Sydney « MarcoMC

February 14, 2012

Australia – 2012 01 01-09 – Sydney, last days

Filed under: Australia 2011,Photography,Traveling — Tags: Australia 2011, Backpacking, Bondi Beach, Coogee Beach, Manly Beach, Sydney — marcomc @ 22:27

The Time is over and my skin is (still) pale.

A Quick Math

few days left +
pale skin +
cold winter waiting for me in London =
BEACH BEACH BEACH!!

Wouldn’t you do the same?

I’ve been spending the most of my time at Coogee Beach, Bondi Beach and Manly Beach… I loved it, I loved it, I loved it!!!!

Hey, sunbathing wasn’t my sole activity: between a beach and another I’ve been meeting with some of my new friends met during this incredible travel. Some of them they came to Sydney for the fireworks as well, that give us the opportunity to spend some quality time together, again.

I’ve been at Bondi Beach with Zita and Christian, I’ve been for a brunch at the Fish Market with Elisa and Stefania, and with Elisa I’ve even been to Taronga Zoo as well, I met again my dear friends Marco and Veronica, just flu from PErth and that will stay in Sydney for the rest of the month; finally I did reencounter with Yoy and Lotte, taking them for the gorgeous “Burger with Lot” at Justine’s “Kiwi Style Fish and Chips”.

Just the night before my departure Justine organised a huge house party with the lot of her family and friends to say good-by to me and to some of them returning to New Zealand after a quick visit to their dears.
That was hell of a BBQ feast!!

Even for this fairytale an end has to come, and that was the day: the 8th of January 2012.

Ready to depart and take the plane back to London, I am taking in my heart a piece of Australia. I will think, I will wonder and soon I’ll have to decide what I really want to do.

Is Australia the right place for me?
Surely I love it a lot, but the question is: did I ‘FALL IN LOVE WITH IT’?

I guess that thinking will be my ‘homework’ for a while once back to my ‘real life’….

P.S.
As soon as I arrived in London I went to my new place where I will spend the rest of the year with Diego and my other new housemates. Diego gifted me with unique and really nice ‘solar powered’ carillon with the shape of a ancient record-player (see the pictures below).

“Last days in Sydney”

From Australia – 20120101-09 – Sydney, last days, posted by Marco Massari Calderone on 2/03/2012 (39 items)

: Coogee beach

: …mentre l’orso piassava..ed urlava… "GELATI"

: Bondi beach

: A ! A ! A ! A..bronzatissimo

: A ! A ! A ! A..bronzatissima

: Quest’anno il mare lo vedi dalla finestra

: Coogee beach 2

: STREETS (ALGIDA, WALLS)

: Octopus

: Lobsters

: Lunch at the Fish Market

: Gone with the Wind

: The Christmas Tree

: Sydney Opera House, view from the ferry boat

: Il JOVA mi fa in baffo!

: MARKET CITY

: Vietnamense

: KOOKAI & Arthur’s Pizza

: Burwood

: Masonic Hall

: Tiramisú pensaci tu!

: Bonnie & Clide

: Home sweet Home

: Hey! Too Young for a drink!

: Lotte and Yoy at the Botanical Garden – Sydney

: A Lot(te) of Yoy (of life)

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February 13, 2012

Australia – 2012 01 04 – Sydney’s Taronga Zoo

Filed under: Australia 2011,Photography,Traveling — Tags: Animals, Australia 2011, Backpacking, Sydney, Taronga Zoo — marcomc @ 23:25

Australia is a wild country, still is not easy to spot wild animals if you stick in the cities.

In facts, so far, I haven’t had the opportunity to meet a Koala, and it’s since I was a child and I was watching the animated series ‘Georgie’, getting attached to his koala ‘Lup’, and not to forget ‘Colby e i suoi piccoli amici’ [Colby and his little friends], I always desired to see one.
That is why, after reincountering with my lovely friend Elisa, it’s been decided to spend a good full day at the Taronga Zoo.

We were a bit sceptic at the beginning, Zoos in Europe can be real crap, then we also have the idea that animals in captivity are suffering creatures.
… believe me, that wasn’t the case, after a very few minutes we both recognised that the place we had landed was a paradise for the wild beasts, where they are loved and respected.

Each species had his own environment perfectly recreated adapting to the natural outlines of the hill where the zoo is located; there’s a lot of space for each creature, almost no cages, of course they were all kept in safe and protected environments usually defined by glasses or nets hidden by trees and bushes.

Tigers, lions, seals, kangaroos, elephants, snow leopards, the firefox, parrots of every kind, giraffes, rhinos, polar bears, spiders, stelth insects, a huge varieties of snakes, dragons, lizards and more and more and more… and indeed the KOALA!!!! we had to stop our tour after six hours because we were literally drained!
I believe we drunk something like 3 litters of water each that day, and still we were thirsty at the end.

