The Blister Blog: Sydney!

Saturday, October 6, 2007

Sydney!

Wow. This city lives up to its reputation. I still think that Melbourne was easier to navigate, with more trams, trains and buses (including a free "circulator" for the city center or "CBD" = Central Business District). But Sydney is also fairly easy to move around. The subway or underground or (as the locals say, simply...) the trains run every 5 - 10 - 15 minutes, and there are lots of buses so you don't have to wait all that long - at least in the CBD.

Harbor ferries are included in a multi-day ticket ($41 AUD for 7 days), which give the traveler virtual umlimited access to the city sites.

The first of the two quintessential Sydney Harbor icons. I think I'm really fascinated by this building. The one hour building tour is worth it. (http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=sydneyoperahouse-sydney-australia) 65 meters tall - 213 feet.

The second quintessential Sydney harbour icon. (Even though this fool realized he was being photographed, he didn't remove the brochure from his shirt pocket!) 134 meters tall - about 440 feet (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_Harbour_Bridge). Yup - more than 200 feet higher than the top of the Opera House.

People pay almost $200 to get the bejeebers scared out of them by climbing the bridge. Counting the orientation and prep for the climb (donning overalls and a special harness, for example), the trip takes 3.5 hours. These are people who believe there is a special place in heaven just for them, and they can't wait to get there. And once you start to walk, there is no bathroom break. Like the commercial says, "You can depend on Depends."

Again, not just "no," "Hell, no!!!"

Sorry about the fuzziness - this digital camera gets fooled by the lighting sometimes - especially at high zoom.

Here's a third icon that is not often referenced when travel mags describe Sydney - The Sydney Tower. 305 meters of pure terror = over 1000 feet.(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_Tower#_note-FACT).