On Friday the 13th of April I embarked on an eight week trip to Sydney for work. Though I was going to a new and facinating country, I ended up spending more time at the office than anywhere else. I usually worked 60 hours a week and the only time I got to see the city was during my morning runs and the walk back and forth between my apartment and work.
I worked in North Sydney which is just across Sydney Harbour from the downtown area and the Opera House. When I was able to get up early enough, I would run across the Harbour Bridge that connects North Sydney to downtown Sydney. Once, I even ran all the way to the Opera House. But I only did that once as there were many many stairs to climb up in order to get back to the bridge.
Even though work was busy I made an effort to take one day a week off to explore the city. I went to the zoo, the aquarium and toured the interesting places around Darling Harbour. On Mother's Day I ran a hot and hilly 8k race through the city's Royal Botanical Garden.
Originally I was to stay only six weeks, but there was too much to do so I volunteered to stay two more weeks. The bad news was that it extended into my birthday. The good news was that Jamie got a chance to come down and visit for a week.
Overall I enjoyed staying in Australia, even though they drive on the wrong side of the street and it was winter down there while summer was starting in Seattle. Most of the time it was cloudy and rainy and when it rained, it really rained - the roads almost turned to rivers on a couple occasions.
Making up for the weather, things were very cheap in Australia. I was fortunate to be there when the Aussie dollar was doing poorly against the US dollar, all the while getting paid a US salary.
When my eight weeks were up I was a little sad to leave my apartment and head back home. It would be nice to visit and again, but with more leisure time to see the rest of this interesting country.
April 15 - June 9, 2001