Arrival in Sydney

Day 1- Arrival in Sydney December 28, 2011

After 3 plane rides and 2 hour long layover....and no sleep for almost 27 hours, we have arrived in Sydney. This place is way father away than I thought. I guess I am a stupid American. Upon arrival, we immediately set into our dorm that looks like it's something out of Harry Potter. I would have to say it is a little creepy.

After settling in, we went to the harbour to where we saw the famour Sydney Opera house. Like the pictures, it is very impressive. The harbour was extremely busy. According to the locals, most people (professionals) take vacation from Christmas eve until after the new year. Because everyone is on vacation and it is at the peak of summer time here, everyone is enjoying the nice weather on the harbour and laying out on the royal botanical garden lawns. By the way, I am thoroughly enjoying the long days here.

While we were on the harbour wharf, a street show person, "Bendy Em" caught our attention. She was body contortionist who made money bending her body in the most inhumane ways. Of course, she chose a "helper" from our group to help her with some of her moves. They were fairly awkward. Remarkably, she was able to fit her entire body in a 16"x16" glass box. Click on the link below to see a video of this that Andrew posted. www.andrewrobertsbsci.blogspot.com

After our interesting adventures at the wharf, we went to the New South Wales Royal Botanical Gardens. It is comparable to New York's Central Park but I actually found it more interesting. I suppose this is because the park is located on the water and includes many amazing trees and plants that we don't have in the states. We then went to Vodafone to get sim cards for our international phones. I think they hated us because 19 people walked in 15 minutes before they were due to close. Oh well, they probably hate Americans even more.

We ate at Star Bar for dinner. It has a uncanny resemblance to a Planet Hollywood. I have quickly learned that food is extremely expensive here. You cannot eat for less that $15-$18 dollar per meal. However, we did find a couple of Subways that have almost the same pricing as the states. I may go purchase 3 or 4 foot longs and feed off of them for a couple of days.

I also came to the realization I needed a man bag for this trip. A water bottle, 2 cell phones, and a camera is a lot of stuff to carry around in pockets all day. I suppose this search will be for another day.

Look at the pictures below. Better things to follow.