Sydney Suburbs

Alright people! Here is the inevitable blog entry in which I go on and on and on about what I have learned throughout Sydney’s suburbs. Please forgive me if I sound at times like a travel guide, and my feelings will not be hurt should you choose to skim this entry. (Unless you are an immediate family member, in which case you are naturally held to the highest of standards.)

CITY CENTRE

I spent most of my first week in the downtown area, and I still spend time there every couple days because that is where my exchange program office is located. The center of the city is basically where I know I can find $1 sushi rolls (on King & George Streets), specials on smoothies (one block from my program office), a three-story bookstore (be still, mine heart), and fashionable shops, bars and restaurants everywhere in between. An important lesson I have learned is to watch my back in the central business district (known as CBD) – the taxi drivers aren’t exactly polite, plus if you don’t keep pace, you can count on getting trampled by crowds of businesspeople power-walking to their next appointment.

One tip I am going to share with you, should you go to Sydney: Don’t forget to look up! Yes, that’s right – stop (hopefully out of the way of the people ready to run you over), tilt your head back and LOOK UP. It’s funny how easy it is to become wrapped up in the craziness on the ground level of the city and not notice the amazing architecture and history right in front of your nose. Some of the buildings are pretty amazing. (Not all of the buildings. Not even most. But some are worth looking up for.)

CIRCULAR QUAY

Firstly, it's pronounced "circular key." It's funny how one feels like laughing at the tourists who come through pronouncing it "kway." Then I remind myself that I did too...only three weeks ago. But we won’t talk about that...

Circular Quay is what I think of as the "connected and connecting" area in Sydney. That's where I go if I want to catch a train, bus, or ferry to just about anywhere. And walking down by the ferries at night will give you a gorgeous view of the Opera House, the Bridge, and the Harbour. Not to mention, there are pretty decent restaurants overlooking the views which I have yet to frequent due to their pricey menus. Thankfully there are also a few cheaper options not right on the water, one being McDonalds (which is called "Mackers" by Australians, as I came to realize after a few confusing conversations).

DARLING HARBOUR

We discovered Darling Harbour one day after misunderstanding that our roommate was telling us to find a place in Darlinghurst. Darling Harbour, Darlinghurst...anyone could make that mistake, right? Well, not anyone who has been to both places, apparently. As we figured out for ourselves, one is home to fancy shoppers and well-to-do businessmen and the other is known as Sydney's red-light district. Haha...yeah... (But don't worry. I may not have mace, but I have daylight, a pointy umbrella, and Megan. She took a kickboxing class, so she's practically on par with the karate kid now.)

Darling Harbour, by the way, is the well-to-do of the two. We didn't actually see the water in the harbor due to the fact it was filled with yachts for the Sydney International Boat Show. If you want to go shopping in Sydney, go to Darling Harbour. It’s not the cheapest place in the city, but there’s a three-level mall complete with fancy restaurants overlooking the water. That’s also where you’d find the Sydney Aquarium and Wildlife World, FYI. And when we’d finished our day there, we took a ferry ride back to Circular Quay and saw yet another view of the Bridge and Opera House, just approaching sunset. Beautiful!!!

KINGS CROSS & DARLINGHURST

Known as Sydney's red-light district, we were guaranteed to meet an interesting assortment of people almost immediately after stepping foot off the train at Kings Cross. Despite the shady shops and strange people in this area, we did discover a fairly decent pizza place, a chocolate shop and a temporary job for Megan. (A DECENT job , people!) What place can be so bad if it has all that, right? Of course, right! Megan’s first job was at a little take away shop directly across the street from the station. And as her friend, I was entitled to free chips. I've decided Darlinghurst, while not a place I will spend a considerable amount of time, is actually an alright place to visit.

DOUBLE BAY / EDGECLIFF

I often say I live in Edgecliff because the two are so close and I take the train to Edgecliff to get home, but the truth is that I actually live in Double Bay. You know how some Arizonans refer to Scottsdale as “Snottsdale”? Well, here the locals have a habit of calling Double Bay “Double Pay” due to the high incomes of most of its residents; people also jokingly refer to it as the plastic surgery capital of Australia. Apparently it’s viewed as a nice place to live, which Megan and I didn’t find out until after we moved in. Lucky us, it is a nice place to live – our place is in a cute apartment building only a short walk from expensive shops, trendy cafes, and pretty views of the harbor.

BONDI JUNCTION

This is where I would do my shopping if I weren’t on a budget. Westfield Mall has six floors, including a Target and a Borders, plus a movie theater. Right now the main reason I frequent Bondi Junction is because it’s the connecting point for me to get to my new cafe job on Bondi Beach and my art class on Bondi Road.

BRONTE BEACH

On one of my solo days (Megan was at work), I decided to meander down to Bronte Beach. Bronte is a cute little beach with more kids and grass than Bondi Beach. Also fewer people and quite a lot smaller and less trendy. Basically, if Bondi were the hardback bestseller of beaches, Bronte would be the cute paperback version you just want to stick in your pocket and take with you to the coffee shop. (Yes, that really is the way my mind works.)

I’ve more places to explore and some I’ve barely visited, but I’ll leave you there for now. Too much information cannot be fit into bite-sized blog entries…at least not without stuffing your mouth so full that you cannot chew. But beware - Now that I have my computer, I've some catching up to do!