And they told me I wouldn't like Sydney

Sydney Opera House


Me in front of the Sydney Harbour Bridge



A view from the pool at my hostel


Well, they were wrong!

My last day/night in Melbourne was marked by a lack of sleep that carried over into Sydney. Not even fatigue though could stop me from taking in the sites, sounds and meeting so many people within the first day.

After finishing work Sunday afternoon in Melbourne I packed my stuff and went to Andy and Oscar's flat (the English blokes I worked with) and we had a few going away drinks before I caught my plane.......... at 6am. Needless to say I didn't go to bed that night as I knew it would be harder to get up at 3am than simply not to go to bed. So I caught the flight and headed for Sydney.

About an hour and change later, and with about as much of sleep under my belt, the plane touched down to an utterly disappointing sight. I would compare the feeling to the one the Mcallister family had in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York when the family went to Florida, sans Kevin, for Christmas and arrived to a very un-Florida type reception. It was pouring rain. So, without much sleep but a healthy dose of excitement I got a shuttle bus to my hostel and settled in. Still unable to get sleep due to preparations I had to make for the next few days (lodging because the hostel was booked for New Years and still is, look for an apartment, exchange formalities with my Canadian, French and Finnish roommates, etc.). Managing to get maybe an hour of sleep in the midst of this I decided to hit the town with a new acquaintance and see a little bit of Sydney. After a late night I was finally going to get some good sleep. It had been somewhere in the neighborhood of 35 hours without REM sleep.

The next day I got to see what everyone comes here to see and doesn't leave without getting tons of pictures of. The Harbour Bridge and the Opera House came into view from behind the skyscrapers as I came closer and then into full view as I entered Circular Quay. To try and describe the amazing view wouldn't do it justice but the pictures would have to suffice. The bridge, a massive mesh frame of steel, arched over the harbor and the Opera House, with its white tile covering, reflected the sun to look like a snow covered field on a sunny day. I felt like the quintessential tourist as I asked strangers to take a picture of me standing in front of the rising structures but everyone else was as well so I wasn't alone.

After some hard searching and following up I found an apartment in Regis Tower on Harbour Street right below Darling Harbour. When I saw the view from the roof I knew this was where I was to live for my stint in Sydney. My apartment is on the 17th floor and the pool and hot tub, yes, pool and hot tub, are on the roof on the 18th floor. The work out room is also on the roof. This aspect of the place easily compensates for cramped space of the room. But before I move in I am in the hostel for another four nights, one of which (New Years Eve) I don't know where I'll be because the hostel is booked solid. But not knowing is half the fun.

One of the best parts about the first few days in Sydney is the people I've met. I went to karaoke with a Finn named Heidi, a German named Christian and some Dutch girls whose names I can't remember. My selection of Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond to end the night rocked the house even if my voice didn't. And of course I added the lyrics so common to every Bostonian singing them at one point or another in bars, concerts of Sox games ('Sweet Caroline.......Ba Da Daaa'). The Germans though are everywhere and about 1/3 of the people I've met are from the motherland. The English and French come in second and the Americans a distant last. I've probably met less than 10 Americans since I've been here in Australia.

Now I just have to find a job and start over again. I don't know how long I'll be in Sydney but if the first couple days are any indication of life in Sydney (which they probably aren't) I'll stay as long as I can.