I'll have a Sydney On "The Rocks"

My sixth day in Sydney got off to an early start, as Maree, Desi and I were off to the city via bus today. It was my first public transport experience in Australia, and unlike my excursions with Andrew last summer in Europe, things went pretty smoothly. Mr. Burns drove us to Dee Why, which is a neighboring suburb and we bought our bus tickets at a news agent (like a small convenience store). The bus arrived shortly after and we stood in line to get on (bizarre), then smooshed in like sardines and then sat for about thirty minutes, after which we arrived, hopped off, and made a beeline for the nearest coffee shop. Desi was very Australian in her request for a "Flat white" coffee, while I was just like "Black, coffee, large, please." The lady laughed at my request and said that I was definitely an American -- apparently the Aussies don't like black Americanos.

We then walked down George Street to an area that is called "The Rocks." We did lots of window shopping, stopped by a few stores, went and took pictures next to the Sydney Harbor Bridge and the Sydney Opera House, then went to The Rocks Discovery Museum, which was really interesting. Desi is a museum-pro -- I think that comes with being an Art History major who is looking to study art conservation at grad school.

Around 12:00, Maree headed off to uni, and Desi and I started walking towards John's office because we were meeting him for lunch. After finding his building, we went to a local cafeteria area, where we picked a restaurant called "CBD Noodles". I got a delicious tofu dish that I really enjoyed. At about 1:15, John needed to get back to work at J.P. Morgan Chase (fancy shmancy), so we split, and Desi and I headed off down Macquarie Street, stopped by The Mitchell Library, then went into The Mint Shop, and finally made it to St. Mary's Catholic Cathedral. Desi and I went and sat inside for awhile, having a great chat as always. After half an hour, we walked down the street to the Australia Museum, grabbed a drink at the cafe, then decided that we would prefer to go to the New South Wales Art Museum, so we pulled out a map and made our way in that direction. The Australian art work was really incredible, as was the European collections. I even saw a painting that I think my Grandma has in her house -- a beautiful piece by Hugh Ramsay. Desi talked to one of the ladies at the information desk about art conservation programs in Australia -- success! There are two good options, one in Melbourne and one in Canberra.

At 4:30 we started the trek back to the bus stop, grabbed a bus, and went to Dee Why, where Desi and I got off and walked for thirty minutes back to the boys' house. I cleaned up my room, organized some stuff, checked my e-mail, and voila, I'm writing a blog post. I can hear pots and pans clanging about upstairs, so I must go and help now!

Love from the Land Down Under,
Ailee