Our first trip into the beautiful city of Sydney began on the train. We bought a roundtrip ticket for $5. Our escort was Jeffrey Heldon, who, out of the goodness of his heart, guided us two uncitified Americans around this city.
We walked to the Art Gallery of New South Wales and saw only a fraction of the artwork it had to offer. One piece had about 100 bats hanging upsidedown on a clothesline. Their wings were decorated in the Aboriginal style that uses lots of small painted dots. We will definitely be going back to the museum to see what other pieces it has.
Our next stop was to visit Jeff's older sister, Naomi, who manages a youth hostel for travelling backpackers. There we went up the 'lift' and onto the roof. From the top of the building we could see the Sydney Tower, which used to be in the center of the city. The Sydney tower looks similar to the CN Tower in Toronto, CA. They both have revolving restaurants at the top, and hopefully we will make a visit.
Naomi gave us some maps and directed us to some highlights of the city via the TRAVELATOR (this is really just a long moving walkway seen in airports, just with an intense name). This deposited us in the heart of Sydney where we took a long stroll towards the Opera House. As we walked we soaked in the sights and sounds of Australia, particularly noticing their fashions, FYI: boys are really into skinny jeans and artistic hairdos.
As we drew closer to the Opera House we noticed high metal fences lining the sidewalks. These are in place because of APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Coorporation), and the world leaders it is bringing together, including George Bush who is arriving today. The president's visit is causing some protesting because of his views on the war. It is interesting to be an American in Australia during this time. When Carling went to buy water downtown, the cashier asked her, once hearing her American accent, if she was here to protest. Packs of Australian police patrolled the fenced areas keeping an eye out for any trouble.
The Opera House. When we saw that historic white building we knew we were really in Australia. It seemed quite unreal to actually be standing before it. Across the harbor from the Opera House we had a great view of the Harbor Bridge and some adventurous people scaling its arch. We weren't allowed onto the steps of the Opera House because of the fencing and APEC, but that didn't mean that we didn't feel in awe of it.
Craving icecream, we we took some final photos and headed home trying to beat the 4:30 train rush hour. Our trip back was crowded with businessmen returning home from the city, reading their magazines and newspapers. We felt a sense of accomplishment exiting the train at Hurstville due to our successful excursion into the city and the feeling that we could do it again without too much trouble.
Our jet-lag is on its way out the door, finally! It has taken a long time to feel normal. We are beginning to feel at home here although it is still unreal that we are on the other side of the world for another two months. We would like to end this post with a special shoutout to the Paul Schorran Family. After their insistant urging and hype, we visited the famous 'Cornerstore' to purchase some much wanted icecream. Don't worry Schorrans, it is still here and thriving, even though we believe it has a different owner than the one from your fables.
Don't worry parents, we are staying safe and sticking together.
Don't worry teachers, we are actually learning as well.
We love hearing people's comments, so keep them coming.
With love,
Carling and Sarah
3 comments:
YAHOO!!!! IM SO SO JEALOUS! I wish i was there with you girls exploring all over! IM JUST SO PUMPED FOR YOU. Glad you are seeing people and getting out already!!!!
So gald you made it to the cornerstore!! Don't spend all your money there. Mr S says to be sure to eat pizza at the Rocks. It's so fun to see you in front of the Opera House! Mrs S
Hi Carling, your mom asked me to give you a recipe for an American Dessert Strawberry Shortcake (Biscuit).
24 Biscuits
Mix in large bowl:
5 1/4 cup white flour
3 Tablespoons Baking Powder
6 Tablespoons Sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
Cut into flour mix:
1/2 pound butter
Stir into the above:
2 1/4 cup half and half (or light cream or some combination of milk and cream)
Mix lightly til moistened, knead 10 times on floured surface. pat out in to three, 3/4 inch thick rectangles. Cut out eight circles or squares for each portion.
Arrange Biscuits one inch apart on baking sheets lined with parchment (optional). Bake in top third of oven at 450 degree Farenheit. Bake 12 -14 minutes til golden. Let cool. Split and serve with sweetened sliced strawberries and whipped cream. You probably need three to four quarts of strawberries and one to one and a half cup sugar. 2 pints of heavy cream should be ok with one half cup powdered sugar. Good Luck, Aunt Mary
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