At first glance Sydney appears to be ‘the typical city’, but the harbor set it apart.  The most photographed building in the world, the Opera House, commands an audience’s attention spotlighted on the harbor stage.  Whether it’s someone painting, picnicking or playing the didgeridoo, many people gather daily to relax and enjoy the harbor views.  People casually enjoy this area because it’s picturesque skyline of the city and the absence of industrial freights carrying cargo from far away ports.  The Opera House sets the tone for the harbor, as it is unique and seems to only invite beauty while rejecting anything that is not artistically pleasing.  Sydney is a great city for a backpacker because there is so many FREE sites and activities.

FREE in Sydney:

• Sydney Harbor Bridge
• The Rocks (historical area with street theater on the weekends)
• Art Gallery of New South Wales
• Sydney Parks (tons of green space all over the city)
• Sydney Beaches
• FREE Tour (3 hour walking tour)
• Weekend markets, endless festivals and events

Justin and I have greatly enjoyed many of the FREE activities Sydney offers.

We especially enjoyed the FREE walking tour.  The walking tour through Sydney’s most popular sites proved to be a fun, educational experience.  I was able to learn about Sydney’s history, especially things I was not taught during my high school history classes.  Did you know that during WWII the United States of America fired at a tiny fort in Sydney’s harbor?  We apologized to our tour guide on the behalf of all Americans.  It was clearly our mistake as we intended to hit the enemy, but we missed.  Australians will always view Americans as people with good intentions but bad aim.  Enter a men’s public bathroom on U.S. soil and I am sure many will agree with the Aussies on the ‘bad aim’.  Needless to say, go on the FREE tour.  You will learn a lot.

After the results of You Choose (the poll on www.nomadbackpackers.com) were calculated, we were thrilled to head to the Open Air Cinema to view a movie under the stars.  Unfortunately, the Open Air Cinema is closed for the season and we are not able to do exactly what ‘You Chose’.

Since we couldn’t do what you voted on, we decided to do it all!

In second place  was swimsuit shots in front of the Opera House.  Although Justin and I forgot to wear our swimsuits, both Jerry and Rob from Ontario, Canada were enjoying sunny Sydney.  They both have the Sydney harbor blues!

In third place was creating a You Tube video of a Sydney local.   When we first created the poll I envisioned the Sydney local being a human.  Everything changed when I met Sydney’s famous talking dog.  Instead of running around the city searching for cheap, reliable internet access, to upload my video of Sydney’s talking dog, you can check out this crazy guys video instead.

In fourth place, was going to a BYO (Bring Your Own Alcohol) restaurant.  Although this came in last place on You Choose, BYO dining is popular among Sydney foodies.  Almost every restaurant in Sydney is a BYO restaurant in which you may enter with a bottle of wine (beer or alcohol of choice) that you have purchased somewhere else in the city.  The BYO experience occurs at both casual cafes as well as high end establishments.  Most restaurants will charge a corking fee (around $8) or charge per wine glass ($2.50 per head) they distribute.  Personally, being a newbie to the BYO experience and also trying to test it’s limits, we went all out and found an Authentic Korean restaurant.  Not only did the menu fail to have any English, but we were the only people in the entire restaurant who were not Korean.  It was an amazing BYO experience even though red wine does not pair well with authentic Korean cuisine.  I would recommend the Sydney BYO restaurant experience to anyone, backpacker and budget traveler alike.

Thank you for voting and participating in You Choose.  I hope you enjoyed the results.  Ladies, I hope you enjoyed the swimsuit shots I got.

We are dreaming of our time in South East Asia and want you to vote on what we should to do.  South East Asia is exotic and full of adventure.  Its an area of the world with mostly developing countries.  Things are unpredictable as you never really know what you are going to get.  Therefore,You Choose: South East Asia is a variety of activities we have heard a traveler could do, however we are uncertain if all of the voting options will be possible.  Who knows?  The elephants could go on strike?  Check it out and vote.  You Choose what we do.

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Tags | Australia, You Choose