Day 21: Sydney

This morning I woke up thinking I was at home and so for the first time so far felt really quite homesick. I wanted my cats, my bed, my family and friends.

I knew it would happen at some point and knew that when those times came, the best thing to do was a) keep busy and b) have a good cup of coffee.

Australians know how to make a good cuppa, I know that from home, so I immediately got myself a flat white and an embarrassingly huge blueberry muffin and headed to a park to enjoy the morning sunshine with my new book, A Town Like Alice by Neville Shute.

Already feeling quite a bit better, I decided, to keep me in high spirits, the best cure was good old retail therapy. 

Like any big city, there is shopping to be done in Sydney. I headed to George Street and Pitt Street to check out the old Victorian arcades that I'd read about, and shopping or no shopping, they're really  worth a look!

The most famous is probably the Queen Victoria Building, a golden-stoned building with a green copper dome and a statue of Queen V herself outside. Inside it's like walking into some Victorian luxury ship or something. Old fashioned gated lifts, terraces of shining dark brown wood with golden rails on each floor, smart patisseries running up the middle... Really quite something. Afterwards I head to the old Strand arcade, similarly decorated and a whole lot more sophisticated and peaceful than Bluewater or the Westfield. Talking of the Westfield, there's one of those too and it's possible to climb to the top of the Sydney Tower Eye that towers above the mall, giving amazing views of the city I'm told.

There are buskers everywhere, and some considerable talent. One guy had quite the audience - I took some footage just in case he becomes famous... Geek.

In the late afternoon it's baking and we are promised a storm, so I start to head home with my purchases, taking a short detour through Chinatown and Thai Town to sniff out something for dinner. The food looked good but I have to say I was a bit disappointed. Having come from London! let alone Hong Kong and Myanmar, I'm used to bustling streets where you have to elbow your way through to the dumplings, here it was pretty sedate. Maybe I just picked a bad time? Will try again in a week when I'm back!