Australia (Sydney)

(5/25)
My last day in Syney starts relatively early. I decide to make it a cultural/walking tour day. Actually, every day has been a walking tour. There is nothing better than exploring a city on foot, if it's an option.

First, I head to the National Library to check out the winners of the World Press Photo annual competition. This is an amazing compellation of photojournalism and I highly recommend checking it out (www.worldpressphoto.org). I then pop up to the MCA to check out a Zine Fest and a panel discussion on using art and culture to challenge the status quo (in Australia). I learn several new things about Aussie culture I'm pretty sure they don't discuss in most guidebooks.

Afterward, I head back down toward Kings Cross for a street fair that is part of the ongoing Italian Festival, stopping on the way to take a lovely stroll through the Botanical Gardens at sunset. At the Italian Festival, I realize you haven't lived until you've heard Men at Work's "Land Down Under" mashed/mixed up with Italian rap blaring over loudspeakers.

I wish I had more time to explore Sydney, but I realize that it takes several weeks to scratch the surface of most cities. Tomorrow I'm off for an early morning flight and I turn to the excitement of exploring more of India over the next several weeks.

(5/24)
I have forgotten how much I love boats. I have also forgotten how much I love water. And wave motion. Fortunately, my ferry ride to Manly reminds me of my love of all of these items. I drag myself back to the city to visit some more sights in Sydney, but I spend the entire evening trying to focus on whatever I am looking at instead of day/duskdreaming about perfectly waves or sapphire skylines with speckled with 'little fluffy clouds' (yes, you can cue that song now...)

(5/23)
After a quick stroll out of my king(!!!) size bed, I arrive at the MCA to see a few amazing exhibits, one specifically commenting on the impact we have on the environment. (If you know me, you know I eat that sort of thing up.) The mixed media work, etchings, paintings, and videos pull me in for a good three hours. Check out the artist: Fiona Hall.

After a quick lunch around The Rocks, I head out for my afternoon climb of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Elena helped me pick out some 'badass' aviator sunglasses the day before and that, combined with the uniform 'flight suit' the Bridge Climb company requires us to wear, makes me feel as though I'm an extra for the Top Gun sequal. Sadly, my climbing group does not consist of attractive pilots. One gorgeous sunset and approximately 3.5 hours later, I am back on the ground leading myself for an evening walking tour of the city.

(5/22)
sleeping in, Elena and I scrounge out some breakfast of leftover charcuterie, brie, camembert, and whip up a fresh salad (we care about our health). We then are dropped off by Cam as the last remnants of the travel group while he visits family. We have an excellent walking tour of Sydney and even manage to 'squeeze' in some window shopping. After a delicious dinner, Cam and Elena leave me at my new home away from home in Darlinghurst (Kings Cross border) before they frantically rush back to clean/sleep/wake up for a 5 AM departure.

(5/20)
Hopping in the car, we take a speedy two hour jaunt up to the Hunter Valley (noted for Semillon and Shiraz) to check out several local wineries. Although I manage to embarass myself a few times by revealing my limited knowledge of wines, I do manage to soak up a few interesting facts about Australian wines and keep my balance after several tastings. We head back down to Sydney for dinner at Tetsuya and an amazing twelve course tasting menu complete with wine pairings. I have the best dirty martini of my life. Have you ever had salmon confit with a cured seaweed crust on a bed of preserved daikon? Did you know you could confit salmon? I drift off with my chestnut mushroom soup across fields of apple sorbet floating on apple jelly aside lakes of chesnut creme anglaise...

(5/19)
We arrive into Sydney from Uluru after a medium length flight and proceeded to gorge ourselves on soft french cheeses, improptu goat cheese macadamia cheese rolls, sopresetta, green olives, mango salad, and "the best pizza in australia" (or the world according to Cam) at Cam's parents place with the addition of some of his Sydneysider friends. We're very fortunate that Cam's parents place is right at the top of Point Piper, providing us with a gorgeous view straight up to the harbour bridge and all the pleasantries of a deck right on the water.