Getting Acquainted to a new city and country with a Free City Walking Tour
July 29, 2019
After a 10 hour flight from Honolulu, USA, I finally made it to Sydney! Arriving in Australia was a bit surreal because that meant that this adventure was finally happening! After countless months of research and planning, I finally arrived! I spent the first day and a half adjusting to the timezone, sorting out my tax file number, and Australian sim card. I was very happy with my decision to travel slowly west because this helped greatly with jetlag. By hitting each time zone along the way, the effects of jet lag were very minimal.
Once I settled in for my two-week stay in Sydney, I decided to venture out and discover the city. Luckily, just two days after I arrived, my hostel was offering a free city walking tour. This is the number one activity I recommend for everyone visiting a hostel that offers a tour. It is a great way to get accustomed to the layout of the city, see the sites, and also meet others staying at the hostel!
ANZAC Memorial
The first stop of the tour was the ANZAC Memorial located in Hyde Park. For those that are unaware, ANZAC stands for Australian & New Zealand Army Corps. This memorial was built for the fallen soldiers from Australia and New Zealand after World War I.
It is a solemn memorial and silence is expected when visiting. My favorite parts of the memorial were the 120,000 gold stars laid in the ceiling of the dome. One star for each soul lost. And also the reflection pool outside the memorial. On a clear, sunny day, the reflection pool reflects the image of the building and sky like a mirror.
St. Mary’s Cathedral
A short walk through Hyde Park brought us to our next destination, St. Mary’s Cathedral. A beautiful Catholic basilica in the heart of Sydney. The stained glass windows and architecture are stunning!
State Library of New South Wales
Around the corner from St. Mary’s is the State Library of New South Wales, the oldest library in Australia. The Reading Room reminds me of the library in The Beauty and the Beast (slightly) with all its rows and levels of books.
There is also the marble replication of the Tasman Map in the entrance hall of the library. The Tasman Map depicts the two voyages of Abel Tasman, a Dutchman, in the 1640s that led him to discover Tasmania, New Zealand, and Fiji. Did you know that it was the Dutch that first discovered Australia? Not the British! The Tasman Map floor is in Dutch, to honor the Dutch explorers who first sighted Australia.
Royal Botanic Gardens
The best place to relax and enjoy the sunny weather in Sydney is at the Royal Botanic Gardens. Always packed during lunchtime, it is where the city slickers escape to grab a bite to eat and bask in the sun. The flowers are beautiful, and it was still wintertime when I visited! The Royal Botanic Gardens is also the best spot to view the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge.
Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge
Once we soaked in the view of the Opera House and bridge from the Royal Botanic Gardens, we made our way around the bay to get up close and personal. Up close, the Sydney Opera House looks so different! It seems much larger!
Did you know that the Sydney Opera House was designed by Jørn Utzon, a man from Denmark? His design won the competition out of over 200 applications! Inspiration for the opera house struck while he was eating an orange! Crazy to think that the even segments of an orange, not sails, inspired his design.
Up close to the opera house, you can see that the segments are an off-white, shale color, not a bright white. This was deliberately chosen because had the tiles been bright white, Sydney would be blinded by it when hit by the sun.
Angel Place
After lunch, we walked through Angel Place. Angel Place is a back alley that houses an interesting art installation. Suspended above your head are hundreds of birdcages.
Darling Harbour
On the west side of Sydney is located Darling Harbor. Known for its amazing restaurants and nightlife, it is the place to be after dark.
Chinatown
Our last stop of the tour was Sydney’s Chinatown. Something I find amazing about Sydney, and Australia as a whole, is that everything is so clean! Chinatowns across the globe are typically run down, dirty, and smelly. But not here! It was incredibly clean! We stopped at Emperors Garden Cakes and Bakery to try out some Emperor’s Cream Puffs! They were delicious!
I had an amazing time on the free walking tour through Sydney. It was a full day of walking and seeing the many sights of the city. I met an amazing group of people on the tour and was able to learn so much history from our amazing tour guide, Alba.
