july 4 : sid-nee

Yesterday was a big walking day. First I woke up at 5:30, which didn't seem too bad for the first night of jet lag. So I spent the wee hours of the morning reading in the lounge, where there is a giant brown couch, deep cushions, huge ottoman, where I want to spend every lazy moment.

Naomi was arriving at 7ish, and through a series of mixed messages with the check in people, she headed up to my room to wait for me while I waited for her in the lounge. At about 8 I went upstairs and discovered her. She had been trying to wake up another girl in the room by called my name and the other girl was very sleepily ignoring her. We rejoiced and I marked the occasion by eating a power bar. (“Wait, you ate a power bar? I don't remember that.” --Naomi)

First stop: Paddy's Market for fresh produce. We got a bunch of stuff for salad and snacks and then ravenously ate back at YHA. I miss salad dressing and have vowed to buy a bottle at the next opportunity.

Second stop: Railway station to buy tickets to Byron Bay or just bug the ticket people about various passes, railway savers, student rates, YHA fares. Naomi's ticket guy sucked, but my lady was really cool and added up every single train ride I plan to take (9) and then established that none of the rail passes would save me any money. So after all that, we didn't buy tickets and instead “thought about it.”

I asked Naomi what we would do to mark the July 4 holiday and she remarked that I was wearing red earmuffs. And a white shirt. And blue jeans. We sang patriotic songs (badly) on our walk through the city. We both love You're a Grand Ole' Flag but neither of us knows the words beyond, you're a high flying flag.

On our way to Sydney Opera House! But first actually, we passed the NSW state library first, and it had a really impressive exterior (Victorian/Gothic stonework! Stained glass windows! Copper dome!) and an even cooler interior. A huge old map from 1644 was done in stone in the foyer, and you know how I love maps. The library had a huge reading room like NY Public Library, books stacked on three story walls with old fashioned banisters and ladders, open white ceiling that felt like a giant sky-light. We wandered into an exhibition of old panoramic photos of Australia, and I impressed Naomi by identifying most of them and reporting where they were taken. (2 movies, 2 books, and lot of Wikipedia research.)

Sydney Opera House! You all know what this looks like! Up close, it is way cooler. I thought the canopies were made out of canvas and billowed in the wind, but really they are stone and tiled in a shiny/matte pattern. Up close, they really do resemble huge clam shells. There was really good people watching and bridge-walker watching, so we sat awhile and marveled.

Then off to the Royal Botanical Gardens which are like a great big manicured park with birds and bats and picnickers. We saw lots of fig trees (ficus!), ferns, bamboo which is really loud and frightening when blowing in the wind, seriously “creak creak creaky” as if they are going to fall down on you any moment, fruit bats hanging upside down, a wedding party photograph session, mini trees inside wrought iron jails, palm trees, a pond, lots of birds that we are not allowed to feed! Ever! And of course, the Wollemi Pine, thought to be millions of years extinct until it was found growing happily in Australia and now you can buy your own Wollemi Pine in the gift shop. Also we saw a group of twenty-somethings wearing red and black and tutus and hats and really just lots and lots of clothing that fit the color scheme, shouting and singing and drinking and they even had their own Donald Duck mascot. Maybe a class reunion? I wanted to join them with my red ear warmers but alas. While checking my hair for guano droppings I noticed that I had had a bloody nose and NAOMI DIDN'T TELL ME. Minus ten points.

Hungry and exhausted, we headed home but first stopped at Art Gallery NSW, because it was free. And the exterior was Victorian/Gothic/copper with Ionian pillars. SO PROUD that I can distinguish between pillar styles, thank you 6th Grade History Alive! I wanted to see the silk ikats of Central Asia, but the guard told us that it had just closed, but don't worry, “It's nothing, just a lot of clothes. You won't like it.”

We left our judgmental guard and slowly plodded home. Stopped to internet and discovered that SARAH PALIN RESIGNED!!??!?!!?! Wanted to spend the next three hours reading huffpo and mudflats and being flabbergasted and deliriously happy.

In celebration of our nation's birth, the bar next door was playing patriotic songs and having a pole-dancing competition to win a free trip to Fraser Island. We instead went to sleep.

