Sunday 18th August 2019 - Sydney Cherry Blossom Festival @ Auburn Botanical Gardens

Auburn ? Where is Auburn? Being Asian you would think by now I would have ventured out to this Western suburb where there is a very large Asian population beyond Chatswood but I haven't.

Auburn is not even as far as Parramatta yet I have travelled out to Parramatta on countless occasions.

I wasn't feeling well this morning ( really bad allergies) and was trying to decide which event to see or do today. I weeded out at least 3  - the Goat Island Tour ( Bookings available most Sundays throughout the year),  Loftus Tram Museum ( although I would have loved to have gone on the opening day of the restored National Park Line I decided not to go due to trackwork on the Illawarra Line Southbound) and Free Entry Weekend Into The Powerhouse Museum ( I been on countless occasions previously and it is still open until mid 2020 therefore can visit another time).

The Sydney Cherry Blossom Festival is an annual festival held at Auburn Botanical Gardens. This year it is a 2 week festival open between 17th & 25th August 2019 with different activities each day during the festival.

When I arrived at Auburn Station ( fortunately a direct train from Chatswood)  my first stop was a toliet stop. There was a queue as there are only 3 unisex toliets at Auburn Station. Then I joined the growing queue for the free shuttle bus to the cherry blossom festival which is approximately a 15 minute shuttle bus ride. It was a great time to arrive around 1.30 pm in the afternoon at Auburn Botanical Gardens but where were all the cherry blossoms? There was great signage to the free shuttle bus stop at Auburn Station and lots of event staff with fluro pink vests on hand to answer any questions and give directions around Auburn Station about the cherry blossom festival.

Coach after coach and bus  after bus was full. Waiting in the queue I had time to purchase my ticket online so I would not have to queue up when I arrived to purchase a ticket and pay the $2.50 additional booking fee (entry fee for non residents of Auburn was $12.00 for adults, free entry for local residents) I only had 1 glitch I did not get my eticket by email until a few minutes after I arrived at Auburn Botanical Gardens.

Once inside I had no idea where to start as there were no maps given out. Maps were on signs around the gardens.

There were heaps of pop up food and drink huts and food and drink trucks with limited seating. Most people bought a picnic rug and/or their own food and drink. There was plenty of  space around the gardens to sit and relax. It was a beautiful warm day - perfect for a walk around the gardens.
I skipped this section and returned at the end of my visit around 4 pm when I was really hungry. Good decision as everything was a little expensive - by waiting I managed to find a bargain near Gudetama The Lazy Egg a $5 combo dish consisting of 1 calamari ring 1 fish stick some chicken on a bed of stir fried noodles with cabbage. Just yum. I ate it waiting in the queue for the free shuttle bus back to Auburn Station.

Reflection Pool a great place to sit and relax with aa picnic or bite to eat from the large variety of food/drink trucks & stalls

There were more peacocks around Auburn Botanical Gardens then there were cherry blossoms!

There were more animals around the gardens then cherry blossoms! Geese Kangaroos Wallabies Emus just to name a few

Koi,  duck, swans and other bird life were all abundant around the garden ponds.

Japanese gardens complete with topiary, bridges, arches, stepping stones , stone walls, pebble paths, water features, oriental music and pagolas ; zen gardens complete origami workshops, mediation and relaxation music and forest bathing; Australiasn native gardens just to name a few - there were more gardens to walk around then cherry blossoms around the Auburn Botanical Gardens

Rating : 7/10 very disappointed as there was more fauna and food around the gardens then cherry blossom trees. Was it not quite cherry blossom season yet? It was a bit of a walk and very long queues to see the dozen or so cherry blossom trees that were actually in bloom around the gardens. I probably saw 1 peacock to 1 cherry blossom tree in the gardens and there were heaps of bees around pollinating the cherry blossoms - they didn't care much for the hundreds of thousands of people that were in the gardens.

Look a cherry blossom or two complete with one of the many bees buzzing around - not interested in humans but just getting on with their job of pollination.

There were more people then cherry blossoms - were we there to look at the gardens or spot the cherry blossom?

Just for the kids Hello Kitty & Gudetama The Lazy Egg- Gudetama who?

Tuesday 20th August 2019 - Attended Ramon's Jazz Workout class again at SDC's Ultimo Studios between 12.30 pm and 1.30 pm. My 3rd weekly class - still training for the annual Blackmores 10 km Bridge Run in September