SydneySide - Part 2

Sydney is great IF you have a great job or a pretty hectic full on one where you can save money. A fellow OzBusketeer just worked and worked in a cafe until she didn't know what spare time was so she could save enough money for her flight back to England. Otherwise you find yourself in a city that you're just looking at. And that's what Sydney wants you to do, it's very Photogenic. Getting around is easy enough but it isn't cheap. The public transport system was adequate and fairly reliable(do not live in the Western Suburbs you'll be stuck in your car for days. The trains were double deckers which amused me everytime I went on them, but weren't as good or as clean as those I experienced in Madrid. Other necessities which are surprisingly expensive is Beer. It was so so expensive. Makes one not want to go out for a pint and get 'pissed up' on cheap plonk that comes in boxes instead. Which is what we did.

So my time in Sydney wasn't actually that fantastic. Other people seemed to enjoy it more than me. But I did come away with a few favourite places. One was The Rocks. Oldest part of the city, few nice little cafes, weekend markets, old houses to look at. Another was Queen Victoria Building where I'd window shop and have coffee in a lovely little Japanese Restaurant in a corner on the top floor and watch the clock changing time. Glebe Point Rd was a haunt of mine not least because I lived there in a hostel for a while but because it is one of the 'alternative' parts of the city. As well as Newtown where many students head, a lot of individual shops and creative minds there. Balmain is where I headed one day where I saw a famous AFL footballer pushing his kid along in a stroller and 'Leah' from Home and Away which MADE MY DAY! I'm a huge fan.

If you're a huge fan of H.a.A. then hop on a long bus to Palm Beach north of city where they film it. I walked outside the surf club with Alf Stewart's name above. It was like a dream had come true. I don't care if that makes me sad – I've been watching that Surf Club since I was tiny and I never ever thought I'd actually get to walk along the same beach as Sally Fletcher. But I did. And it was great. Reality 0 Childhood dreams 1.

Bondi Beach actually wasn't much to write home about. My fave beach area was down by Coogee where a couple of OzBusketeers were living. Manly had a pretty good beach but way too crowded for me in summer.

What I enjoyed most about Sydney was getting to know my relatives and spending time with them. That's why I truly came to Australia. And I did that. But the city itself is rather like any other only you've seen it before, on a postcard.