The Universe Is Closed Today

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Australia, Botanical Gardens, Bush Tracks, Chill Backpackers, Chinese, Irish, Kurilpa bridge, New Zealand, Queens Mall, Queensland, Scottish, Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium, South and Central America, Thai, Vietnamese, Wales

The universe is closed today . . . We’ll be back after lunch.

The day before I leave Australia and in baseball parlance, I hit a double. It could have been a home run, but for one little detail . . . The Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium was closed due to upgrades being installed and wont re-open until March or April. The Planetarium runs regular shows in the Cosmic Skydome for public and school groups, observing sessions in the observatory and occasional public field nights.

Unusual Art Piece At The Brisbane Art Gallery

This art piece (collage) has all sorts of interesting things going on.

I saw this collage at the Brisbane Art Gallery and I took a photograph of it, then decided that was insufficient, so I snapped additional photos of each area . . .

More Rain In Brisbane Is A Good Reason To Visit A Museum And Art Gallery

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Art Gallery, Australia, Brisbane, Queensland Museum, rain

Street artists in pedestrian mall.

It rained again today, limiting what I wanted to do, which was to climb Mount Coot-tha, which overlooks the city of Brisbane. It is a popular bushland tourist destination including the Brisbane Botanic Gardens and Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium. It also has bike trails, parks including a waterfall. The poor weather kept me near the city center, so instead, I went to the Art Gallery and walked more of the city.

Brisbane Birthday Bash . . . Pfffffftttttt!

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Brisbane, casino, Queensland Museum, Treasury building

Metal sculpture near the Queensland Museum. Brisbane skyline in the background.

I didn’t bring a wrist watch with me on my RTW trip because I believe that most jewelry, including watches are big “tells” insofar as potential thieves identifying you as someone who might have money and therefore, you’re susceptible to being ripped off. Consequently, I leave most of that stuff at home. So, I woke up at 5:00am this morning, albeit, I didn’t know what time it was. I fired up my tablet and took a look at my task tray, where the time and date are located.  It was 5:15am and I couldn’t help noticing the date, February 17. This also is my birthday.

A 15 Hour Sydney to Brisbane Train Ride.

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Bangkok, Brisbane, Margaret Olley, Queen Victoria, St. James Catholic Church, Sydney Museum, Thailand, train

Museum of Sydney.

The last few days in Sydney were truly remarkable and enjoyable. I met quite a few people and in part, this was due to my decision to switch accommodations from the suburb outskirts of Sydney to the city center. I checked out of the hostel Thursday morning (Feb. 14th) and knowing I had a long wait before boarding my train to Brisbane , I ate a hearty Aussie breakfast (a lot of carbs) and then found a comfortable couch at the hostel. Also waiting along with me – to other destinations in Australia and other countries – were approximately a half dozen other people, including a young German, Marius.

Sydney (Not Australia) Said, “Happiness Is A Direction, Not A Place”

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Cassowary, crocodile, Darling Harbour, Koala bear, State Theater, Sydney, Westfield Sydney Tower Eye, Wildlife Zoo

I want one.

The subject heading is a quote by Sydney J. Harris and I couldn’t agree more. So with that attitude, I started my day, promising myself that I would lighten up on Sydney, Australia, and give it another chance. Hey, y’all need to cut me some slack though – I had just completed a visit of New Zealand, one of the most beautiful countries I have ever seen.

I have been at the YHA Railway Square Hostel for two days and I love it! It is perfect for my needs. First and foremost, it is near the Central Station train and bus services, including Inter-country trains, which will take me to Brisbane tomorrow. It’s also relatively inexpensive. Even more so, because I was refunded $50 due to my room (main one) light being burnt out the last 2 days.  Yesterday, the Night Manager attempted to fix it and was unable to do so. He gave me two breakfast vouchers and said it would be taken care of today. It wasn’t and Sylvia, the Assistant Manager at Railway Square, refunded me part of my room rate (the $50) and did it graciously without hesitation, truly concerned that I was inconvenienced by this. Wow!  I was shocked by this, because I had a bad experience with reservations I made for Chill Backpackers in Brisbane. More on that in a bit.

The Seedy Side Of Sydney

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Blacktown, Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Muslims, poverty, Sydney

You don’t want to run out of gas in this neighborhood.

I’ll preface this post by saying that I LOVE SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, but there is a flip side . . .

My accommodations were not in Sydney during my first few days in Australia. I had reserved a room via the internet while in Christchurch, New Zealand; and unbeknownst to me, it was located almost 50-60 miles away from the Sydney city center. Frankly, it might as well have been located on the moon. The neighborhood was excellent – a suburb that was reminiscent of where I grew up in Sunnyvale, California.

Take Two – My First Few Days In Sydney, Australia

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Australia, Ballet, Harbor bridge, hostel, Opera, St. Mary's Cathedral Church, Sydney

Me in front of the famous Sydney Opera House.

OK, I think my internet connection is rocking and rolling now. We shall see. I left out quite a bit about my first couple of days in Australia. I mentioned that the first day was exhausting due to the long wait at the Christchurch, New Zealand Airport; and then the wasted time spent at the rental car kiosk at the Sydney Airport, which resulted in me taking an expensive and long taxi ride to the Sydney Holiday Park I was staying at for the next few days.

Australia

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Aboriginal, Australia, Sydney

My pic of the famous opera house.

Slow connection means that I can’t post the gazillion pics I took yesterday and today. Sooooo  . . .  These will have to suffice.

Sydney, Australia Is Like An “Onion.”

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Blacktown, Queen Victoria, Sydney, Wombat

My first view of the city upon exiting the subway (train) at City Centre.

Hello. It’s me again  . . . Dateline Saturday, 12 noon, February 9, 2013, at the Sydney Library.  I got here about 3-4 hours ago and the morning and dusk/early evening is the best time to tour the city. Right now, it is about 31 Celsius – which means HOT in Farenheit. Consequently, your’s truly thought it would be an excellent idea to do the blog post now, before venturing out in the heat again.