Final Days in Sydney!

10.1.10

Well,

Thursday, Erica and I planned to stay in Sydney and wander the city. First we got to the Botanic Gardens for a free tour. The tour was more specific information about different plants than an actual tour. We stayed for an hour before going off on our own to check it out. We walked around and saw loads of plants and took tons of pictures. We also found a gorgeous view of the opera house and the Harbour Bridge. After that we walked around the opera house and walked to the front to find a stage set up for “The Footy Show.” This is basically a very popular sports show that they were filming live from the Opera House later that night. We walked around hoping to find a kebab place for lunch but failed and ended up grabbing some food from a food court at Circular Quay. Then we walked through the Rocks to cross the Harbour Bridge. The walk took about 20 minutes. The bridge is 1.2km long. We walked across and back and then headed to Town Hall and QVB. That is when we met up with Cathy Lam. We walked around QVB for a while before heading to the Sydney Tower. We were hoping to eat at the bar or the restaurant in the tower but where not dressed up enough for it and just went to the observation deck. We were there at the perfect time just before sundown so we could see Sydney in the light and after dark. Once we went back down we went to OzTrek. This was a virtual reality type video at the bottom of the tower. It was about 20 minutes and went all over Australia but made me a little motion sick. At this point Erica and I said bye to Cathy and headed toward the observatory. On the way, we stopped at a place called Pie Face. We both had meat pies with faces drawn on them and they were delicious. We ate them at the observatory while waiting to go in. When we got in we walked around the exhibits before going into the planetarium. The planetarium was basically a big umbrella with the start projected on it. We had to sit/lay on the floor to see it. Then we walked up to the towers to use the telescopes. Since it was cloudy, all we could see was Jupiter. And it was cool since we could also see four of Jupiter’s moons. We got to see them both on a new digital telescope and an old manual telescope. Once we got done in the towers, we went down to see some 3D videos in a theater they had. Then we headed back to the hotel.

Earlier in the week, we decided to make Friday, ‘beach day.’ We got up and headed to Bondi Beach. It was a little depressing that it was cloudy, windy, and a bit chilly. We still got to lie on the beach and dip our feet in the water. For lunch, we kind of had a picnic of sandwiches we picked up before leaving. There was also a little aquarium that we stopped by and looked through. And when I say little, I mean little. We also walked along the shops and such along the beach before heading back into the city. Continuing with the relaxed atmosphere of the day, we chilled at the hotel for an hour before going to services. Erica found The Great Synagogue and headed there while I went to the Hillsong church in the city. It was really lucky for me to be able to go since they normally do not have services on Friday but since Oct. 4th is a public holiday for Sydney, it got moved to Friday. The mass was a lot different than what I thought it would be. The band played three opening songs, then the pastor came out and gave announcements and and such. Then, a video feed was opened that connected the city campus (where I was) and the Hills campus. Over this, the Word was given and also the sermon from a pastor from Miami.Then the videos were closed and the serviced finished with one last song before everyone dispersed. After the services, Erica and I met back up to grab dinner at Curve. This was a higher class restaurant. We both got barramundi and chardonnay. This was our final dinner together since we leave Sydney tomorrow. After packing, we went to bed.