Sydney Trip Finale

What's better than having giant cherry tomatoes for breakfast?

Hmm... How about grilled salmon, baked oysters and passion fruit Greek yogurt?

On my last day in Sydney, I decided to have breakfast in the Sydney Fish Market before heading back to the lodge and check-out. And I, again, hopped on a wrong bus and had to get off at the other side of the harbour. So I unintentionally gave myself the chance to walk over a huge cable-stayed bridge in a beautiful morning...

I was amazed to find out how many Australians ride a bike to work

Despite my mistake I got to the fish market at around 8:00 a.m..

Who could have guessed the fish market was in fact a fruit lover's paradise. And guess what I found? GIANT GOLDEN KIWIS!

OMG!!

A list of what I eventually had for breakfast (in chronological order):

- A box of giant cherry tomatoes

- A giant golden kiwi

- An apple

- 2 baked oysters

- A large piece of grilled salmon

- Passion fruit Greek yogurt

- Half a dragon fruit

After checking-out the lodge I decided to make my 3rd attempt to the Sea Life Aquarium. I hopped on a ferry to the Darling Harbour but was distracted halfway at the Cockatoo Island.

I learned about the Cockatoo Island when I researched about places to watch sunrise in Sydney. The page that I read suggested camping in Cockatoo Island, and I thought it was a joke.

No it was not! 

There were tents for real!

It was a small island no bigger than our Victoria Park in Hong Kong (I later Googled: Cockatoo Island measured 18 hectares, the Victoria Park 19 hectares). On one side of the island sitted around 50 tents facing the sea. On the other side stood several old factory buildings.

Driven by curiosity I decided to get a quick look inside the factories.  And there I saw.....

...a waterfall...

...houses with human face...

As I continued to explore, I felt almost like Alice in the wonderland

Of course it was an art exhibition, but there were no signs, no introduction and no posters telling you what you were about to see. The artists were doing a marvelous job using the old factory space to create a dimension that was so real, yet so unreal. As I did not expect to see anything extraordinary, it was amazing when art hit me in the most surprising way.

I spent around 2 hours in Cockatoo Island and after that I no longer wanted to go to the aquarium. I decided to visit the Art Museum instead, which was located inside the beautiful Royal Botanic Gardens.

On my way to the museum

Entrance to the museum

I was impressed to find Picasso's and several very famous artists' works there.

Picasso granted this lucky (poor) lady the most amazing (boring) job in the world

A selection of contemporary works that I like

Sounded like a messed up woman like me

I stayed until the museum was closing and I had around an hour to sunset. Since Botanic Gardens was in fact connected to the Sydney Opera House. Despite I was not particularly interested, I thought there was no harm just to have a look.

If you ever wondered how the Opera House looks like from the behind, this was it.

Walking around all day carrying my baggage, I was exhausted when I finally reached the Opera House. I found myself a front row seat facing the harbour and watched the sky slowly changed colours.

If you ever realized I haven't mentioned what I had for lunch this day, it was because I didn't have anything. I went on with my journey with an empty stomach until around 7 pm when I eventually felt I have accomplished all my "missions" in Sydney.

How my AUD 3 dinner looked like

After dinner I randomly walked around the CBD and along the train stations until it was almost time to catch my flight back home.

I am going to end this entry and my first solo trip with something interesting I found outside Sydney's McDonald's

You get 543 kJ on every dollar you spend. Sounds like a great deal. But I am not sure if it's a turn-off or turn-on.

*****************************************************************************

[Updated on 21 May 2014]

So this is the end of my very first solo getaway. I have no idea, at that time, how this very trip gradually led to the drastic changes in my life. I was in Sydney from 19 to 23 Apr 2014, as I am now writing this post nearly a month after the trip, looking back, not too long ago, I am amazed how much I have changed, for better or worse.

"Life was like a box of chocolate. You never know what you're going to get" - Forrest Gump 

All I can say is, I kept drawing extra dark chocolates from my box since the trip. It was sour. It was sweet. And it left me with a very bitter aftertaste. Nevertheless, people still love dark chocolates.

After all, you can only live once. Nothing should stop you from exploring and experiencing life. My life journey has so far been full of surprises, happy and sad.  I wish you all good luck on your journeys too, my dear friends <3