3/23/14
A week ago I was browsing on couchsurfing.org, which is a social networking website through which people (hosts) can offer travelers a “couch” to sleep on and likewise, travelers (surfers) can find a “couch” to sleep on from local hosts. The best part about this website is that the hosts agree to host travelers for free! I encourage anyone who travels to take a look at the site.
The couchsurfing.org site also has a “Discuss” section where you can engage in conversations with other travelers from around the world. I happened to come across a post by a 19 year old girl from Montreal, Canada named Kirsty. She stated that she would only be in Sydney for one day, March 23rd, arriving at 7 am and leaving around 4pm and wanted someone to show her the best parts of the city, given that she only had a little bit of time.
I gladly offered to show her around Sydney, despite having lived here for less than two months. As a tour guide back home at the University of Miami, I get really excited whenever I get the opportunity to share my knowledge of places and interesting facts with others.
Kirsty and I had a full day ahead of us. We met at 7 am at Central Station then walked to Darling Harbour, St. Mary’s Cathedral, the Royal Botanic Gardens and Circular Quay. We had a late breakfast at Pancakes on the Rocks (best pancakes in Sydney, hands down!) then headed back to Circular Quay to check out the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, which was amazing to say the least. Afterwards, we walked along George St. until we got to my flat. I introduced her to a couple of my flatmates and soon after we went to Broadway Shopping Center to walk around and grab another bite to eat.
It’s crazy how fast time flies when you’re having fun! It was already after 3 when we left Broadway, so I walked with Kirsty back to Central Station where her bus awaited her. She thanked me so much for a great day and I couldn’t help but thank her too since I had really enjoyed myself as well. It’s always nice meeting new interesting people. I’m so glad I had an impact on Kirsty’s experience in Sydney! Hopefully our paths will cross again. Kirsty if you’re reading this, I wish you all the best on your upcoming travels!
Here’s some photos from our all day adventure:
Central Station
Darling Harbour
St. Mary’s Cathedral
Museum of Contemporary Art Australia
Me and Kirsty!
George Street
The famous bird cages that hang high above Angel Place.
The Queen Victoria Building
I will never get used to the fact that they drive on the left side of the road here.
Street art pieces
Flat Dinner
This Sunday it was Juliana’s turn to cook flat dinner! She cooked a very tasty chicken stroganoff with white rice and also gave us crunchy chips that resembled french fries. For dessert she prepared a traditional Brazilian dish known as brigadeiro. Brigadeiro is a yummy chocolate candy made up of condensed milk and cocoa powder that is often paired with a variety of fruits. In one pan she made brigadeiro with bananas and cinnamon and in another pan she made brigadeiro with grapes. The grape one was my favorite!
Anton randomly throwing up the U at the dinner table (I taught him well)!
Brigadeiro with bananas and cinnamon
Brigadeiro with grapes
After we ate dinner and dessert, two of Juliana’s friends came over and me, Paula, Juliana and her friends started singing as Anton strummed along with us on his guitar. We went on for hours, singing all of our favorite songs from the past and present. It was an awesome night!
…And that’s all folks. I hope your Sunday was as fun as mine was!