Australian thing of the day: Custard Apple. Looks like an artichoke from a distance, a really lumpy giant guava from up close. It is squishy like a rotten apple. Inside is white, like a pear, but softer. It tastes like guava/mango/pear/apple. Once we established that it wouldn't make us gag, we cut it up and ate it in salad.
Verdict: Yum.

electrical storm

Hm. I just plugged in the computer charger, with the Australia plug and surge protector on the end, and the wall socket sparked and smoked. I took it out immediately, and thank goodness it wasn't connected to my computer. There are smoke marks on the output of the surge protector. Maybe it wasn't ready for 240V? It says the max voltage surge is 330V. I'm scared to plug in my computer, ever.

july 3 : sid-nee

Of wandering around only half conscious...

Three hours to kill until noon check in, when I can take a much needed nap. I sit in the lounge intending to do internet or read, but instead fall asleep all over my computer. I got myself a real chai latte from a cafe and had a walk around the neighborhood. Scoping out the food places (numerable), the people (white and asian, no black), and the neighborhood (meh). Happily returned to my hostel and took a much needed, horizontal nap.

At two-ish I forced myself awake to go do more touring. First I had a veggie burger at Hungry Jacks, which is really just Burger King in disguise. I mean, logo and everything. I was happy to be inside because Sydney is really windy and Wimbledon was playing.

Then I unintentionally took a religious tour of central Sydney. First was St. Andrews Cathedral, a gorgeous Victorian/Gothic stone building with stain-glass windows and copper (green) spires. There was nothing really notable about it other than it was large and pretty and had a nice courtyard with huge flowering eucalyptus trees. I'm just going to go ahead and assume all of the trees here are some kind of eucalyptus. On the other side of the courtyard is City Hall, but that was under construction. Across the street was the Queen Victoria Shopping Center, or something to that effect, with a great statue of HRH looking totally like the Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland, and a fountain statue of her pet dog. When you walked by the dog, he greeted you and requested you make a coin donation to his wishing fountain. The dog statue spoke English. I am not making this up.

Next to Victoria's shopping arcade were two little theaters with brilliant gold art-deco interiors. I took some pictures, then walked on to the Great Synagogue. It reminded me of Bnei Jeshrun in NY-- all stone, round petaled stain-glass, squished up against the buildings on either side of it. The Great Synagogue also had a pretty wrought iron fence around it, which seemed little superfluous.

I walked through Hyde Park, which is a truly charming park in the center of the city. It's about the size of two square blocks and has manicured lawns and a few garden areas. What makes this park really lovely are the stately fig trees lining the perimeter and foot paths. These fig trees are the kinds whose smooth trunks and branches twist and braid around each other. The branches grow really tall and long and provide a lush leafy canopy. In the center of the park there is a stunning fountain with bronze statues of Apollo and that other character slaying the Minotaur (I am the worst teacher) and let's pretend it was Athena sitting with a deer.

Off to St. Mary's Cathedral! A gorgeous Victorian/Gothic stone building with stained-glass windows and copper spires! Apparently they have the oldest continuing choir in Australia, but they weren't there today, boo. Next door was an old prison barracks converted into a museum, but it was closing and I nearly got locked inside.

A block away sits St. James' Church, which was my favorite worshiping spot. From the outside, it appeared to be another Victorian/Gothic stone building with stained-glass windows and copper spires, but inside it was small and personal. The ceiling was low, the walls were flat, there were no gargantuan pillars holding the roof up. The architect of St. James' apparently was a convict. The altar wall was made of hammered gold and it was awesome to look at. I guess I lingered too long in the pews because I was invited to take part in their prayer service.

As I was walking back to YHA, I passed the Great Synagogue again, but this time it was open for Kabbalat Shabbat. I took a peek inside and was a little disappointed at its Easter egg interior. Pretty, but not . . . religious?

At 5:30 I decided to call it a day. I'm going to try to make some phone calls, eat dinner, and then sleep like a log.

july 1 : arrival

I would be remiss if I didn't let you know about my plane outfit. Although it is July 1 in Los Angeles, it is the heart of winter on my 747 airbus. Thus, I am wearing a full sweatsuit combo (which I got form New LA lost and found, SCORE!) and a down jacket. I nearly died of heat stroke getting dressed in my apt.

