My beloved Sydney

Things I love about Sydney

After spending about 7 months, I can admit I was in love with this city, and if it is true that only fools do not change their mind, then I’m a great example because in a short time I totally changed my opinion about this city.

We Europeans when we visit a city we often tend to look for monuments, squares, all those typical features of the old continent, without thinking that a city can be beautiful, interesting and livable even without.

Sydney is a city of great breath, a city that despite its grandeur still has unique places where you can walk, run and enjoy the surrounding scenery.

A city from the winters perhaps not as mild as once, but in the winter, it hits the sun, the clear sky and an unthinkable vegetation in dear Europe.

The most striking aspect of the traveler is the Sydney Harbor view: I will always be alive within me the thrill of walking in the Royal Botanic Gardens with ocean views, watching the city from a ferry, catching the Glittering shimmer of the House of Opera on sunny days, or walking in the evenings in these same places in a magical atmosphere and quiet.

The ocean, nature and climate, these are the features that make this city unique to many others.

Despite the traffic and the chaotic nature of some areas I’ve already mentioned in previous posts, the quality of life of this city is very high and you will understand it by continuing to read it.

There are at least 10 reasons why Sydney has become one of my favorite cities in the world:

  1. Royal Botanics Garden.  This is certainly the part of the city I love most. European-style gardens but with the addition of tropical plants and various areas dedicated to other countries such as Japan. A huge garden that in some parts could be called a public park where residents and tourists love spending their free time lying on the grass, walking through avenues or along the sea or jogging. Another aspect that makes these gardens unique to the gardens new Europeans are used to? The parrots that animate the trees with their flutter and their verses. If you are looking for a different perspective of the city, but especially the Opera House and the Harbor Bridge, visit Mrs. Macquaire Point.

  1. Sydney Harbor (Opera House, Harbor Bridge, and Luna Park). Sydney Bay is known as one of the more fascinating natural bays in the world. It is also the largest natural harbor in the world. To realize with your eyes you can take a ferry to get around the city or cross the Harbor Bridge, in both cases you will not be disappointed. There are several ferries departing from Circular Quay to reach several destinations beyond Sydney’s bay. Although the ferry is great for admiring the city and its skyline in all its splendor, crossing the bridge on foot is the best and certainly the cheapest way to admire the bay. You will need 20 to 35 minutes to get to the other side, depending on the photos you will inevitably want to slip along the way, and here you will be amazed by the completely different atmosphere than the CBD you are used to living every day. The streets and shops of this part of the city, the Northern Shore, are in fact very quiet, the chaos of the city here is far away. In the park adjacent to the bridge and the Milsons Point train stop you will even be able to attend bowling alleys from the site’s elders belonging to the Kirribilli Club.

Continuing in the direction of water, a place of interest is the Luna Park of Sydney built in 1935. Born with the idea of re-launching the famous and iconic Coney Island of New York, after a stormy history has now become a symbol of City also governed by state laws and considered national heritage. The strong point of this “playground” is due to its location, so you can have a fascinating overview of Sydney, its skyline, the Opera House and the Harbor Bridge.

  1. The Rocks. The “oldest” area of the city, the only part of the old town surviving the demolition of the past thanks to the first green movements born at that time. Now another part of the city is likely to be destroyed to leave room for other anonymous skyscrapers .. (read, let’s save Miller’s Point). In this historic quarter of the city, you can walk between buildings that resemble the British style built in stone and enter the most characteristic and ancient venues of the city or sit on the sidewalk and listen to one of the many talented street performers performing in these parts. Do not miss “The Rocks Markets” on Sunday, especially for souvenirs and handicrafts. “The Rocks” is also the ideal starting point for getting to Sydney’s Observatory.

