While I was living in Melbourne (perhaps because this city bored me), I I booked a flight with Sydney-Geelong Jetstar.com in bargain at 40 € a / r (the route at the time did not exist with Tigerairways eramo tickets and much more expensive, is now € 40 standard rate). The trip is around 1:30 a.m., but obviously we have to add the shift from Melbourne to Geelong (Avalon) which costs € 20 round trip (not so much if you think that going directly to Melbourne airport costs 18 € a / r. The bus departs from Southern Cross Station and there is at each flight Qantas and Jetstar.
here is some links:
www.sydney.visitorsbureau.com.au
http://www.tourism.nsw.gov.au
http://www.citysearch.com.au
https: / / ~ www.pixeltech.com.au/ sitacoach / avalon / index.shtml
SYDNEY
The flight ok, slightly late for both the outward and return. From the Sydney there are two ways to get to the center: train or bus. We opt for the train just right that our hostel is close to Central Station and is perhaps the most expensive because we paid about € 8 and the bus costs € 6.5 (there are also some small bus to the hand but the price is always $ 12). We book through Hostelbookers
(which is my favorite) two nights in Maze Backpackers 417 Pitt Street , being a Saturday and Sunday was the cheapest hostel and € 8 in the dorm there caviamo.L ' hostel is quite large and central, but the rooms were very dirty, I do not know why but many people live in the hostel in Australia and over time the smell in the room knows more and grass (well the smell that you feel as you cut the grass in the garden). Start our tour of Sydney that seems much more capital than all other Australian cities, big buildings everywhere, great roads and a lot of people concentrated in the center (unlike Melbourne), now we see a lot of Asian people.
Let's see ' Opera House to get there safely 15min walk from our hostel (the road is straightened heheh), the view from the harbor is spectacular, the bridge and OperaH they are the masters, lots of people to take photos. A bit saturated by seeing these two great "monuments" to go relax in a nearby garden Botanical (huge), fly safely within papagallini of all colors, species of rare plants, cactus, and for the first time I see the bats sleep in trees ... I thought that the day they hide from the sun and on the other hand are appenzolati branches without leaves a little to get a tan ... 8) Here
although winter temperatures are relatively high, around 20 ° day and 10 ° at night, turns easily in short sleeves and jacket at night to eat instead we rely on the usual McDonalds and canopies that with 3 different € will be a whole menu.
Besides this, the city offers museums (some paid) but not very interesting (my opinion), not inside the Opera House I was impressed, perhaps more interesting is outside, the cathedral is very nice to see but inside is pretty bare, the various Harbour are nice to take a walk in the sun but at some point I realize that this city does not is so extraordinary as it seems (I miss Europe u #-o).
In the evening we see instead that the city offers the best Australian nightlife, many bars and several nightclubs while the Sunday night we say it is a bit dead ...
CANBERRA
On Monday afternoon, we salute the smell of our hostel and go to the Central Station where there is also the Greyhound bus station where there will be our bus to go to Canberra (the capital) in 3:20 a.m., the ticket I bought it a month before the site http://www.greyhound.com deals at 18 € a / r. The trip was ok, took us to the bus station in Canberra. The capital city known for its bad weather (hot summers and cold winters ... but I say in Australia go to -2 ° below zero is rare because all cities are on the coast and is in Canberra) is quite small and seems more like a capital of Eastern Europe, open spaces and few people ... the heart is as big as a village of Italian 20.000ab, is deserted at night, few places, the city was built to focus all the political and administrative sector in a less chaotic than Sydney and Melbourne. few hostels, booking to in Canberra City YHA 7 Akuna Street , about € 13 per night in the dorm, the rest would cost at least double. The hostel is very clean and also has 2 large bar and kitchen. Finally, the center we see the first signs winter, snowflakes hanging from the trees and the light that lit up the branches eheheh (just a little reminder that it's winter). The city is somewhat divided into two district, Central, say where is the center and the shops, bars etc ... and the district parliament. Just right for the city is not overly great walk and we all turn up to parliament walking for about an hour, in fact, the distances are great, the parliament is a bit like the Royal Palace of Caserta, you see but never get to your destination is a circular shape and all 'exterior is a very nice lake with a lot of nature, filled with giant pink papagallini.
I do not know why but even if the city does not have much to offer, I liked it, plenty of room and good but essential to modern architecture, large gardens and then get to the old parliament (all white) use as a museum, another museum of science and technology (a bit like that of Valencia), and the new Parliament, the outside is very simple but beautiful, inside quite empty .. there were celebrations of the new graduates and we have enjoyed the party. Once out of the parliament, there is exactly opposite the war memorial, is the opposite but as always these are 2 km be done on foot with a lot of bridge and pond to be done. This is perhaps the most interesting monument of the city , (a bit like the Melbourne Remebrance), of monumental character, to remember the Australians killed in various wars.
For the rest of the city and stripped of everything and spend more than a day here is a serious mistake.
Surprise Sydney
The next day we take the bus to Sydney to spend another day and a half before returning to Melbourne. Since the city is fantastic and the beaches in winter become a little too cold we decided to relax and visit the Chinese quarter, always crowded and full of negozzietti so cheap, ride on Darling Harbour and finally we discover that Sydney has a red district (which in Australia does not exist anywhere else) and then go curious, exactly where to book our hostel (outside King's Cross station), the hostel cheaply € 4 per night for dormitory ( Cooee Backpackers ) is perhaps a place for refugees, run by the Chinese our hostel was very dirty bed line were not washed and were more yellow and full of hair and trace of blood everywhere ... but of course a bed is a bed and sleep anyway hehehe. The neighborhood is pretty shady, Australia is normally very safe but here was a bit like being in the back streets of La Rambla, many prostitutes (I've seen on this continent), many drug addicts and people scream and fight, old men who follow women, in short fun but not spend the night.
The next day we take a bus just outside our hostel which took us an hour to the airport where we waited for our check in for Jetstar to return to our cold and windy city.
