Day 7: Sydney

Today was my last day in Sydney. It has been a great week, but I felt that I needed to go to the park one more time to get some work done, so I headed out early and caught the 8:10 train to Lindcombe so that I could see more of the armaments depot on the north end of the site.

Once I arrived at the park it was much busier than usual, being the weekend and all. There were car clubs racing around the roads, bikers everywhere, and teenagers coming to use the sporting facilities with parents in tow. I'm glad I got to see the park in this way, as during the week it had been largely deserted except for the occasional couples on a stroll, a few bikers, and of course the workers from near-by office buildings mulling around the park.

I don't know what it is, but I always seemed to get turned around in Australia. Maybe it is the whole below the equator thing, but I always feel like I am heading the right direction, and I will be going the exact opposite direction. This happened to me numerous times today, as I ended up in the suburb of Newington (which is south of the armaments depot), and when I was trying to find the ferry, I promptly walked myself all the way to the exact opposite tip of the park than were the ferry is located. That was loads of fun.

But back to Newington, I finally found the armaments depot, and I had a lot of fun there. My camera ran out of batteries not that long after I got there, but I found the area fascinating, and was glad that I came on a Saturday, as it is only open on weekends and holidays. There were a lot of people enjoying the area, which is fantastic considering it is right across the street from none other than the Silverwater Correctional Facility, with its four layers fencing and all. It was kind of crazy because there is fencing all around the depot, so you feel like you shouldn't be there until you can see the interpretive displays and street signs directing you around the area. It is even more confusing because some of the storage facilities would be roped off, but others you could approach and walk around, like the one you see to the left.

Maybe one of the greatest things about the area was building 18, which looked very innocuous from the exterior. But upon the urging of one of the park rangers that just happened to be going by on his bike, I walked back to the building to find that it was an art gallery devoted to showing art that had been produced on site at the park. I guess that some of the old armory buildings are now used as art studios, and not only did they have art that had been produced on site, but it was also dedicated to telling the story of the transformation of this place from an industrial wasteland to a place of sport. It even outlined the more recent transition of the park from purely an international sporting facility into a community of athletes, artists, and adventure seekers.

On the fringe of the depot, one of the buildings, adjacent to the cranes on the Parramatta river that were used to lift the arms out of the ships coming in from Sydney so they could be safely stored in one of the many bunkers on site, had been re-used as a cafe. There was beautiful river seating outside, which continued past the cafe, where bubbling fountains lined rows of long tables and benches that accompanied BBQ areas for public use. The tables were shaded by the same kind of camo netting that the army uses in the desert, which made the wood tables and benches seemingly disappear into the landscape. It was beautifully done, and sat along the river walk, a trail that traverses the northern edge of the site. All along the trail there are large benches for people to enjoy the view, which is incredible considering that just 20 years ago this place was a polluted wasteland where no one would have thought to come to enjoy their Saturday afternoon.

As I thought it was important to experience as many transportation modes as I could in the park while there, I decided to take the rivercat back to Darling Harbour from the park. The ride was fairly laid back, except for the whining of a child who was overwhelmed by the experience. The first 20 minutes were fine, as he kept shouting, "Boout! Boout!" But then we came upon even more boats docked along the river, he went crazy as he couldn't wrap his head around all of the boats, and just starting crying, the poor kid. By the time I got off of the boat at Darling Harbour, he was beet red and looked like he had had a hard ride, poor little fella.

While I was mulling a visit to the aquarium, I decided I had my fill of kids screaming for the day and decided to pass. I went shopping instead, picking up some books before I headed down to the Rocks to find the market I had stumbled upon on Sunday. I had been tempted by some wood beads there before, and decided that I should treat myself to one gift as a memento of my time in Sydney. While I could have called it good with the ugly ten dollar watch and the library card, I decided to splurge on what turned out being a long necklace made of coconut wood, which has a rich, dark color. The beads were beautiful, so I shelled out the last of my Australian cash, $25 for it. Knowing I was out of cash until I got my key deposit back tomorrow when I check out, I decided I was done buying anything for the day except for some food. I decided Italian sounded good, and I got some expensive but good Spaghetti and ate it on one of the benches overlooking the harbor.

Getting on the train to go to Town Hall was kind over bittersweet. I realized once I hopped onto the train that that was the last time that I would be taking in the view at the harbor for quite a while. It was always a favorite of mine to grab some food from nearby and just relax, watching the ferries come in and out of the bay, see people crawling all over the opera house like ants on an abandoned picnic basket, and watch brave souls attempt to feed the birds without getting outright attacked.

Because it was still so early, I decided walk the malls again downtown, which was fun. Not fun because I found stuff I liked or anything like that, but because I realized how great we have it in the US. Things that I could easily get for $50 in the US were going for $120, which quickly helped me realize why Sydneysiders are so serious about their clothes: that is the only way you could spend the money it takes to adequately dress yourself in the city. I would stroll into shop after shop and browse through $350 dresses and $120 shirts, and these weren't even in the top tier stores. My favorite high prices of the day were bras from the equivalent of a Victoria's Secret for $150, a cotton dress at Ralph Lauren for over $800, and a plain white dress with some beads on it for over $3,000 in a department store. No wonder the one department store I went into with a sale had lines out the door ...

While my last day here was not that eventful, I have to say that I had a great time here in Sydney. Being a lone female traveler, the city was very friendly, as I never felt threatened or scared anywhere I traveled. And even though some of the cultural differences did begin to bother me by the end of the week, it was a great experience being outside of my very comfortable bubble back home, as I feel re-energized and ready to start working again on my thesis.

I plan on doing one more blog post from Australia, so do check in tomorrow ...