Phew!! What A Day!

I think when all you have is some running shoes and an unexplored city in front of you, you're hopefully going to put to good use all of the little things your parents have taught you. I first found the nearest STA Travel Store (Student travel agency we booked with) and got a map with my head set on finding the harbor and Sydney Opera House.
 After jogging around a bit, I realized I was heading North toward, well, I don't know where, but it wasn't the direction I wanted to be going. I ran down some side streets where I some some apartments that looked quite worn out and had bars on their windows and doors looking to be their biggest investment. Needless to say, I was happy I wore running shoes and found an old mom and pop Deli Store and they steered me in the right direction.
 I had found the main drive into the city and I wanted to see Hyde Park. The churches, fountains, statues and overall trance everyone seemed to be under while laying under the trees in the park, was just a magnificent sight. After living in San Diego all my life, you get use to seeing people bike riding in packs, jogging with baby strollers and what not, but here, I'd never seen so many people just outside playing their desired sport. Whether it was rugby, soccer, or even frisbee (no field hockey sightings yet), I saw people of all ages enjoying big spans of parks.

After running down the main drag of the City that would drop me right near the Sydney Opera House, I decided to go off the beaten path once I passed this Music Conservatory. I had jogged right into their famous Botanic Gardens and it was sure a sight to see. Realizing I wasn't going to want to leave this place a while, I decided to grab a quick lunch outside the gardens and then head back in.
Inside the gardens you could see the city skyscrapers over the tops of trees, monuments dedicated to famous founders and of course endless flowers, trees and people enjoying themselves as if they didn't have a care in the world.

 I ran until I saw the Opera House and Harbour Bridge and it was a big "Wow, I'm really here" moment. I jogged along the wharf/lookout parallel to the sights and took some pictures along the way. I met a British student who had just flown in that day like I had, and he was here to study for a year with a friend.

I wanted to beat the rain and ran back to the hotel a different route and got lost in a few beautiful side streets. When I was a block away, I lost my map haha.

Today, I just got picked up and taken to our fancy apartments in Bondi Junction.. Most of the people are still stuck at LAX airport because of a volcano in Chile blew ash that has cancelled all flights into Australia. We are staying in the Tiffany Apartments that overlook the harbor and the sights are just unreal from the balcony. I'll be sure to post some pictures tomorrow of the apartment and new area we'll be staying in. As of right now we only have internet service service down in the lobby and won't have internet in the apartment until way later tonight. Have a spectacular day! Off to get some food around town with a few girls here for the program!

Love,

ME