walking the Sydney basics

so after all that drama, I started my day in Sydney. walked down Pitt St, which I remembered from my last shopping experiences in the Arcades and down to Circular Quay, stopping to pick up brochures for the ferry rides and such.

went to the Opera House and found out they are alternating performances of Carmen and La Boheme in the Opera House and I got a ticket in the mezzanine for the matinee performance of La Boheme on Saturday. figured I walk past Hyde Park on my way there, grab lunch and maybe hit Luna Park (children's amusement park) via ferry after the show.

the last time I was in Sydney I had the chance to see a theatre production in the Drama Theatre, so I am very excited about seeing an opera in the infamous Opera House. and I have apparently one upped MP with this one. point for me :)

got my ticket, read my city guide and wrote down a semi schedule of my trip till I leave on Wednesday afternoon. walked over to The Rocks, near the Harbor Bridge and popped into The Ken Done Gallery that I found on my last trip. If you have ever been in any of my apartment since 2004, I believe you have seen my "I Wish You Were Here" Sydney print. it's currently in a brand new frame (thanks goes out to MP) in my Sunnyside bathroom. viewed some original painting and they are so incredibly vibrant and amazing, that I will always make it a priority to stop in when I visit this city.

had lunch at a lovely little teagarden cafe- chicken/leek pie with salad. yum. walked back to the hotel, only to realize that I had worn the wrong sandals and had blisters beneath toes on each feet. grr. got in the room and promptly took a nap for about 2 hours. dressed and walked over to Chinatown for dinner. wanted to go to Emperor's Garden BBQ & Noodle Shop, but ended up at Emperor's Garden Seafood Restaurant, but the later was amazing. had some soup, dim sum and salt & pepper squid with fried rice and let me tell you- now that I have a wok at home, I am putting in all my effort to learn how to cook that. it was delicious beyond delicious.

took a cab to a local alt music venue, Annandale Hotel, but once I got there, I realized it was a little too seedy for me to go into after all, so I hailed another cab and grabbed a six-pack of Cooper's Sparking Ale and some Dairy Milk and headed back to the Travelodge.

what a day it has been. I am very excited for tomorrow, even though I don't really know what I am planning to do. definately need to exchange more money b/c like I said before, the exchange rate sucks and after eating twice, buying a book, internet card and those meaningless taxi rides, I am down a significant amount from what I changed today. grrrrrrrrr.

I'll keep ya posted. thanks for reading :)