  1. Green areas and vegetation. Along with climate, one of the aspects that fascinated me most in Florida during winter time, we must not forget that the city of Sydney has a humid subtropical climate, which is why we are not walking in the streets and parks Only bare trees but trees covered with leaves and sometimes even flowers! Green spaces in a city make up for a lover of nature as the undersigned is a very important aspect. Sydney has many parks and green areas. Centennial Park, Hyde Park, Prince Alfred Park are the best known but walking long and wide for the city you will soon see how many green areas there are in the city. Places that are truly lived by locals, both in leisure time and even in lunch breaks from work, every opportunity is good for getting in touch with nature. What about the huge and magnificent trees that adorn many avenues and parks of the city or of the Suburbs ?!

  2. Climate. Forget the gray and dull winters, in this part of Australia the sky is very cloudy even on winter days, due to the wind coming from the Pacific Ocean so much so that many stars can often be seen in the evening. Although the winters of recent years seem to be colder than the past and there are rainy days, the sun is often the best, and it is so hot that it warms up by the illusion of being in the spring or autumn.

  3. Beaches. When you think of the Australian beaches the first image that jumps on the beach of crowded beaches and surfers. (See Bondi and Manly Beach). But for a lover of nature and quietness like me, it was great to discover paradisiacal beaches “within walking distance” from the city. One example Balmoral Beach, Rose Bay, Watson Bay, Palm Beach, with a few dollars you can get out of town chaos and find yourself in another world.

  4. Fauna. In which other cities back home in the evening you will see an opossum turn here and there? Or walking through gardens and parks and seeing lots of colorful parrot trees or huge white parrots flying in the sky irrespective of the season?

  5. Glebe. Glebe is a suburb of Sydney and is one of the historic districts of the city where many families of sailors and workers in the nearby bay resided in the past. This neighborhood is located in the west of the city, not far from Ultimo, the university district of the city. What makes this district unique? The intellectual and alternative atmosphere that breathes away from glamorous fashion stores. Like most Australian towns, places of interest are centered along the main street, but in this neighborhood, unlike others, you can walk along Cafés, Ethnic Restaurants, Massage Centers and Esoteric Centers and many bookstores selling old books and organizing events evening. Always on Glebe Point Road, you will find the neighborhood school that hosts the now famous Glebe Markets, pharmacy, flower shops and small supermarkets on Saturday. The reason why this quarter is one of my favorites is that in this part of town you can meet so many locals in their everyday life, it is not a high tourist area except perhaps on Saturday morning when the Glebe Markets are taken ‘assault. Along the way, you can admire the beautiful Victorian houses and walk on a beautiful avenue lined up to Rozelle Bay where you can take long walks along the bay or simply lie lying on the grass of nearby parks. If I had to decide and have the chance to live in Sydney it’s here that I would stay. Here, because I think it is the most characteristic and original neighborhood of the city, because it does not seem to be in the city, but it is very close to it and you can see the skyline and you can also admire the fireworks that animate the sabbatical evenings The Darling Harbor. From this neighborhood can be reached on foot in 20 minutes Central Station or from Glebe Point Road take one of the many buses to the center or to the nearest beaches. The neighborhood is a few minutes walk to the Broadway Shopping Center where you can find items of any kind, but what I believe to be important supermarkets such as Coles, Aldi and Harris Farm.

  1. Security, freedom and civic sense (picnic areas and various services for barbecues, public baths).Nowhere as in this city, I felt so safe from robberies or various aggressions. Even though I took trains late in the evening or coming home from work I found myself walking in deserted streets, I never felt near the danger. There are alcohol-related problems in the city, but these negligible aspects have not affected my quality of life. Freedom of expression, freedom to dress and to behave as is always the case, obviously in the respect of others, strikes from the very first moment. It is not uncommon to see clerks and managers wearing Hawaiian feet, people with hair colors or fairly objectionable styles, surfers walking in the streets, or boys in the workwear to go and drink with stylish girls.

  2. Surroundings. If you are tired of the city or the beaches and want to completely change habitat, there are several ones or two days trips that you can do. To see the animal symbol of the whole of Australia the best choice is to go to Morisset Park where you can eat kangaroos in total freedom. For mountain lovers, the ideal place is the Blue Mountains, the Barossa Valley wine or the Royal National Park.

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