Planes, Trains & Automobiles (ferries, buses & cabs).

Oh yeah, and FEET.

So I've successfully tackled public transportation in Sydney. Since my last post I've taken the train, the ferry and the bus. Its always nerve-wracking figuring out public transportation in a new city so I was fortunate to have a few friends with me on my first ferry ride. Kelly, Suzy and I (gals I know from Google) took the ferry from Pyrmont (where we work) to Circular Quay (pronounced "key" or if you're Australian "KAY") to meet Rebecca (friend who used to work at Google but now works at Universal Music).

Ferry Wharf - 1 minute from work

The city on the other side of the wharf

A lighthouse among the skyscrapers

On the ferry - $3.20 / ride

Sydney Harbour Bridge (with Opera house behind)

We went out for a glass of wine, some appetizers and a great big ice cream cone to round out the night.

Rebecca (who I started at Google with) and Kelly (who I work with now)

My new friend Suzy

I soon found out that cabs are few and far between in Sydney, particularly at night. One cab stand had 20 people in line (wtf?). So we decided to split up - two of us taking the bus to Potts Point and two of us taking the train to Pyrmont & Newtown. Thankfully Rebecca had been in Sydney for 3 weeks longer than I had, so she helped me buy a ticket and find my correct stop. Thanks, Bec!

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Today after waking up and skyping my parents, I went off on my own to shop for a neighborhood! Where do I live in this big town of Sydney? There are so many little neighborhoods. Do I live in the Inner West? Do I live in the Eastern Suburbs? Do I live closer to the office or closer to the beach? Luckily Google set me up with a relocation agent, Gizella, who took me around to some of the suburbs I'd researched. Balmain, Rozelle, Newtown, Glebe and Paddington. I liked them all but decided to explore Balmain, Rozelle and Glebe further today. I took the ferry to Balmain which was just a 5 minute ride at most from my office (2 points for Balmain) and its a BOAT RIDE (2 more points for Balmain).

Super fast ferry ride

In Balmain!

Thank you, Mr. Ferry.

Agreed.

East Balmain, where the ferry drops you off, is really pretty.

In order to get up to the main shopping area, Darling Street (love the name), you have to walk a few blocks. One of my criteria is accessibility to shops for groceries, pharmacy, gifts, etc. The main thoroughfare was about 15 minutes away from the ferry and loaded with vintage shops (2 points), antiques (3 points), pubs (1 point), clothing & gift shops (3 points), coffee shops (1 point) and people (1 point). So many things to do and see. I like it here!

Balmain with the city as the backdrop

Cute little hand-painted bench

Ciao Thyme (CHOW TIME) - clever

Girls are birds, pretty bird.

Little church

Australians love Thai food (that one's for you, Ginger)

Old buildings converted into storefronts

My new band name, the Pop Tarts, love it.

Mental note - go back to Penelopequizze for antique shopping

He's telling her I'm taking her picture, which I am.

Now I'm in Rozelle (sister town to Balmain). Rozelle's public school is having a street fair with lots of cute vintage things! 10 points!

Love the cute streets

The bank I joined in Pyrmont near my office - there's a branch here too. 3 points!

They like Jesus! 2 points!

Grocery store (familiar?)

Fruit & veg

Court house

Book store

There are even knitters in Australia

And gypsies

And public school musicals

And firemen. 10 points!

They have arts festivals - 20 points!

They have men! Points.

I agree!

Cute park in the center of Balmain where I could walk Rose = 50 points!

Whew! Its about 91 degrees and I'm pooped. I'll stop for a sandwich in one of the open-air cafes.

San Francisco dinner club on the menu

After falling in love with Balmain and Rozelle, I thought I'd give a cursory look at Glebe. I just loved Balmain so much. Why look anywhere else? But I heard Glebe was pretty pet friendly, so I thought I'd give it a shot. I decided to take a bus (my LEAST favorite form of public transportation). I asked the girl sitting next to me at the bus stop, "Do you know which bus will take me to Glebe?" She told me I should take the 422 bus. She was so friendly, so nice, so....knowledgeable. She got on the 425 bus and told me to wait for the next bus.

I did. The bus came. I got on and asked, "Does this bus take me to Glebe?" He said, "No, take the 425 bus." DAMN IT. That was the bus she got on! I sat back down and waited. Another bus came and I said, "Does this bus take me to Glebe?". He said, "No, take the 433 bus." Shit. That's NOT THE SAME BUS the other bus driver told me to take! I decided to get on the next bus no matter what. It was the 433 bus and it happened to be the right bus - finally! This is why I HATE THE BUS. So confusing! However, I was soon to find out that Sydney's buses are air conditioned, clean and not crowded. I may now be a fan of the bus.

The bus stop

The first thing I saw in Glebe was Pets on the Point! A dog grooming shop and boutique on Glebe Point Road.

Yay! They like pets in Glebe!

They had some cute toys. Some grunted though (Rose hates toys that grunt). The owner said grooming for Rose would be about $80. HOLY SHIT. Well, I'm really glad I bought clippers before I left. I had planned to start grooming Rose myself to save money and spare her the terror of the groomers. $80 a month for dog grooming is not in my budget! Glad I planned ahead! They do have raw food (which is the new "trendy" think in dog ownership). They had kangaroo meat too but I was too shocked to take a picture.

Sounds appetizing. Rose likes barf, so we're good.

Well, here's Glebe. Its pretty amazing too.

Beautiful 19th century homes still in tact

And renovated

Pretty "character homes" as they call them

Cute cottages

This says: "Get your hooter on Lengs & Cooter". I guess hooter means your mouth? This is a Bottle Shop (similar to ABC store) where people have to buy their alcohol.

Pretty pretty

Pretty terrace houses & ugly cars

Kelly & her gang

Nanna Bingo looks like a winner

Amazing streets with shops galore!

More produce - Australians love their fresh produce (which is good coming from California)!

An announcement for an off-leash dog park!!!!! 100 points!

Christmas decor

Main street in Glebe with Sydney in the background

Another outdoor festival! Points, points and more points!

A vet!

Um, I believe they do.

And then... I came upon a mecca for dogs. A huge park right by Glebe with a lake, a pool and tons of space for Rose to run around.

The pool w/ picnicking boys

A pond

A family by the pond

Well, its a hard decision but due to the dog-friendly nature of Glebe (in addition to its lower housing prices and proximity to work) Glebe may have won over Balmain. Its a tough choice, but luckily they're very close to one another by the bus (my new friend). Now I just have to pray there's a house for rent that 1.) i love 2.) i can afford. Pray for me.

On my way home, I got lost trying to find my temporary apartment in Pyrmont. I didn't have a regular map (I have ordered a laminated accordion-style Sydney Streetwise map online b/c their maps are crap here). Unfortunately Google Maps on my iPhone stopped working when I left Glebe. Oh, technology. I ended up in the city, then in Ultimo and then Chinatown where they had signs like this one:

Not good

And buildings like this one...

There were no cabs and no one could tell me where Pyrmont was (including the guy in the 7-11 whose job is to GIVE ME DIRECTIONS). As a consolation, I found a little shop selling meat pies. Since my love affair with meat pies began 5 days ago, I've been anticipating my next pie. I got the Cadillac Veggie pie which was was described as a Veg Pie with Mash and Mushed Peas. But damn it looked good. And it was. Well worth getting lost for.

Mmmmmmm-mushed peas

I finally flagged a cab and stumbled into my air-conditioned room, changed out of my sticky clothes, took a cold shower and put on my PJ's. My feet really hurt.