Australian Adventure - (Day 7 of 21) - Discovering the Beauty of Parramatta

St. John's Cathedral behind me

        For my seventh day in Sydney, Tito Bru decided to show me around Parramatta, a suburb where Tita A and Tito Bru used to live.  It was a very peaceful place and had a beautiful park, open for anyone who just wants to relax or just enjoy the surroundings. It's located quite near to the Sydney Olympic Park and around 24 km away from Sydney's CBD.
     
        The first famous landmark that I was able to visit was St. John's Cathedral, which could be found on Church Street.  It is known to be the oldest church in Parramatta and was built way back in 1803.  I wanted to take a look inside the church, unfortunately, it was closed for the day.  Beautiful flowers surrounded the church, so I just made myself content to take a few pictures here and there.

         Near the church, the town hall was also situated, including the centennial clock.  What I liked about the place is that once you get there, you only had to walk, as each place is located very near each other.  A number of restaurant could be found, a few steps away from the church and the town hall.  Anyone would probably have a hard time choosing which restaurant to go to as there were so many in the area.

A good spot to rest and have a picture

Town Hall

Centennial Clock

             As we were full of energy on that day, we decided to just keep on walking until we were able to reach Parramatta river.  There were trees surrounding the area, which gave us some shade from the scorching heat of the sun.  There was also a paved path on both sides of the river wherein we encountered several people who were also having a good walk with their friends or sometimes with their pets. A few were also on their bikes, some on a jog and others like us, who were just happy to enjoy the view and the fresh breeze blowing over the area.  The park seemed to be a place where you can reflect, and just have some peace and quiet.  There were also some fun facts about the history of the place, for those who wish to know more about the place.  Tito Bru also mentioned that previously, the place was very dirty and would not be recommended as a nice place to visit.  But after some efforts from the people, they were able to clean up the place and make it inviting to both locals and tourists. The only thing that you have to worry about is when there are serious rains because the water level on the river could rise up pretty high and could result to some flooding to the nearby places.

Lennox Bridge

With their pets

Lots of paddles

Definitely peaceful

            Once we had enough of our walking, we decided to cool down in one of the shopping centers in Parramatta, which was Westfield.  I didn't get to buy much for that day since I mostly just window shopped.  To quench my thirst from all those walking, I had some cold and very delicious strawberry milkshake at McDonald's.  After walking around for about an hour or two, we met up with Tita A, who came from her work. We ate in a Vietnamese restaurant, which I discovered was one of their favorite restaurants to eat when they were there.  I was so hungry at that time that, (gasps!) I didn't get to take any picture at all, nor was I even able to get the name of the place. But I do remember that the food was good and it was a nice ending for our day.


More Soon: - Day 8 - FUN at Jamberoo Action Park

Australian Adventure (Day 6 of 21) - more city adventures!

         Day six involved another fun-filled day in the city.  Our first stop was to visit St. Mary's Cathedral, located at St. Mary's Road,which was conveniently near the city centre and a few steps away from Hyde Park. It was certainly a beautiful church and I couldn't help but be mesmerized by its wonderful  facade.  Its design was gothic in nature, made from yellow-block sandstone and has high majestic arches.  The architect who was responsible for this magnificent structure was William Wilkinson Wardell, from the 19th century. The ambiance inside the church was very solemn, peaceful and inviting.  It seems to be the perfect place to escape the hustle and bustle of the city life, reflect a bit and have a one-on-one conversation with God.  For those brides-to-be, I'm sure they also wouldn't mind having to walk down its long aisle on their very special day.

In front of St. Mary's beautiful facade

Australian Adventure (Day 5 of 21) - Surfing on the Australian Waves

On the road to Manly Beach

          Boxing Day or the day after Christmas is considered a holiday in Australia.  It would actually be my first time to "celebrate" it since such holiday is not observed in the Philippines.  As it was looking to be a hot day, Tita A and Tito Bru thought it may be a good idea for us to go to Manly Beach. As far as I can remember, I haven't been to any of the beaches in Australia since it was nearing winter when I first traveled to this country.  So I was more than happy to have the chance to finally visit one.
         
