Down the Rabbit Hole

No, not Broadway, the theatre district in New York, USA. Rather, Broadway Shopping Centre in Sydney.  This shopping centre was the first one I've visited on this trip. And I kept going back for the ice cream at Royal Copenhagen... Never mind that it's really cold (yes, it's my first winter ever!) and the ice cream was draining my wallet; I wanted ice cream to fight off homesickness.  On this occasion, I happened to visit the mall with fellow students from Prof. Bob Gilbert's research group and his French post-docs, Marion and Patrice. They also happen to be my hosts on this school visit. While they were traveling in Europe, I was tasked to house-sit (I first met their house before I met them). They also had given very clear instructions not to throw out anything off-odoured from the fridge because these were cheeses.  I'm still figuring out how to deal with the cold and with my leaky wallet. Obviously, I can't spend for lunch like this everyday... a...

I wanted to see a bit of Sydney on my first ever visit to the country. On my list of things to see was the Sydney Olympic Park, where the 2000 summer games were played. I can't remember if the Philippines ever placed in that one but still, I wanted to see what an Olympic Park looks like. So I caught a train in Newtown and went to Homebush Bay, which was a few minutes away. When I got to the Olympic Park, I didn't know what I was expecting but I certainly didn't expect it to be seemingly deserted. But then there's the Telstra Stadium. And I haven't been inside one of these stadiums. I just had to go in and check it out. My wallet said it can't afford the cost of a guided tour of the stadium. My brain's telling me that I could live on pizza for another week if I have to but I just had to see what's inside. Curiosity got the PhD student, right? Forest of Poles behind me. The Olympic cauldron, transformed into a fountain. I was ...

I knew Sherry Lou, my classmate in Microbiology courses, has emigrated to Australia some time ago. So when I got back to Marion and Patrice's house in Newtown (an Inner West suburb) after school, I contacted her intending to ask about what I could see in Sydney. Since it was my first day in the city, I was fully expecting a quiet night after eight hours of traveling and then school. Also, it was already dark when I got back from school... I didn't want to venture into a new city at night, without a map, without a plan. However, Sherry Lou said that being new in a city is certainly not an excuse to not see it on my first night. So I just dropped off my school bag and then caught a bus to somewhere in the middle of Sydney, following her instructions. To my surprise, the area where she directed me to meet her and her friend was still bustling with people!      We went to Circular Quay to see the touristy lay of the land.  We saw the Sydney Opera Hou...