Sydney, again
0 Comments
»
Lifeguard's surfboard, Manly beach. Click here for more photos from Australia
May 12, 2009The most surprising fact I have learned about Sydney: it is hilly. And I mean very, very hilly. I don't quite know what I was expecting, but steep hills were definitely not on the list. The whole city is ranged along the bays lining the long, twisting harbor, and the land instantly bumps up into higher and higher hills from the waterfront, dotted with buildings. The harbor mouth letting onto the Pacific is marked by spectacular sheer cliffs. I find it very reminiscent of Mediterranean Europe - especially Croatia - or western Mexico. Either way my legs have definitely felt the effects of so much uphill walking. I do love how the city is spread out over so many different levels, though - with all sorts of public terraces and surprise stairways to other streets. It makes for a very dynamic, architecturally interesting city. Sydney is also much more tropical than I expected. There are palm trees all over the place! I knew it had a mild climate but I didn't know it was that mild.
I am continually amused by how many British place names we have encountered, especially after my summer in London. Thus far we've seen Chiswick Gardens, Piccadilly Gardens (actually an apartment building), Kings Cross (a train station, of course), Paddington (a large neighborhood south of the harbor), Liverpool Street, and the Brighton Hotel for backpackers in Manly, a beachfront neighborhood on the north side of the harbor. And a few days ago we wandered through Hyde Park in the center of the city.
Sprinkled throughout, however, are names that could only be Australian (and curiously all start with "wool"): Woollahra, Woolooware, and my personal favorite, Woolloomooloo. Can you imagine saying you're from Woolloomooloo? I would move to Sydney just for that.
Subscribe by RSS
