30/4- 1/5 Arrive in CBD, Kings Cross Experience

Sorry I have been so lax in posting! I have been so busy the last couple of days (at least compared to the leisurely week in Coogee). I took the bus from Coogee to the Sydney Circular Quay. The only experience of note in all of this is that I encountered numerous babies, who wanted to play with me and counted on me to make them stop crying. My new hostel is terrific. Really breath-taking views of the harbour and the opera house from the roof top terrace.

My roommates are nice as well. Two girls from Holland/The Netherlands, and a guy from Switzerland. I spent my first day in the CBD walking around. I spent lunch at the opera house (how can you deny it?) and then walked around in the actual city. My hostel is unusually confusing to locate. It is in an area called The Rocks, which is where the very first settlement of convicts was located in the late 1700s. There are all kinds of archaeological finds in this location, but the thing that makes it difficult to maneuver is the various levels. My hostel is located on the highest level, so you will walk down a street that on a map seems like it should intercept the street my hostel is on, only to realize there is an unreal amount of stairs you need to climb to even reach that level. It's frustrating, but adds a certain degree of excitement to each evening I venture home.

On Tuesday, I started the day lazy. I skyped with my parents at 11 am, so I got a late start. I ended up sunning on the grass in Circular Quay until about 3:25 pm. I caught a bus to King's Cross- the red light district of Sydney- because I had a tour at 6pm and wanted to explore a little before then. I arrive in King's Cross around 3:45pm. I walked up the road to the famous Coca Cola sign to start my journey there.

I walked down the right side of the street, starting to get a little freaked out. I counted 6 strip clubs on just that side of the street, about 3 blocks in, not even counting the "massage parlors" trying their best to look legit. But this is the red light district, what did I expect?

I was a bit hesitant to be walking around for the next few hours, since my tour was a walking tour anyway, so I looked for somewhere I could duck in for a beer. I saw this place called The Sugar Mill. It looked nice, and I had a feeling about it, so I stopped in. I am so glad I did. The bar had 25 beers on tap, including this nice microbrew called Little Creatures that I had tried last time in Fremantle. I ordered one and sat down. The coolest thing about this bar was the liquor. They had an entire wall of liquor, categorized by how "top shelf" it was: "favorites," "a bit special," "serious," and "ridiculous." 4 of the 9 "original cocktails" were whiskey or bourbon based, and all 3 of the "American Classics" cocktails they offered were bourbon or whiskey based. I found my bar. They were even playing good music there! I had one more Little Creatures, then forced myself to leave before I made the decision to skip my tour all together. I grabbed a sandwich for dinner, then waited under the coke sign for the tour. A man named Valentino eventually introduced himself to me as the tour guide. He led the tour alllllllll around Kings Cross. We heard stories of the days of gangs during early bar closings in Sydney (in America, it was total prohibition, but in Sydney, they rebelled from them closing the bars at 6 pm). We saw were brothels are currently located in King's Cross (prostitution is legal, as long as it is in a brothel and not on the streets.) I would have also called the tour "Tour of streets I would never go down alone" because we seemed to venture in some pretty sketchy areas. I was abandoned in the middle of King's Cross, then caught a bus eventually back to the CBD. I went to bed almost immediately because I had to catch a bus at 7:30 for a blue mountains tour the next morning.