restaurants as well, including a small Thai place, The Morrison, and Mad Pizza in Bondi (try the garlic bread). While these were all incredibly awesome things to do, what made this trip especially cool is that it took place during Vivid Sydney.
I am so happy to have been able to have made it to Sydney during my stay in Australia, and what’s even crazier is that my parents will be there next week! Next stop, New Zealand with the family. Stay posted!
The Vivid festival in Sydney is an annual festival of lights. Every night from 6-12, the city would light up in vibrant colors and people would flood the city to see it. There were sculptures, light shows, interactive sections where you could control the lights, lit trees and walkways, and the Contemporary Art Museum was filled with light themed exhibits. Each night we went out to see a different section of the city and experience as much of the festival as we could. By far the best of Vivid was Mission Control, where you could control a light show that played from the Casino. You could control the color and movement of lights to a song and they took a video while you did it, which ended up being a lot of fun to watch. Some other favorites included the water show in the Harbor and the exhibits in the art Museum. Overall, Vivid made the trip worth it, if nothing else did. The beauty and splendor of this festival is hard to describe, and pictures hardly do it justice. I would definitely recommend Sydney to anyone, it is truly an incredible city.
Sincerely,
Julie
