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I spent most of yesterday touring around a part of Sydney known as "The Rocks."Funny name, you say? Well, they call it The Rocks because it is . . . rocky. How bizarre, no?
The Rocks is the site of the first permanent European settlement in Australia. It's where shiploads of convicts banished from England set up shop. It is from this area that Sydney grew and expanded. This is nothing short of remarkable if you stand on Sydney's Harbour Bridge and look at the sheer size and beauty of the city today (population 4 million). See picture below:
I find The Rocks very quaint and intriguing. It is as though you've stepped back in time 150 years to a small village. Heck, you could be in England for all the Victorian architecture, pubs, and fish 'n chips shops. It is only Sydney's palm trees (and remarkably sunny weather) that gives things away.
After climbing part way over the harbour bridge for photos, I set back about The Rocks for a stroll. This is when I noticed a fenced-off area that looked like an archeological dig. Lo and behold, it was an archeological dig. None other than the site of the very first European settlement, started in the 1790s. To my amazement, there were posters announcing a special day of tours on the site for the general public. And it was today!
I hurried over to the other side of the fence and managed to get a spot with a tour group that was just leaving. This was the first time in eight years that the site was open to the public.
While it was the hottest part of the day and a bit exhausting to stand out in the sun, the tour was possibly the most interesting 3o minutes I've had in Sydney. . . yet. There I was standing on the spot where modern Australia literally began. Remnants of the settlers' houses, water wells, and cobbled lanes were beneath our feet. Here's an example:
Most of the site was excavated years ago and something like 150,000 (?) artifacts were dug up. These can be seen in a nearby museum in The Rocks, a place I must check out another day.
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On another note: I had the job interview today. It was such an easy interview. No tough questions, it was over quickly and the editor was fairly nice. She told me she'd prefer to hire someone who could work for her for longer than six months (not a surprise to me) but that she may have casual work/vacation relief in the coming months. It's like she read my mind!
Right now I'm trying to decide if I want to stay in Sydney much longer or head off to other parts. Sydney is so expensive that I really can't stay here for too much longer without working (maybe a couple of weeks).
There was a woman from a recruitment agency at my hostel when I got back from the interview. She asked me to send her a resume. She said they may have office/marketing work. I sent her an email tonight so let's see what comes. Could handle doing something for a couple of weeks before leaving Sydney.
I might take off this weekend to the Blue Mountains, a range close to Sydney that (supposedly) is full of great hiking, wildlife, waterfalls, etc. Sounds like a good time to me!
It's very early on Monday morning for those of you in North America (11 p.m. Monday night for me). Time for me to hit the bed and you to get up out of it. Have a super-duper week.
One more pic for fun (a beach towel I picked up the other day):
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