With my time in Oz quickly coming to an end and my bank account being very empty, I have resorted to strictly cheap/free means of entertaining myself. I just spent a very extended weekend in Sydney because I had no reason not to, including lots of cheap/free things, like wandering through Hyde Park and the Royal Botanic Gardens. We took a trip to Paddy's Markets in Chinatown, where I bought a cheap messenger bag and generally enjoyed walking around and looking at what the shops had to offer.
Actually, there was a lot of general wandering since that tends to be a very free thing to do, and when you're wandering with a friend, it's a great was to pass time while still enjoying being in Australia. Not that sitting around and watching movies is not a great free thing to do, too. There has been a LOT of that, these days. Another way to have memorable experiences is to miss your bus back home by just a couple minutes, with the next bus being four and a half hours later, although that does not come highly recommended. I happened to manage such a feat, but since I really have nothing going on, it wasn't tragic, but just meant I got to wander a bit more.
Anyway, I got back (late-ish) Tuesday night, then Wednesday night was State of Origin, a National Rugby League game of Superbowl magnitude to League fans. Rugby League is mostly followed by people in Queensland and New South Wales, so State of Origin is a three-game series where the two states face off, last night begin the first match. Then, to make it a true Australian experience, we had steaks and sausages grilling for dinner.
I'm not the biggest sports enthusiast as it is, so my friends were obviously more excited about it that I was, but I did watch a lot of the game, and appreciated it. I think I like rugby a bit more than American football-- the action is constant, none of the start and stop nonsense that usually makes me loose interest after the first quarter. It was a fun evening with good friends :)
Actually, there was a lot of general wandering since that tends to be a very free thing to do, and when you're wandering with a friend, it's a great was to pass time while still enjoying being in Australia. Not that sitting around and watching movies is not a great free thing to do, too. There has been a LOT of that, these days. Another way to have memorable experiences is to miss your bus back home by just a couple minutes, with the next bus being four and a half hours later, although that does not come highly recommended. I happened to manage such a feat, but since I really have nothing going on, it wasn't tragic, but just meant I got to wander a bit more.
Anyway, I got back (late-ish) Tuesday night, then Wednesday night was State of Origin, a National Rugby League game of Superbowl magnitude to League fans. Rugby League is mostly followed by people in Queensland and New South Wales, so State of Origin is a three-game series where the two states face off, last night begin the first match. Then, to make it a true Australian experience, we had steaks and sausages grilling for dinner.
I'm not the biggest sports enthusiast as it is, so my friends were obviously more excited about it that I was, but I did watch a lot of the game, and appreciated it. I think I like rugby a bit more than American football-- the action is constant, none of the start and stop nonsense that usually makes me loose interest after the first quarter. It was a fun evening with good friends :)
Funny how you talk about "cheap" ways of entertaining yourself...and they include SYDNEY!! haha! Remember back home? A cheap night out meant going to Oldham or something like that.
ReplyDeleteLucky ducky and your cheap adventures being in Autstralia. ;)