Through rose-coloured lenses

Anzac Bridge from Glebe Point Road

2006-08-11T05:33:00.000+10:00

Took this on my way to the Sydney Fish Markets. It was a glorious winter morning! :)

Airport Art

2006-06-21T16:25:00.000+10:00

This is part of the artpiece that greets you at the Sydney International Airport terminal. Nothing like a warm "welcome to Australia!".

A touch of France

2006-06-07T18:33:00.000+10:00

Well, a little commercial, yes, but there are places where you can get a touch of France outside France - although the Delifrance chains may not serve up completely authentic french pastries, sometimes it is close enough (and cheap!). Since taking this photo, however, I noticed that it is no longer there, but has been replaced by a similar cafe called "De la France". Perhaps a more authentic place? For those wondering, Delifrance *could* be found on the corner of George St and Goulburn St in the Sydney CBD.

Gourmandise anyone?

2006-05-17T17:55:00.000+10:00

I thought the colours in the cakeshop window were very attractive! If you want to see it for yourself (or try it?), it's at the Rocks, on George St, on the way to the markets from Circular Quay train station.

Peanuts at the Rocks

2006-05-08T17:45:00.000+10:00

Every weekend, a section of the main road in Sydney's famous suburb 'The Rocks' gets closed off to vehicles and little market stalls get set up. It's a fabulous location, right next to Circular Quay that houses two famous Sydney landmarks: the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. It's nice to have a stroll through the markets. They aren't very big, but there are a lot of different types of stalls, and even if you're not into buying souvenirs, very few can resist the smell of hot roasted caramelised peanuts (which is what they're cooking on the front plan of this photo). Mmmmm!

Anzac Day

2006-04-25T22:26:00.000+10:00

ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. It marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War. This mural was painted in commemoration of Anzac Day and can be found at non other than Sydney's famous Bondi Beach.

Announcement

2006-04-10T17:28:00.000+10:00

Some good news: I will very shortly be acquiring my very own digital camera. Yay! (3 cheers for me). So now, if any of you haven't given up on this site and still visit, there will soon be life at the good ol' Lunettes Roses. Come back and check in from time to time:)

Sydney Skyline

2006-01-17T23:51:00.000+11:00

You might just be able to make out Sydney Centrepoint Tower (to the right, behind those tree branches), one of the most recognisable landmarks of the city. The tower was built to withstand high speed winds up to 172 km/hr, and stands 304 m tall. Of course, from this angle, it doesn't look that impressive, but the view from the top is quite breathtaking, expanding seemingly forever in all directions! There's a revolving restaurant at the top, so you get to see the whole 360 degree view over dinner. One of these days, I will snap a shot of the tower from another angle (closer this time).

PS: This one's for you Eric!

Laughing jackasses

2006-01-11T00:57:00.000+11:00

Since we're on the subject of birds, here's a very Australian bird: the kookaburra. The first time I heard a kookaburra, I thought it sounded like a laughing chimpanzee! If you want, you can hear it for yourself at this website.

Thanks to my little brother for the photo!

Fish markets

2005-12-04T01:43:00.000+11:00

The Sydney Fish Market is home to many birds that hang around in packs hoping to acquire some food, mainly from patrons that are stupid enough to eat their seafood lunches on the outdoor tables (i.e. me!). Most notorious are the seagulls: while one distracts you on one side, another swoops in and steals all your sashimi in one beak-full! Pictured here, however, is the much larger pelican (can you spot all 5?) - don't wanna fight with that one!

Pearl Beach

2005-11-28T23:26:00.000+11:00

My new home...

2005-09-24T21:20:00.000+10:00

Not a particularly great or fancy picture, but one which explains my absence from the blogging scene... This is where I've been spending all my time (except for sleeping), putting together my chemistry honours thesis... Presenting: the heritage-listed facade (what were they thinking??) of the School of Chemistry building at the University of Sydney. Haha:)

A different view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge

2005-09-01T23:51:00.000+10:00

Even I had problems trying to figure out which way was up and which way was down!

Main Quadrangle

2005-08-30T23:02:00.000+10:00

Another picture from Sydney University. Bye bye winter!

Another Tasmanian Sunrise

2005-08-28T21:20:00.000+10:00

I haven't been feeling in top form the past few days - it feels like the weight of the world has come crashing down on my shoulders. But I like this photo, kinda makes me feel better, as much as photos are able to do that...

