A day of wonder, wander and lostness!

So I'll start from the very beginning!
I woke up.
Then I skyped my daddy for a little while. At around 11 am, I walked into the little shopping lanes in Lane Cove to post my letters. Then I caught the bus into the city. I almost got lost finding the Virgin shop again and they told me that I did have the simple plan even though the guy who sold it to me yesterday told me I had the cap plan...so that was weird. So no yelling required after all. So I decided I was going to walk around to see that little park Margaret had showed me yesterday. I found that quite easily, so I wandered around there which was absolutely gorgeous. This place is called Hyde Park. In this park, there's the Anzac Memorial which I had a good look at which was actually really really interesting!

Quite enjoyable. Then, I wandered around the other end of the park towards a large fountain to which led me to St. Mary's Cathedral.

 When I went inside, I was a little worried I wasn't supposed to be there because the organ was playing and everything, so I left quietly after looking around a little bit. Very beautiful church.

I then decided that I should head towards the Royal Botanical Gardens. I pulled out my map and walked around to try and find myself, and I stopped while I decided to head one way...then a lady came up to me and asked if I needed help. So I said 'yes please! I'm trying to find the Botanical Gardens.' She pointed me in the opposite direction in which I had decided to go and told me very precise straight-forward directions which led me there no problem!
Once I arrived in the Botanical Gardens, my walk slowed considerably as my feet were beginning to ache.

The plants and trees were incredible and I went all the way to the tip of the Gardens to a place called Ms MacQuaries Point and it had spectacular views of the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge!

I then walked back to the Garden Cafe for a muffin and mocha for lunch. It is quite a considerable distance the whole way I walked!!

 The picture below: The tree on the left actually gave off a blueish hue and looks fuzzy!!

So after my break, I continued along the waterfront and went up the steps to the Sydney Opera House, which is absolutely stunning close up, which gave me also a fantastic view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

I then walked along the waterfront between the Opera House and Circular Quay which is the ferry/bus and train terminal.

 Where I saw people singing, and some aboriginal music and dance, the classic artists and the cute overpriced tourist shops. I walked along the front to The Rocks and went up to the visitors centre. Along the way there was a little market which was cute and there was a stand there that sold chocolate...but I stopped myself.

So I didn't actually go to the visitors centre- it's just a checkpoint really before a cute little shop that I buy my postcards at. So I bought more postcards and I then saw the time: 3:20. And so I thought I should be starting to head home.
So I returned back to the Circular Quay and stopped in at a information desk to ask about how I catch a bus that goes to Lane Cove. This guy told me to go up to MacQuaries Place just up the road and there are buses stopped along there. So I went okay, and I trudged up there only to find that none of those buses had the number I want. I asked a lady if she could help and she didn't know. Then my phone came in handy and I called Laurie and Margaret for help. Margaret told me to take the train to Town Hall, and then you'll find the QVB and the buses will be right along there. So I did as I was told and returned to Circular Quay and bought a 3.50 one way train ticket. It was fun and totally embarrassing using those ticket slot things because they come out and I thought once you entered that was it, so the guard there had to yell at me "TAKE YOUR TICKET!' so I had to go back and get it. He pointed me to Platform 1 where I waited 10 minutes for the train. The train was easy and getting off was easy too. Town Hall led me to an underground shopping centre..so I followed the signs to the bus stations and then all of a sudden the signs stopped!! So I thought, okay, I need to see the sky now so I can try and find my way, so I took the stairs and I ended up being right at the QVB so that was good! I saw a ton of buses stopped on one side of the street and so I walked up and down there looking for a sign that said C because that's the one I needed and I could see the letter E standing there, so I thought C couldn't be far away. So I wandered the street and I couldn't find any other letter so I stopped to ask a person at a street stand. She had no idea and it was now getting late, it was around 4:50 pm now and getting dark. So I walked back down the street and I found 2 security guards standing about, so I decided okay I'm going to ask them. Good decision! They were very nice and kind, and one of them had the perfect app on his phone to tell you where the bus stops are located! So it was very very nice and easy and he gave me the perfect directions and I found station A and B and D. NO WAY, I though. C must be around here somewhere! And sure enough, I walked back a little and I found C. I waited 15 minutes for the bus and it was easy getting on.
One thing I've noticed which is really different from Calgary is the people that line up for buses. They don't just stand in crowds like Canadians do, they line up straight alongside the street. No one is standing behind the other, they are all next to each other in a straight line. I thought this very funny. But I couldn't take a picture because I was on the bus. SO I then arrived at my stop at 5:30, and arrived at home at 5:45. Spoke to Laurie and Margaret about my day and they marked out the maps so I won't get lost so much. I showed them my photos and we had a delicious dinner. Talking about movies- and it's great Margaret and I both love period dramas!! Like EMMA!! WOOT!
Honestly though, my feet are really tired and sore. So is my butt and hips. My left knee (the one that's weak) is aching too. I walked too hard. :(

So on the agenda for tomorrow, is a relaxing day. I'm going out for breakfast with Margaret to write in a cafe while she reads the paper. Then in the afternoon, we might go to a market because it's saturday.  So nice and relaxing!!

So here is a picture of a tree I saw in the Botanical Gardens, and I thought 'Oh, how cute it actually has birds in them." But when I showed Laurie and Margaret at home, they told me they were actually bats! So I've seen BATS!