Day 128 - Sydney, Australia

I arrived in Sydney at 8:30 am and took the public bus from the Airport to downtown instead of taking the Airport Bus. I wasn't pressed for time and it was just really nice to see the city this way, it was also 1/3 the cost of the Airport bus and totally worth it.

I booked myself into a place called Home Backpackers for $17 for my first night as I had a flyer in hand. I took off for the day just walking around the city. I

My first stop was the Opera House to see about an opera. Madama Butterfly is playing tomorrow and I'm hoping to get a student rate if I get there at 6:30pm. I'm so glad I can still pass as a student!

From here I walked over to the botanical gardens to get a better view of the Opera House with the Harbour Bridge in the background. Classic tourist shot! The botanical gardens were quite impressive as the flora here is absolutely enormous. Things are Jurassic sized!

My next wander was over to the oldest part of Sydney called the rocks. This place reminds me of the my old neighbourhood in the Annex in Toronto. It was very European and very well kept so it looked like it was still in the 1800s. The buildings were very well maintained as were the alleyways connecting the streets. This area had a lot of history and character. I could see myself spending time here.

At the end of the day, I returned to my room in the hostel to sleep. It was disgustingly hot. There was only 1 mounted rotating fan in a room of 6 beds and it was moving hot air. No air-conditioning here at all. Due to the heat wave and the stagnant air, mosquitoes were everywhere. I had to spray myself down with insect repellent before I went to bed because the windows needed to be kept open or we would all suffocate in hottest room in the world.