On Thursday, I spent my first full day in Sydney walking around and getting my bearings. From Base Backpackers, I walked 1km north to Circular Quay, the city's transport hub at the harbourside, before continuing round to the Opera House. Australia's iconic building is as beautiful as you might think, and more imposing than in any pictures of it. You can't walk inside unless you're on a tour or going to a performance, but the exterior is probably enough for most people. It's a great landmark for Sydney and without it, I don't think it would have anything like its unique identity.
From the Opera House, I walked back around through Circular Quay to The Rocks, Sydney's historical quarter. It's here that the city grew from and it contains Sydney's oldest (still standing) private house. From The Rocks, I ventured up on to the Harbour Bridge and along to one of the pylon lookouts, which look like little castles at each end of the bridge. For only $8, you can get a similar viewpoint to that of the full bridge climb ($160) and you can your camera up to get the photos you want, not just one included in a package.
After returning to Circular Quay, I went to The Domain, a central park, and then on to the State Library which was interesting if a little stale. I then went back to the Work and Travel Company office to get my membership card, which gave me access to all their services, like free Internet. Just to recap, Work and Travel are a company who provide a job finding service, as well as combining things like accommodation, visa applications, tax file numbers, etc. in several of their packages. Basically, they make a lot of things a little bit easier.
In the evening, I went to Olympic Park where free films are being put on as part of the Sydney Festival. They've got a big screen in a large grassy area in front of the main stadium, and all you have to pay for is the transport to get there. I met an English girl there called Tracey, who was doing exactly the same as me, checking out all of hte free events being put on as part of hte Sydney Festival. We watched Triplets of Belleville, a French and English animated film which I knew nothing about before I saw it, but turned out to be excellent.
