CAIT AROUND THE WORLD

February 8, 2023 — When I finally got myself and my bag (which wound up squished to the back of the luggage area) off the coach, I made my way to the bathroom first and to the hostel second. I settled my bags into a locker for safe storage while I waited for it to be time to check in. I tucked my food into the kitchen facilities and took myself to the grocery store to buy more since all I had left was granola. I picked up yogurt and strawberries.

When I got back, I made myself a little bowl of yogurt and granola — my breakfast of choice since coming to Australia — and called Dad. We chatted while I ate, and after I’d finished and we hung up, I still had just under two hours left until I could get into my room. Rather than hang around the hostel, I decided to take advantage of the sunshine and took the L train (I’m still not sure if it’s a tram or a train, really) down to Circular Quay, which is where the Rocks neighbourhood and the Sydney Opera House are.

Five stops later, I emerged into the sun and heat once more and walked my way over to stand in front of the Sydney Opera House, standing blinding white and gleaming in the afternoon sun just across the harbour.

This is the moment when being in Australia really turned real for me. Beyond the accents, the driving on the other side of the road, and the little quirks of signage and seeing crazy wildlife everywhere, this was when it really hit me that I was in Australia. I teared up with the joy of it all. Seeing the Opera House on so many fictional movies and shows for so long has built it to mythical status. And here it was, in front of me, finally real and just as incredible as I had always imagined.

I walked back by the wharfs, looking to get closer to the Opera House, but I was sidetracked by ice cream. Ice cream is expensive here for a couple scoops, but I was riding the high from seeing the Opera House and finally being in a really warm place again, and I simply didn’t care. Plus they were decent sized scoops.

I walked back around to the viewpoint I was at and couldn’t help taking a picture of my ice cream with the Opera House in the background. Then, I walked around to get the full view of the Opera House, up close and personal.

This was such a moment for me. I can’t even put into words how it felt walking around this incredible monument.

It was finally getting close to check-in time, so I hopped on the L back to the hostel and got checked in and into my room. I was absolutely boiling by the that point, so I pulled on my still-very-wet swimsuit from the previous morning and grabbed my soaking wet towel and went up to take a quick dip in the pool at the hostel (which wasn’t all that nice, but oh well). I chatted with Mom on the phone for a while first, then had my nice quick dip. I came down from the pool, showered, and then went out to grab a few more things from the grocery store for dinner, cooked, and spent the rest of the night in. I needed to get a good night’s sleep for my walking tour the next morning!

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