Friday, June 24, 2011

Sydney


Day 20: Doing nothing in Sydney

We took it easy today – thankfully! We checked out of our hotel, left our stuff there, and went on the prowl for some free internet hotspots that we now know exist all around the country. We tried to book some stuff but decided to put it off and just walk around the city for a bit.

We came across two huge strikes/rallies happening on one of the main streets – ah, the dissatisfied city life! We walked through a bit of the Royal Botanic Garden before sitting in a café there just in time to miss a huge downpour (and us without our raincoats)! Then, we went to see the Sydney Opera House, which was a beautiful piece of artistic architecture, and the Sydney Harbour Bridge by the water.

After our leisurely afternoon, we got a bit stressed about not having a place to stay tonight so we started searching for internet hotspots with no luck. Finally, we went all the way back to our first hotspot to book a place for tonight, but the only thing available was a hostel because apparently, there was a huge rugby game on and a lot of people were in town. Man, we just can’t catch a break with “big” events happening in every city we visit! First it was the Queen’s birthday in NZ, then it was the Queen’s birthday in Melbourne (I mean, how many birthdays does she have?!), and then this rugby match!

So yes, we booked the hostel and, after checking in, vowed never to stay in hostels again. We are not 18 anymore – our hostel days are over!

We then rushed back to the Opera House to catch a show, which ended up being cancelled! So instead, we attended a speaking event by author Matt Ridley. The talk was based on his book Rational Optimism, and he discussed all there is to be optimistic about with the world as it stands now. It was interesting, as he presented facts to show that the world is actually better off now than ever before (despite what media tells us) and is actually going in the right direction. Nice to hear someone being so positive in the world today!

When the talk was done, we went for some dinner and went back to the hostel. In the night, we sat in our sleeping liners on the bed (thank you for the very useful suggestion, Anu) and watched a movie on the laptop, before going off to sleep. 

An uneventful but nice and relatively relaxing day! 

Sydney Harbour Bridge

 Sydney Opera House at night

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