Sydney - the must sees

What I soon found out about the public transport in Australia is that it's very cheap, especially compared to the public transport in the Netherlands. Every Sunday, we can go travelling practically anywhere (as long as you don't have to book a train seat) for 2,60AU$ and so on Sunday the 11th of March me and three friends decided to visit the Blue Mountains. To clarify, that would be like taking the train from Leeuwarden to Amsterdam and back(!!), for 1,50 Euros. Of course the plus side from travelling in the Netherlands is that you can cycle everywhere, whereas in Sydney you're almost forced to take the public transport because of the distances.

The Blue Mountains are beautiful, trees and mountains as far as the eye can see. The national park is known for its Three Sisters, which are three rocks standing tall side by side, and then its Aboriginal culture and waterfalls. Walking through the park you enjoy the sounds of the nature, the silence of every person you walk past, and the clattering noise of water falling down such heights you can't even imagine. There's no photo that does justice to the views. I was lucky to be visiting with Nicky, Jesse and Jasmijn, not having known Jasmijn and Jesse for that long, but we were having fun and we weren't in a hurry, taking our time to buy ice cream on the way back and taking photos all the way through the park. The sun burned on our backs the entire afternoon. After doing some yoga in front of this Cliff View Lookout we went back to civilisation where a live band was playing as we waited for our bus.

The next day, to cross off all the mayor tourist attractions, I visited the Opera House, the bridge, Circular Quay and Darling Harbour. I hadn't been there before, didn't know what to expect, but it was really pretty. We went to the Harbour first and I loved it, with its own bridge to cross from one side to the other, its docks, the zoo and museums, the whole vibe is just amazing. This is all just a half an hour walk from the apartment I live in, surrounded by shopping centres, nice places to eat, playgrounds and parks. Then we walked to Circular Quay, where they have aboriginals playing their instruments, more docks, the Opera House, the Bridge and the best ice cream. Having been there more often now that I'm writing this, I realise that I took for granted then how few people were there that day; we could take photos with almost no people in the background. I heard myself comparing both the bridge and the Opera House to the Eiffel Tower, in the way that they're all more beautiful from a distance than from up close.

I knew I had to start working, but I don't have an RSA (permit to work with food and behind a bar) or anything like that, so I can't get a job in hospitality. Another thing that works against me finding a job, is the fact that I plan to start travelling with my father and brother when they visit me at the end of April. Once you tell your employer that you need a job for just two months, they don't want to go through the trouble of learning you the ropes, so they won't hire you anyway. My roommate Tom was working in sales though (he earns money for bringing people in), so he recommended I tried at his working place. That same day I had my interview, and I had my try-out the next. Unfortunately I made no sales then, nor the next day, and it was just my luck that the job was commission based. Two days and what felt like many hours later, I quit the job. Car mechanic sales is not for me.