Now that I’m about to leave this place soon, I felt that it was about time to finally post something about the city in which I’ve been living in for a little while. Not the suburb of Bondi, not the beach, just simply Sydney, Australia’s biggest and most populated city and a key point of finance, culture and all kinds of other happenings in the southern hemisphere.
Here we go:
Let’s start with the Central Business District (or CBD), which is basically being taken over by what used to be Chinatown. Asians rule this part of the city with a more than notable presence especially of people with Chinese origins.Here lower Pitt street, a block away from where I work.
Facades are very protected here, so when a building is demolished or refurbished, they usually keep it’s front and just build the back.
Entering one of the most popular streets in proper Chinatown, very obviously visible.
They came and settled, but they came in peace.
And they sell the craziest things, from hyper pink stuffed animals…
… to pop music, movies and posters of their own star system.
We exit in a very philosophical way.
The CBD is transited by the monorrail, a reminiscence of what used to be modern in the past. It’s loud, slow and expensive and nobody knows exactly where it takes you, yet one must admit it has a certain flare and uniqueness.
If it’s approaching, you can miss it’s squeaking noises above your head.
Here we go!
Many things are different in Australia and so are famous corporate names. Here, Burguer King is called Hungry Jack’s.
One of the main culinary attractions in the city centre, the Spanish Quarter.
Spanish tapas, flamenco and music are very popular (there's even a restaurant called El Bulli), but I’m afraid Spanish here doesn’t necessarily mean “from Spain”, it’s basically everything that comes from Spanish speaking countries.
The famous Town Hall, once a majestic building, now surrounded but much taller and imposing skyscrapers.
How many cities do you know that would put up a gay flag on their most official building? Yes, Sydney is the biggest gay city in the southern hemisphere.
And yes, they drive on the “wrong” side of the street.
Statue of Queen Victoria in front of Queen Victoria Building, one of the most beautiful shopping malls I’ve ever seen.
Fancy and very elegant interiors for one of the oldest buildings in town.
Old advertising and the Sydney Tower in the back.
Also known as AMP Tower and with an altitude of 309m it offers the best view of Sydney’s downtown.
Back to Pitt street, the main shopping stroll in the city. Here you can find everything you need, in a few weeks even some Spanish fashion, since Zara is about to open their first store in Australia.
On the other side and close to the famous Paddy Markets we can find Darling Harbour, a nice neighborhood where one can find the Casino, IMAX Theatre and many more attractions.
Look over Sydney’s CBD from the bridge leading to the Powerhouse Museum.
Belmore Park, next to Central Station, a nice and quiet spot to relax from the busy city life.
And with all the weirdest animals in Australia, this one is quite interesting, they are everywhere around the city and are Sydney’s equivalent to our pigeons.So far so good, this is pretty much all you can find in the city centre. It is not my favourite part of the city at all, it’s quite impersonal and business ruled, so besides offices and shopping strolls there is not much to do.
Next time I’ll give you an input of the tradional parts of the city that host its most famous attractions: The Harbour Bridge and the Opera house.
That’s all folks!
Take good care,
Big hug from down south!
M
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