A Day of Leisure in Sydney

Strand Arcade

Bon & Bon chocolates

We wake up and hit the pavement, out to explore a new city. We're really not sure where we're going, so I suggest we go shopping, and then wander through the Royal Botanical Gardens, and that's what we do. Down in the tunnel we decide to get a 7-day travel pass that allows us to go by bus, train, or ferry anywhere we want within city limits. This turns out to be an epic decision, as we use it at least twice every day. We hop a train to Town Hall and wander to George Street where there's a pedestrian zone filled with shops. The street is lined with people, but few Christmas decorations. Street performers fill the area with music. There's an arcade from the late 1800's, a relic from Victorian Sydney called The Strand, that retains much of its period charm. We're captivated by a fine chocolate shop out front, Bon and Bon, and enjoy a few truffles on the promenade. The center reminds me of Pacific Place back home, decked out with twinkle lights and a giant tree at one end.

Sydney Harbor from the Royal Botanic Gardens

Bottle Tree

The Royal Botanical Gardens act like Sydney's Central Park. A large greenscape in the middle of the city snuggled up to the harbor. We are entranced by the beauty of the skyline against the park and could easily spend hours here...a picnic, a football, and some friends and you have a great afternoon ahead of you. We are wandering through admiring monolith gum trees, tropical bushes and a rather oddly shaped bottle tree, when we find ourselves amongst a group of people staring up into a tree. We look up and see about a hundred dozing bats. UGH! These are not your cute little flappy-winged devils but giant house cat-sized creatures. Apparently the Royal Botanical Gardens are home to over 22,000 flying foxes. I won't be coming here at sunset, when they all start flying around in search of food. I quickly find a new place to stand, not wanting to be buried in guano, and console myself with a delicious ice cream bar. We had seen ads for this "Golden Gaytime" bar and had a good chuckle, and then when we were told to try it from a friend it hit our must-do list. The bar was ok, but the wrapper was a jolly good time. We brought it with us all over the city taking photos. Immature, but what can you do?

Dinner at Thai Lemongrass

We decide to treat ourselves to a dinner out and head to Darlinghurst, one of the Sydney boroughs, for some affordable cuisine. It's an adorable neighborhood with row houses and a wide selection of mom-and-pop restaurants. We are in the mood for Thai and settle into a pair of wicker armchairs on the patio at Thai Lemongrass and "perv." I laughed out loud when I saw this on a bar sign (my bar actually) in Byron: "Come in for a drink and perv all day." Roughly translated this means people watching :) After dinner, we did what every good hostel kid does at night and head to the hostel courtyard for beer and friends. An Englishman is serenading a table with his yukelele, and he's actually quite good. Never a dull or lonely moment at a hostel.

Hostel Courtyard