Sydney Opera House & Royal Botanical Gardens

Well, despite feeling the jet lag, we ventured out into Sydney during our first full day here (Thursday). We're living in an area called Surry Hills, a suburb just south of downtown, but definitely still in the city. We live in a townhouse, shared with about 9 other international students/interns. I don't think we've met them all yet, as we've been gone from breakfast until bedtime, seeing as much as we can, and forcing ourselves to stay active until we drop at night. On our first trip downtown, we attempted to take the city bus. We waited at the bus stop until we saw the number we needed, and despite looking directly at the bus driver, expectantly, he passed right on by. We realized that we had to literally flag the bus down each time we wanted to get on. Finally, we made our way down toward the water. We began our sightseeing at the Justice and Police Museum. This was very interesting as Sydney was originally used as a drop off place for British convicts. Plus, until about 20-30 years ago, there was a ton of corruption and organized crime in the city. Next we made our way over to the Royal Botanical Gardens, which are situated around Farm Cove. The Government House (where the governor lived until the mid-90s) is more like a castle, just beautiful. At one point, we were walking around the grounds, and Cristina went to walk along the ledge circling the garden. I watched her step up to the ledge, trip over her feet, and then fall flat on her stomach! It was painful but comical to watch. Luckily, she was okay, and stood up both laughing and wincing in pain. She scraped up her knee and scratched her camera. We laugh about it now, but at the time… Shortly after Cristina’s mishap on the ledge, we were walking along and both happened to turn around at the same time to see…the Sydney Opera House through the trees! It was an amazing feeling. To see the opera house meant that we had finally arrived, officially! A sight you see only in pictures or on TV, and we were standing right in front of it. I’ll never forget that moment. The Royal Botanical Gardens were gorgeous! A little red train takes you around the whole park for $10 and a 25 minute ride. There were unique birds, trees, and even bats hanging upside down above us. Amazing. So far, I’ve been blown away by what we’ve experienced. It’s still hard to believe we’re here. I keep reminding myself how lucky I am to be here, to be seeing things that not many Americans get to see in person. I wish you all could see this! That’s why I’ve already taken a bunch of pictures and videos to share with you all! That’s all for now… -Sarah