Sydney

This mini-trip started out like many others- frantic packing followed by racing to the airport and running to my departure gate. One big difference was that I was traveling with a buddy. My (male) partner. I didn' realize how many practices I had adopted as a female traveling alone. I usually try to arrive at my destination before dark if I'm searching for a place to stay, etc.

We arrived around 11pm and instead of taking the way overpriced train, we decided to walk the 1.5 K to a closer train station. Had I been alone, I probably wouldn´t have planned on walking alone. I still feel that thereś something inherently wrong with the fact that women cant just travel around as they please like men can.

The rest of the time in Sydney was great. It´s a good sized city (around 4 million) and it is very user friendly. There were maps everywhere even though it´ś not that hard to navigate. Highlights include: the walk from the spit to manly along the coast on the other side of the harbour, the sculptures on display at Bondi, culinary delights as always, etc.

The Opera House was really cool. The best viewing is from the ferry going across the harbour. I really enjoyed the view from the edge of the botanical gardens. Sitting on the grass in the park taking in the operahouse and the harbour bridge, I found another small slice of perfection.

Food: I never realized I was so into food. Anyhow, NewTown was great for cheaper ethnic foods. The African was really delicious. The Korean in ChinaTown was excellent too. My aforementioned partner ordered my dish hot/spicy so it was a little challenging, but I made it through. Next was the fresh sashimi at the seafood market. No complaints about the selection. There was so much seafood that it warraned two meals. BYO wine of course. Finally, my favorite indulgence: chocolate! We stumbled into a sort of chocolate ritual. It came in the form of a little platter with a tiny pitcher of milk, a little bowl of chocolate chips and a candle lit melting system. Definitely the best hot chocolate ever.