           Manly Beach was around a 30-40 minute drive from my aunt's place.  However, if you would be coming from the city, you could opt to take a ferry, which takes around 30 minutes as well, or you can also travel by bus.  It's actually pretty accessible and popular to both locals and tourists.  Its name was said to come from the "confidence and 'manly behavior' displayed by a group of local aborigines" sited by Captain Arthur Phillip way back in 1788.  There are plenty of cafes, restaurants, and shops in the area.    In case you would want to stay overnight, there are also hotels, guesthouses, and serviced apartments available. For sure, you wouldn't get bored staying in Manly Beach because there are a lot of activities to choose from.  You can go kayaking, biking, whale watching (only if in season which is from Mid-May to November), diving, sailing, and of course, surfing.

Australian Adventure (Day 3 of 21) - Sydney City Tour

      Day three was one of my earliest start in my whole stay in Australia.  By 6:30 AM, Sydney time, I was up and about, getting ready to go to the city with my aunt.  My aunt works at Commonwealth Bank, which was located very near Darling Harbour. Though it was already December 24 at that time, it was still a workday for her. And since I didn't want to waste my day, I decided to go with her and just explore the city by myself.
     
      Tito Bru dropped us off to the nearest train station, which was Mount Druitt at around 7:30 AM.  We purchased one-way tickets and proceeded to wait for our train.  According to my aunt, there were fast trains and slow trains.  Fast trains are those that did not have a lot of stops, thus bringing you to your destination at an earlier time, while slow trains are of course, its opposite.  I think we got to ride on a slow train but it worked perfectly for me because I was able to get some snooze time.  Our train was one of the older ones as there was no air condition yet.  But since it was still early, the weather wasn't very hot to be considered as uncomfortable.  What fascinated me with our train was that the seats could be manually arranged by the rider to face on one side to another, depending on his preference. So for those passengers who would want to be seated face to face, they would only need to turn this lever/contraption on their seats.  Similarly, if you're alone and wouldn't want to be facing any strangers, the same contraption could be used.  It was almost 9 AM when we arrived at the Town Hall Station, which was just a walking distance from my aunt's workplace.  But before going to work, my aunt went with me to the Queen Victoria Building (QVB)  to treat me for some breakfast.  

      The QVB is of "romanesque architecture" and was first opened in 1898.  Over time, it has undergone plenty of renovations to restore to its original beauty.  It now houses plenty of shopping stores, restaurants, and cafes making it a must-stop for Sydney tourists.  They offer free-wifi and normally operates from 9 AM to 6 PM except for Thursdays, in which they extend till 9 PM. Shops found in the QVB range from middle to high-end.

QVB from the outside

      For breakfast, I had some waffles (with two scoops of vanilla ice cream, bananas, and chocolate syrup!! hello calories!], and of course, some very good hot chocolate with a big squishy marshmallow on top. Once I activated the local sim that I bought, my aunt left me to my own devices.

Another sinful breakfast

Australian Adventure (Day 2 of 21) - Souvenirs, Tea and Christmas Lights

Welcome to Parklea Markets

     My day two agenda involved visiting the Parklea Markets.  Apparently, it was only open on the
weekends and public holidays.  It opens at 8:30 AM and closes by 4:30 PM. It has numerous stalls that offer a wide range of products such as food, clothing, toys, gardening tools, accessories, and many more.  According to my aunt, it would also be a good place to buy souvenirs for my family and friends back in the Philippines.  Plus, I could even start a bit of shopping there. Though I still had plenty of time, it would be good for me to cross out as early as possible some of the things in my "to-do-list".   This way, I would have one less thing to worry about.  But first, a good breakfast [actually it was already brunch given the time that I woke up] was definitely in order.  Mushrooms, bacon, egg, bread, and of course, some hot chocolate with marshmallows on top, comprised my meal.  Once done, we headed out immediately to get on with our day.