I see a strange man with curly homeless hair, wearing black loafers with white socks. I wonder if he weren't famous, would Michael Jackson be stopped at security as a “person of interest?” Would he get through El Al security? Can you picture him removing his shoes (and bedazzled military jacket) in the x-ray line?

Right now I am the Central Sydney YHA, tired out of my MIND and I have about 4 hours to kill until my room is ready and I can take a nap. It's the combination of Dramamine, Benadryl, jet lag, and red-eye flight. It is a real chore to keep my eyes open. I'm also reclining on a very comfortable couch, which doesn't help my cause. I attempted to purchase a chai latte from the coffee vending machine, but it ate my coins. Perhaps I'll leave this building and find some real Australian caffeine.

australia: maps

political:

physical:

schedule

					fri 3 arrive!	sat 4 sydney
sun 5 sydney	mon 6 sydney	tues 7 byron bay	wed 8 byron bay	thurs 9 brisbane	fri 10 brisbane	sat 11 brisbane
sun 12 fraser island	mon 13 fraser island	tues 14 townsville	wed 15 townsville	thurs 16 townsville	fri 17 cairns	sat 18 cairns
sun 19 cairns fly to darwin	mon 20 darwin	tues 21 kakadu	wed 22 Ghan leaves Weds or Sat	thurs 23 Ghan Alice Springs	fri 24 uluru	sat 25 uluru
sun 26 uluru Ghan leaves in afternoon	mon 27 Ghan	tues 28 adelaide	wed 29 adelaide	thurs 30 adelaide	fri 31 melbourne	sat 1 melbourne
sun 2 sydney	mon 3 sydney	tues 4 sydney	wed 5 leave

not sure what's up with the big space up there.
Thinking about booking my airplane ticket from cairns to darwin...

itinerary, version two

• Fly into Sydney. Hang out in Sydney. Wait for Naomi to arrive. Walk around to see fancy buildings, historic houses, botanical gardens, Jewish Museum, parliament, Manly Scenic Walkaway, Bondi to Coogee Clifftop trail, football or rugby game, home hospitality, Royal National Park. (4 days)

• Train/bus (Country Link) up to Byron Bay. Enjoy the beach and possibly the Splendour in the Grass music festival (British spelling). Nevermind, that is happening July 25. (2 days.)
  

• Bus/train (Country Link) to Brisbane. See City Hall, Museum of Brisbane, more fancy buildings, Commissariat Stores Building which offers "thorough insight into Brisbane's gruesome penal history," botanical gardens, more museums, biking in the South Bank Parklands, Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary (the world's first and largest), bicycling, lawn bowling, rugby or AFL game, Moreton Bay. (3 days)
  

• Gold Coast. Lamington National Park. (2 days)
  

• Slowly meander up the Sunshine Coast, Capricorn Coast, Whitsunday Coast, and the rest of the coastline up to Townsville. Australia Zoo, surf lessons, Great Sandy National Park (Cooloola), Rainbow Beach, Fraser Island camping (UNESCO), Dunk Island. Great Barrier Reef. Islands, beaching, snorkling, drinking, reading, koala spotting. Undara Volcanic National Park. Gondwana Rain Forest? (UNESCO) Stoney Creek Farmstay? Pick bananas? (7 days)

• Cairns. Botanical gardens, Crystal Cascade waterfalls, Scenic Railway and Skyrail to Kuranda, Wooroonooran Safari day trek, Cape Tribulation Wet Tropics World Heritage Area. (3 days)

• Fly to Darwin. Or fly to Jabiru because Darwin isn't that exciting. Kakadu National Park backpacking. (3 days)

• Take the Ghan train to Alice Springs. (Get Great Southern Railways Pass which allows for unlimited travel on this line?) Kings Canyon and Uluru. (3 days)

• Ghan train to Adelaide. (1+2 days)
  

• Train to Melbourne on Southern Railway train. World Exhibition Building (UNESCO). Not sure what else there is to do here yet. (2 days)
  

• Back to Sydney. (14 hour train ride) Take the train through the Blue Mountains (UNESCO), Katoomba. See Red Hands Cave, Echo Point, Three Sisters Rock Formation, lots of waterfalls, Jenolan Caves. (Beware/yay Yulefest celebrations in Blue Mountains.) Shop for souvenirs. (3 days.) Fly out of Sydney.