Almost a year of living in Melbourne, Australia and I finally decided to go on a solo trip to Sydney, NSW for six days. It was winter in Australia and at that point I just wanted to get out and finally see another city of this lovely country. It was cold in Melbourne and I was crossing my fingers with hopes that I would get decent weather in Sydney.

I was so excited as my budget plane took off that afternoon towards a new adventure alone …

Finally in Sydney and it has been on and off raining all day. It is not as cold as Melbs would get when it rains.

Today I headed to the Museum of Contemporary Art, the exhibits held there were decent, there was one that was by a Japanese artist that was made up of visual installations, and some of them were pretty.

I really enjoyed the exhibit by a French female artist named Annette Messenger, whom I was very impressed with because of the materials she would use to make her installations and art. In the pictures below she has taken stuffed animals and well un-stuffed them and in the other picture she used gloves, cut off the tips, and inserted pencils into them. I like artist like this that really think outside the box.

I stayed in the area afterward to check out the Rocks Museum to learn about the early settlers. First, I had to take care of my rumbling tummy and I ended up having lunch at a German restaurant that was all themed out. All the waiters were on working holiday visas and from Germany. I sat there by myself  and people watched, while the rain came and went.  I was a very happy camper as I sat there and enjoyed my delicious Reuben and Heffenweisen.

At the Rocks Museum I saw a cool American artifact, a penny from the 1840’s with Lady Liberty on it. It’s nice to see American artifacts such a long way from home. The museum was a story line of Australia history from Aboriginal History to the first English settlers.

After the museum I headed to Circular Quay and walked towards the Sydney Opera House, sadly it started raining on me and I wasn’t really able to enjoy the view of the bridge. I got a photo taken of me with my hug umbrella half covering the Opera House. I knew I had to come back another day, and cross my fingers that I could have a day with the sun out. So, I headed back to my hostel in Kings Cross, also known as, The Red Light District, which I was told that it was a very seedy area by my shuttle bus driver and I was warn to never use the train stop after dark, so I made sure to stay away from it. I didn’t have any trouble while staying in the area. I have to give a shout out to the hostel I stayed in Asylum Hostel, which gave me very good hospitality from the moment I arrived. The place did smell … of bleach, a smell I rather welcome thank backpackers B.O.  or puke. I was given great advice on cheap eats in the surrounding area and even info about a Blue Mountains tour with Oztrails.com, which I booked for the next day.

It is early in the morning and I am on the tour bus heading towards the Blue Mountains. Only on vacation would I wake up this early to make sure to enjoy most of my trip. It’s still raining as we go down winding roads to pick up the rest of the group. It’s true that the first builders of this city had no idea what they were doing as so many small street lead to nowhere. It was a short drive to the Blue Mountains, a must see if your visiting Sydney. Our tour guide took us on a bush walk to a waterfall. Even though it was raining we didn’t care. Our whole trail was full of puddles, but the end view result was amazing. It was cold and my feet were drench from falling into a puddle. A nice older  Swedish gentleman loaned me a pair of wool socks he had.

By the time we reached our view the freezing in my body didn’t matter, mother nature always has a way to take your breath away with amazing views. When we finally reached the destination we got in a cable car that took us from one end to the other with a great view of the valley and the Three Sisters. While in the car we heard the Aboriginal story behind the sisters.

This was by far my favorite experience of my whole trip to Sydney, I was able to walk about the rain forest and the smell of the Eucalyptus trees was so strong and amazing. Especially knowing that there are 100’s of different species in the area.

The next day, the sun was out and I made my way to Bondi Beach. The beach was pretty but I only stayed for a few picture, since the wind was blowing and it was definitely not beach weather. I headed back to the Opera House, where I had a few glasses of wine with one of the most gorgeous views all while basking in the sun.

I ended my stay by visiting the Toranga Zoo with a mate who was living in Sydney at the time. It was a really fun zoo to visit and we got to see Tigers and Gorillas really up close. It was a fun trip for me especially because I did go by myself, but I did everything I wanted to do.