Enjoy the pictures, and don’t forget to go to the fantastic Taronga Zoo when you go to Sydney!!

“Visit at the Taronga Zoo in Sydney with Elisa”

From Australia – 20120104 – Sydney’s Taronga Zoo, posted by Marco Massari Calderone on 2/03/2012 (61 items)

: Giraffe

: Orango

: Seal

: Who’s the koala?

: Lazy Firefox

: The Fishing Cat

: BIIIIIIG Golden Fish

: Indian Elephants

: KOD(I)AK BEAR

: Isn’t she a beauty?

: The sleeping beauty Snow Leopard

: Montagne di PILU

: Che fatica

: Meerkat.com

: Happy Hippos

: Kill The piggeon

: View of Sydney from the Taronga Zoo

: Turtle… Sei proprio una testa dura

: Occhi a me….

: See you later Alligator….

: …in a while Crocodile!

: Dragon

: Skippy!

: Kangaroo

: Born to kill

: Emu

: Gremlins are back?

: This is a lizard that as the semblance of a snake.

: Tartarughe Ninja alla riscossa….

: Diamond Python

: Giraffe

: Elisa_and_Me_at_the_Taronga_Zoo_with_a_koala

: Elisa allo Zoo

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Australia – 2011 12 31 – New Year’s Eve in Sydney

Filed under: Australia 2011,Photography,Traveling — Tags: Austr, Austrlaia, Backpacking, Fireworks, Luna PArk, New Year's Eve, NYE, Sydney, Traveling — marcomc @ 22:26

Spending the New Year’s Eve in Sydney is the dream of many, but I may prefer to watch the fireworks on TV.

Once that is said, I have to admit that it has been a big emotion to be in first line watching the most beautiful fireworks in the world just from below, and last but not least I was among the first people in the world to enter the new year (due to the timezone ‘course)!

My friends booked tickets for the Luna Park that faces the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
That gave us the privilege to be in first line for the show with the little drawback that we had to look at them through the ferries-wheel!

There have been two sessions of the fires, there’s obviously the one at 12 a.m., but the first one is at 9 p.m., Justine says they are ‘for the children’ so that they can go to sleep soon, but I believe they are a test to make sure there will be no incidents during the big thing at midnight.

We had time for some rides and some sandwiches and that took me back of 15 years. A forgotten fun.

Hey, that’s not all, for my surprise, after midnight the party continued in the inside of the Luna Park main dancing hall where a big concert was held by some famous Australian artists such Wynter Gordon and The Potbelleez and more of course.. but we didn’t resist much.

This one is for sure a moment I won’t forget!!

Thanks Jus, Vee, Ramona and Nev!!

“New Year’s Eve at Sydney’s Luna Park by the Harbor Bridge”

From Australia – 20111231 – NYE in Sydney, posted by Marco Massari Calderone on 2/01/2012 (41 items)

: Sydney Harbour Bridge

: Palm Beach?

: Opera House (like a postcard)

: Per quest’anno… non cambiare… stessa palma stesso mare…

: Luna Park

: Opera House, view from the the Luna Park

: LIFE JACKET WEAR IT!

: Preparing for NYE

: Luna Park degli orrori(?)

: Waiting for the firwworks

: Fairy Wheel

: Taking off

: Car Crash

: U.F.O.

: Mesmerize

: It’s on fire…

: Electric

: Fountain of youth

: Thunder effect

: Happy New Year 2012

: Obfuscation

: Lasers

: The after party

: Stardust

: Constellation

: Planets and stars

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December 14, 2011

Australia – 2011 12 08-14 – Sydney

Filed under: Australia 2011,Photography,Traveling — Tags: Australia 2011, Backpacking, Lasagne, Sydney, Traveling — marcomc @ 21:45

My first days in Sydney.

After 5 years I finally hugged Justine again. She’s hosting me in Sydney with her lovely cousins Vee and Nev.

The weather has been not, and still is not, ideal, I anyway managed to spend some time at the Manly Beach. Big waves, surfers, lot of wind, I felt like I was in the Point Break movie. Fortunately nor back rubbery has happened O_O

Gorgeous breakfast at the Veteran’s club with Jus and her choir’s friends. That was on Sunday. Just to begin with.

I then met my friend Elia, that has moved to Australia one month ago and is now traveling around working in farms or sleeping in hostels. He now has left to Melbourne countryside, we will meet there again on the 28th.

On 13/12/11 (what a funny date) it was Vee’s birthday.
I cooked for her my ‘classics’: Lasagna and Tiramisù.

Now I left Sydney going towards Brisbane, next stop Newcastle.
I’ll be back to Sydney on the 30th most probably, hoping for a more summer-like weather.

“My first days in Sydney: Just, Vee, Neville and Elia”

From Australia – 20111208-14 – Sydney, posted by Marco Massari Calderone on 12/14/2011 (28 items)