Giant bonzaii

2005-08-25T23:09:00.000+10:00

On Broadway!

2005-08-23T22:55:00.000+10:00

Sydney's very own Broadway has nothing to do with musical theatre! Rather, you'll find the term is synonymous with shopping (mainly groceries), movies and 3 hours free parking (which is very rare is Sydney)! The building that the shopping centre now occupies used to belong to Grace Brothers, and you may be able to distinguish the name near the top of the building. There's a nice, short little blurb about it here.

If you visit Eric's blog, there's a photo of the Hotel de France which is being restored into new housing blocks, all while keeping the original facade of the Hotel. This was also the fate of the Grace Bros building when it was 'internally' transformed into The Broadway Shopping Centre!

Not graffiti

2005-08-20T13:57:00.000+10:00

It seems some residents around the Blackwattle Bay area wanted so badly to have uninterrupted views of the water and the Sydney city skyline that they resorted to poisoning about 20 trees in order to get it! Since then, the Council has erected huge signs like this one, trying to deal with the matter. You can read more about it here.

The remaining Apostles

2005-08-18T18:56:00.000+10:00

Not exactly a Sydney picture, I know, but how could I not show you my very own picture of the Twelve Apostles? Well, actually, when I took this shot, there were still 9 Apostles standing tall (not all visible in this shot). And recently, one of them collapsed, leaving only 8 behind! The photo is a little blur because, believe it or not, it was raining! That annoying, sharp, strong kind of drizzle, with lots of wind. Lucky for me, the sun decided to peak out of the clouds long enough for me to take the shot.

Oh yes, I forgot to mention that the Apostles are found on the coast of Victoria, a state in the south-east corner of Australia. The whole coast offers beautiful site after beautiful site, and attracts lost of tourists from everywhere. The coastal road that brings you to all these wonders is called the Great Ocean Road, and if ever you come to Australia and you have time for a leisurely drive, I definitely recommended it!

Sidere mens eadem mutato

2005-08-17T19:26:00.000+10:00

That's latin for "The stars change, [but] the mind [remains] the same". I've been studying at The University of Sydney for 5 years and I've only just found out what our motto means!

The University of Sydney is the oldest university in Australia (established in 1850), and one of the first buildings to be built when the university moved to its present location was the Quadrangle building (part of which is pictured here). It was designed by Edmund Blacket and completed in 1862. It's a beautiful sandstone building, and it provides quite a grand atmosphere to the whole university - its 'central feature', if you will. There will be more photos in the future, so I can show you what I mean:)

Sydney's Italian suburb

2005-08-15T23:54:00.000+10:00

Water seems to feature a lot in my photos - and no doubt there will be more! But as a change, I thought I'd show you a little part of Leichhardt - Sydney's very own little Italy! The Italian Forum is a very popular venue on the weekends: it's got a whole selection of Italian restaurants, from the relatively affordable, all the way to the more high class dining experience. The forum itself has a great European feel to it, with outdoor dining, fountain, and European-style architecture, and of course, great food!

Tasmanian Sunrise

2005-08-13T16:20:00.000+10:00

This photo was taken in Tasmania along the Tamar Valley. It may not be obvious, but the water is only ankle deep! If you've never been to Tasmania, it's definitely a great experience: the air is so pure, and the scenery is breath-taking! I just couldn't stop clicking away at the camera...

Sunset on the water

2005-08-12T16:49:00.000+10:00

This photo was taken from Leichhardt Park (2 minutes' walk from where I live), which is wrapped around the Sydney Harbour National Park. Many people go running or walking around the water's edge, mostly exercise enthusiasts though, because one whole round is about 7.3 km, and involves crossing the Iron Cove Bridge. I'm not much of a runner, so it was a very long walk for me! Luckily the camera was there to keep me occupied!

Sculpture by the sea

2005-08-11T19:38:00.000+10:00

Each spring for the past nine years, there has been an outdoor exhibition of modern sculptures going from Bondi beach all the way to Tamarama beach (part of the coastal suburbs of Sydney). I'm not sure how long the walk actually is because I haven't walked the whole of the exhibition before! Always seem to be side-tracked by the many interesting sculptures, like this one (from last year's exhibition) of an elephant made of old TVs and other appliances! You can read more about Sculpture by the Sea here.
As you can see by the way people are dressed, it usually gets pretty hot in Sydney at that time of the year (November). This is in stark contrast to the weather we've been having for the past few days...
Photo courtesy of my good friend Cassie=)