More Sydney

It’s chilly in Sydney.  People are wearing way too little for the weather.  They are running around in tank tops or really short shorts.  I wonder if it’s like the phenomenon that happens in Denver in Spring where it’s warmer than it’s been so people want it to be summer and they dress for summer and then pretend that they don’t notice that it’s still too cold for what they are wearing.  I went on a whale watching tour on Sunday.  It was the very last tour of the season.  It was freaking cold.  No whales.  I met James though.  We had great conversation on the boat and it was nice to have someone to have dinner with afterward.  Sunday evening, the girls at the house invited me to go to a local bar for live music.  I kind of just wanted to stay in, but, hey, I’m not going to get this opportunity again, so I went.  The band was good and it was fun for a while.  I went home early though.

On Monday I rented a bike and rode around Manly.  You know that story about having to walk to school in horrible weather uphill both ways?  I think that story was invented in Sydney.  Everything is up hill in all directions.  It was a real challenge on a bike, but great exercise.  There is park called North Head where you can go out to the ocean cliffs.  I rode around there and had a very expensive lunch with bad service.  I rode down to the beach.  There were so many people enjoying the beach and it was actually warm today.  I almost went in the beach but decided not to since I wanted to buy a new bathing suit and I remember all the shops closed early.  I went in every store.  No one sells board shorts for girls that aren’t unreasonably short – it kind of defeats the point of having shorts.  I noticed that all the stores have more men’s clothing than women’s.  Most of the stores, the men’s clothes were featured in the front of the store and the women’s were in the back.  The complete opposite of the US.

My last full day in Sydney I went and had my hair colored.  The “red” I got in Thailand has turned to an ugly brown so I just went back to all black.  I ate, worked on the computer, had coffee and then went to the Manly Sea Life Aquarium.  It’s smaller than the one in downtown Sydney, but features things found in Manly so the highlight was the tiny penguins.  Manly has the smallest penguins.  They come up and nest under the warf.  They are endangered.  The aquarium has some of the ones that were rescued and they also have a successful breeding program.  I love penguins.  I think I was more excited about these than the koalas the other day.  Then I had a completely useless massage and dinner with bad service.

There is always one fly on you at all times in Sydney.  I thought maybe I brought him from Thailand until my new friend, James asked if I had noticed that there is constantly a fly.  I thought I would be rid of constantly having bugs on me.  Not yet.

(c) All rights reserved Kimberly Fiore

20161128_111703

20161128_121045
Rental Bike

20161128_121142

20161128_121435
Sydney from North Head

20161128_12165520161128_12214920161128_12351320161128_12391520161128_123926

20161128_142347
From The Great Gatsby Film
20161128_144510
Manly Beach in the Distance

20161128_144530

20161128_145207
Shelly Beach

20161129_142937

20161129_14510520161129_14511020161129_14513120161129_14553920161129_145951

20161129_150953

20161129_165959
Surf Class or Club?
20161129_181820
The streets are soooooo steep

Sydney Wildlife

I got to Sydney exhausted.  I guess paying so much for my baggage is just like “Welcome to Australia!  Your days of paying reasonable prices for things are over”.  My taxi cost $100.  I’m staying in an Airbnb because there are no hotels for under $150 a night.  Hostels were over $50 a night.  I’m staying in some girl’s room while she sleeps on a spare mattress in the laundry room.  I got there and she was at work and she failed to tell me she had roommates.  I woke one up.  She scared the crap out of me because I assumed I was in the house alone.  I was so tired from the overnight flight, that I took a nap for a few hours.  I got up only to meet another roommate.  She has 3 or 4 roommates – I can’t even tell how many.  This is really not ideal, but I kind of have no choice at this point.  They all seem friendly enough.  I spent the rest of the first day wandering around Manly Beach, checking out the visitor’s center and getting food.  All the shops closed at 6:00pm.  That seems weird.  It’s chilly here which I didn’t expect.  I have no warm clothes – one hoodie will have to do.  Still the chilly air and bright sun is a delightful combination.

