#2: First day down under!
6.17.2018
At a little past 6 a.m. on Sunday the 17th, we finally made it to Sydney! Very exhausted and quite cold (it was only 40 something degrees!), we drove to our hotel, quickly freshened up, and headed out for a day of exploring right away to avoid jet lag.
We started off by doing the most touristy things possible in any big city- the big, red, hop-on and hop-off buses around Sydney. Our first stop was at Wild Life Sydney Zoo (if you know me, you know I love a zoo) and went straight to the koalas and kangaroos. Even though I had seen kangaroos many times before at Brevard Zoo, it was totally different seeing them in Australia with it actually being their real home. It was also my first time seeing a koala in person! After this, we grabbed a nice lunch along the King St Wharf and then hopped onto a gorgeous harbor cruise, which gave us our first glimpse of the Sydney Opera House! It is incredibly beautiful in person and we had awesome weather for photos, even if it was a bit windy (actually, it was so windy that I could barely keep my hair under control). The cruise ended near The Rocks where we were able to catch the end of the Night Markets before heading back to the hotel. For dinner, we met our neighbor’s son and daughter-in-law, John and Lorraine, who actually live in Sydney and they took us to a delicious Asian restaurant in Barangaroo along the wharf. We shared some fun stories and laughs getting to know each other and it was the perfect way to end our first day!
p.s. My favorite wacky Aussie city name so far is Woolloomooloo (sounds exactly like it’s spelled)
We started off by doing the most touristy things possible in any big city- the big, red, hop-on and hop-off buses around Sydney. Our first stop was at Wild Life Sydney Zoo (if you know me, you know I love a zoo) and went straight to the koalas and kangaroos. Even though I had seen kangaroos many times before at Brevard Zoo, it was totally different seeing them in Australia with it actually being their real home. It was also my first time seeing a koala in person! After this, we grabbed a nice lunch along the King St Wharf and then hopped onto a gorgeous harbor cruise, which gave us our first glimpse of the Sydney Opera House! It is incredibly beautiful in person and we had awesome weather for photos, even if it was a bit windy (actually, it was so windy that I could barely keep my hair under control). The cruise ended near The Rocks where we were able to catch the end of the Night Markets before heading back to the hotel. For dinner, we met our neighbor’s son and daughter-in-law, John and Lorraine, who actually live in Sydney and they took us to a delicious Asian restaurant in Barangaroo along the wharf. We shared some fun stories and laughs getting to know each other and it was the perfect way to end our first day!
p.s. My favorite wacky Aussie city name so far is Woolloomooloo (sounds exactly like it’s spelled)
Actually freezing to death
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#3: Sydney day two!
6.18.2018
Our second day out and about in Sydney started off with a trip to the aquarium where I learned that Australia has an animal called a dugong that looks almost exactly like a manatee! We also took pictures with some quite photogenic penguins! Next, we headed to the Maritime Museum across the water where we explored some Navy war boats and a super interesting traveling exhibit and James Cameron and his works with the Titanic and the Mariana Trench.
From there, we took a water taxi through the harbor to the Opera House for a tour of the inside! It took almost 10,000 workers, over a decade, and over $100 million dollars to build and was finally opened in the 1970s. Each theatre inside is completely unique and we even got to watch an orchestra rehearsing for a few minutes!! We wanted to see a show, as they aren’t as expensive as we had expected, but they were sold out until after we would be gone. Anyway, we got lots of good touristy pictures, even though we had to fight off crowds to avoid getting them in the background of every shot!
From there, we took a water taxi through the harbor to the Opera House for a tour of the inside! It took almost 10,000 workers, over a decade, and over $100 million dollars to build and was finally opened in the 1970s. Each theatre inside is completely unique and we even got to watch an orchestra rehearsing for a few minutes!! We wanted to see a show, as they aren’t as expensive as we had expected, but they were sold out until after we would be gone. Anyway, we got lots of good touristy pictures, even though we had to fight off crowds to avoid getting them in the background of every shot!
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A close up of one of the "shells"
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#gobulls #incredibull #globull
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#4: Can't resist a good zoo!
6.19.2018
On this rainy and freezing day, we went across the harbor to the Taronga Zoo! It sprinkled on and off and poured for a few minutes, so it wasn’t the best zoo day, but I am the last person to be deterred from a zoo because of the weather! You already know we had to stop and say hey to the giraffes! Shout out to my Brevard Zoo crew and my giraffes, I miss all of you (especially Doc, my favorite 16ft tall guy, but don’t tell the other giraffes)! The water taxi took us all around the harbor with a nice tour guide giving us cool tidbits of information along the way!
Once back on land, we walked over to the Sydney Tower Eye (looks sort of like the CN Tower in Toronto) and went several hundred feet for the most beautiful view of Sydney as the sun began to set! We got caught in some kind of monsoon on the walk back to the hotel but it made for a funny adventure!
Once back on land, we walked over to the Sydney Tower Eye (looks sort of like the CN Tower in Toronto) and went several hundred feet for the most beautiful view of Sydney as the sun began to set! We got caught in some kind of monsoon on the walk back to the hotel but it made for a funny adventure!
hey cuties :)
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View from the binoculars at the top of the Eye
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