Farewell, Sydney!

I started writing this post at the airport while waiting for my flight to Melbourne. It was raining like mad and the visibility was about 10 feet. I sat by the window and reflected on my time on Sydney while barely being able to see the planes just five gates down the terminal.  Everything I was wearing and touching was damp because to get to the airport I walked from my Airbnb to the train that took me to the airport for about 15 minutes is a downpour. I had on a raincoat and an umbrella, but still managed to get pretty wet.  The worst part of sitting in the airport was that my shoes and socks were wet so I had that deep chill that you can't get rid of until you change.  I'm painting this picture because it really seemed to fit my trip to Sydney.

Sydney was full of ups and downs for me.  It's was a fine place to visit, but I definitely didn't love it. I'll admit that I was disappointed because I expected to be completely wowed by the city. I really enjoyed some of what it had to offer, but overall was underwhelmed by it.  I could have been there for three days instead of six and I would have been absolutely fine with that.  I think that I'm so used to visiting cities where I have low or no expectations, and so they end up dazzling me in the long run.  With Sydney, I had high expectations and even though it was still a cool city, I was left wanting more and feeling a bit let down.

 I think I would have had a dramatically different experience if 1) I stayed in a nice place that was in a more vibrant and located more centrally, and 2) I was with friends.  The neighborhood I stayed in was lovely - very quiet, very quaint.  It was about 30 minutes from the CBD and was a good choice, except that once I was back at the flat, I was back.  It was a solid 10-15 minute walk to the train station, which was fine, but I was a 10-15 minute walk from any shops or restaurants.  It put me in the habit of doing what I wanted to do and then once I was home for the day I was home for the day.  In general this was ok, but there were some evening things located more central to the city that I didn't take advantage of in part because of that.  I also made a concerted effort to save money by making meals at the flat and not drinking alcohol out that much.  If I traveled with friends I would have drank a lot more. I would have been out in the pubs and restaurants later into the evening. I would have taken advantage of Sydney's hidden bars and late night hot spots.  Something I was disappointed I missed out on was a very popular bar where there's dining and drag every night.

All of that being said, I did some pretty fun things while I was in Sydney. I took a city walking tour, which was really interesting. It gave me a basic understanding of the the history of the city and also gave me the lay of the land. Something that I really appreciated is that the tour started with a little talk about how the aboriginal people's history has been fairly wiped out and ignored throughout the history of British-occupied Australia.  There was a recognition of how the tour was going to focus from British arrival and on, but we were pointed toward different resources and another walking tour that focused more on the aboriginals.  Furthermore, that wasn't the only moment where the guide recognized the greater history and the people who lived there before. It came up several times and while it still wasn't a sufficient presentation of those people and their plight, it was an attempt to say, "hey, we can't ignore this."

I want to post a lot of pictures of the things I did and enjoyed in Sydney, but it's going to take me a while.  I'm so delayed in posting about Sydney because I'm in Melbourne and enjoying every moment possible at the Australian Open. As I can, I'll do short picture posts of Sydney. Eventually I'll catch up and do some photos of Melbourne too! By then I might be in Thailand. LOL For now though, here are some pictures from my first full day in Sydney and my walk through the Royal Botanic Gardens.