Jan 2 - I've Arrived!

I feel old. First I walk into a few hostels to check out brochures, and my first thought is "this music is loud and obnoxious". Then I went on a walking tour (more about that later), was walking back with three, what I'll call young adults, feeling very young, and comparing travel experiences. When one made the comment I'd traveled more than her, but I had had a lot more years to visit places. I am actually more than double their age, but she didn't need to point it out.

Today was cloudy, but comfortable (I think it only hit 70). I thought I would explore downtown and the harbor. I remember now why I prefer outbacks to cities. It's a shoppers paradise - unfortunately I hate shopping. They took one block, turned the street into a walking area, and lined both sides of the street with shops, 3-4 stories high. There was a guy playing a pan flute, and three guys doing impressions. The pan flute guy was actually good; not so much the three guys. Their act made me think of something some drunk fraternity guys would have thought up.

Heard about a free tour of the Rocks area in one of the hostels I visited (with the obnoxious music). They start at 6 and last 1.5 hours. I got there just in time. They do the tour for the fun of it and the tips at the end. The tour was pretty good and gave me a feel for the seedier side of Sidney. The Rock area is where harbor workers lived. It was very poor in it's time. Now they have some condos going for >$1M,

I got my first glimpse of the famous bridge. I'm not sure if you can see it, but 1/3 from the top and just starting down from the middle are some bumps in the bridge. Those are people who walked up the bridge steps. The climb includes over 1300 steps, and takes 3.5 hours. I'm thinking I may do it next Saturday. We'll see if it works out.

We heard lots of stories about thieving, treachery, and killing. My favorite stories involved a pub (1 of three claiming to be the oldest in Australia). Men would go in and drink, and the bartender would give a few free to keep him there and drinking. When he was completed inebriated, they would trip a hole in the floor and he would fall down into cells, When they men woke up the next morning, they were forced labor on a ship in the middle of the ocean.

I know I had more to say, but I'm falling asleep. Tomorrow I go to the Blue Mountains on an excursion. Then I move from the Marriott to a hostel - not sure how easy it will be to get access to a computer, but I'll think of something.