Today I decided to do ALL the things in the city.  It’s a half hour ferry ride to the central part of Sydney from Manly beach.  The ferry ride is beautiful.  Firs I went to the Wild Life Sydney Zoo.  It’s not Sydney’s main zoo.  I kind of wish I had done the main zoo.  This place was so small I’m amazed how they fit everything in.  But, I had bought tickets on line for a back stage tour.  I’m glad I got the back stage tour.  It was fascinating to see how they made everything work in such a small space.  We went through the kitchens which they share with the aquarium next door.  They have half a walk in refrigerator full of eucalyptus for the koalas.  We got to see the quarantine areas, the areas where they housed the butterfly chrysalis, the bird cages on the roof where they keep the juvenile birds before they are ready to be released.  Many of the animals there are rescue animals.  They don’t let you touch the koalas, but you can get close to them.  I got to pet a wombat, but only because he was a rescue hand raised there and use to people.  The wombat might be my new favorite animal.  He’s so much bigger than I expected.  They have koalas, wallabies, kangaroos, snakes, lizards, birds, a cassowary, and Tasmanian devils.  Everything there was indigenous to Australia.  I didn’t get to see the devils as they never came out of their hiding place.

After the zoo, I had lunch.  So far this is the 2nd meal I’ve had at a restaurant here and the service was horrible both times.  They seat you, but then no one comes to take your order, say hi, bring you water or anything.  I almost walked out.  After lunch I walked over the Sydney Harbor Bridge.  Well, half way over, took some pictures and went back.  I walked around the rocks – a shopping, dining area near the bridge.  I had seen an ad for a special exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art.  The artist does pieces with led number counters.  It looked beautiful.  So I went to the museum.  Apparently, I don’t like contemporary art.  I don’t like it at all.  I didn’t like the special exhibit or any of the other exhibits in the museum.  How is any of this art?  I watched a contortionist street performer outside the museum.  Compared to contemporary art, she was fabulous.  Then I walked down to the Opera house.  There is an outdoor patio bar, the Opera Bar.  This must be the busiest bar on the planet.  There had to be hundreds of people there.  It was fabulous to see, but didn’t make me want to eat or drink there.  It was a zoo.  I went to the botanic gardens for about a half hour.  It was more like a park than a botanic garden.  There was some cool building and a lot of fences.  The park is huge and I didn’t go far because I had tickets for a movie.  I have so missed being able to see movies so I was excited about it.

I have decided that Sydney must have a City ordinance or regulation that only attractive people can live there.  Everyone seems fit, young, and pretty.

(c) All rights reserved Kimberly Fiore

20161125_182920

Manly Beach

20161125_182923
Manly Beach
20161125_182938
Beach Hair
20161126_075555
Sydney Harbor
20161126_080725
Sydney Harbor
20161126_081025
Sydney Harbor
20161126_081313
Sydney Harbor
20161126_081818
Sydney
20161126_081844
Sydney
20161126_082518
Opera House

20161126_082858

20161126_100532
Tiny Crocodile
20161126_100720
Green Frog
20161126_102201
Wallaby
20161126_103909
Food for animals
20161126_103911
Food for Koalas
20161126_104321
Enter a caption
20161126_104348
Bearded Dragon?
20161126_104442
Dinosaur?
20161126_105155
Babies

20161126_10520920161126_10522020161126_105244

20161126_111211
Wombat
20161126_111739
Wombat
20161126_111823
Kookaburra

20161126_112904

20161126_113230
Echidna
20161126_114001
Two Headed Lizzard
20161126_115005
Quokka
20161126_121308
Quoll
20161126_121733
Because Toilets are Difficult
20161126_134900
Thanks GoogleMaps

20161126_13542020161126_13553020161126_14004620161126_14015120161126_140329

20161126_145303
Contemporary Art Sucks

20161126_15042320161126_15072620161126_15145520161126_152021

20161126_161539
Street Contortionist
20161126_163236
Half of the Opera Bar

20161126_17181720161126_17242320161126_17244520161126_17293620161126_17332420161126_173638

20161126_201948
Huh?
20161126_205948
Sydney from Harbor