Sydney- One cold Hotspot.

I got a shock when I got off the plane in Sydney.  I’m not usually one to chase the sun, but it’s almost like that’s what I’ve been doing in Australia so far. Sydney, when I arrived was fifteen degrees, and it was a severe shock to my body coming from thirty degrees. On my first day I bought a coat. On my second I bought gloves and a pie to keep warm. I really had to cop myself on then and realise that I am Irish and that fifteen degrees should not affect me like this, I am not Austrian. As it turned out, I wasn’t the only one affected by the cold in my hostel, maybe it was the hostel and not the cold, but four out of six of us in my room were sick by the day I left.

Though I’m not usually one to locate the nearest Irish bar and hibernate there, when the girls in my room invited me out one night to O’Malley’s I couldn’t say no. I went out that night with quite a culturally diverse group – two Germans, a French, a Taiwanese and me, an Irish. I don’t actually think there were any other Irish people in my hostel. 

I was lucky to be able to meet up with my friend Leo, though just for Pizza and also with Kaie, both on the same night as it happened. My meeting with Leo was brief because Kaie was arriving that evening just for an hour, but we caught up all the same and he was still the bubble of amazingness I remembered. I’m hoping another meeting will happen before he goes home! I met Kaie at Circular Quay, and it was the first time I’d actually seen the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. I was exceptionally lucky that the Vivid light festival was taking place over the time I was in Sydney, so I got to see the Opera house lit up and beautiful four nights in total.

When Séamus arrived, jetlagged as he was, we did a tour of the Opera house which was very interesting and I would recommend it to anyone, it was well worth the money. Another touristy recommendation I have is to do the walking tour that leaves from the Anchor by Town Hall; it was absolutely brilliant. It was refreshing to have a guide, who was actually from the city and was very passionate about its history.

Because of the weather, most of the sites were less impressive than if it had been sunny, having said that, Sydney was a great city and, as with Darwin, I’m looking forward to returning! One thing I didn’t find, and had expected, was for the people not to be as helpful or friendly as in the other smaller cities. Everyone was lovely, a common trait I’m coming across in most Australians I meet!