We loved Sydney!! Our bus got in at 11 after about 14hours on the bus… and must admit, slept pretty well!! Seats reclined nicely, had the little shaped headrests that make a big difference, and no really annoying people sat nearby!! (Apart from James, obviously) So we had the decision of a $15 taxi to the hostel, or navigate the tube and walk the rest in the sun…. We saved our pennies and went for the cheap option being good!! Whether walking up many many stairs around midday we still thought it was the best option….. We eventually found our hostel, and, were very very happy! We’ve been seriously lucky with hostels so far in australia, and almost all of them have been great, and this is another! It was only opened in October – first good sign. It also is at the very north of the city – right next to the bridge and opera house = less walking, second good sign! And affordable – third good sign!! So we settled into our dorm, met a nice couple from Italy (on our list of places to go after this!) and eventually made our way out!
First stop, Sydney Harbour Bridge!! Only a few minutes away so we walked the length of it, stopping about every 2 steps to take a photo, each! Very impressive steel construction, and amazing views over the harbour and across to the Opera House! No time for the climb to to just get a bit higher so we saved that for next time…. Plus its $200 EACH!
Next stop, Sydney Opera House. On the way we walked past an amazing looking pub that boasted a rooftop terrace that overlooked the Opera House. Food looked AMAZING = over budget!! But hadn’t had breakfast so hey ho, and it was worth every penny, (dollar, same thing!) and we left very happily satisfied. With a little more bounce in our step we continued to the Opera house, again stopping for many photo opportunities, and popped into a nice little gallery along the way, specialising in aboriginal art, it was really good and had some great wood carvings… Luckily for James, Mum and Dad, everything was over $2000, and the budget doesn’t stretch that far even if it does look amazing!!
First impressions of Sydney Opera house were – its just how it looks on tv and we’re standing right in front of it!! Very surreal, so of course took more pictures to remember the occasion! Impressive how just a bit of unique architecture has become such a huge symbol, some pretty sturdy concrete going on!! Sleeping beauty, the dance was on, still thinking that through for tomorrow…. would feel bad going there when haven’t even been to the Royal Opera house in London yet! (Another thing added onto the to do list!)
Next on our tour was the botanical gardens, but no we wouldnt take the short tour we would walk ALL The way around so that we could get the best view of the Opera House WITH the bridge in for the perfect photo! Made it there and were EXHAUSTED haha and it was a bit hazy lol but nevertheless, took more pictures! Only here once and all! Wandered back all the way through the gardens, Mum you would be in heaven, sooooo many flowers, and the variety of trees, all with descriptions, all so green, it was really beautiful and impressive to think it was a free public garden! Saw MANY bats (of the flying foxes species!….. HUGE!!!!) flying around and noticed them hanging in the trees – there were sooooo many of them! Saw a sign on the way out that they’re trying to relocate them! As there were 22,000 in the park! They’d already killed several trees and were detrimental to the foliage!
By now it was about 6pm and so we headed towards George st, lots of shops = lots of christmas decorations and trees, (YAY!) we popped in apple to fix our little mac problem which resulted in them getting Melbourne to order us a new replacement one which we will hopefully collect as we pass go, on our way out of Australia! We then found James a shaver so he will no longer be the hairy man!! He was getting pretty close to shaggy from scooby doo, and thats his own description!! Picked up some dinner for the next 2 nights, a bit of kangeroo, chicken, limes and salad! And of course, mince pies! Finally felt a little bit christmassy so very happy!
We then had a well deserved lie in! Today was Bondi beach day!! There were plenty of things to choose from doing today but Bondi beach seemed such a world famous location it didn’t feel right being all the way in Sydney and not seeing it! So we hopped on an expensive public bus! Grabbed some food at the beach and saw our German friend – Magdalena, from Byron Bay! We spent the rest of the day enjoying the beach – it wasn’t too hot so it was really enjoyable and by 4 I had goosebumps! It was great to watch the surfers, even though the water was almost as cold as off England! Was a great day, but wouldn’t say Bondi Beach is all its hyped up to be. Enjoyed another night of cooking in our lovely new big hostel kitchen and while I collapsed into bed James popped over to the bridge to take some great night pictures!
Up at 6 the next day for the bus to the airport! Melbourne here we come!!
Headed back, washed, cooked, faffed and got a good nights sleep!
We’re currently uploading the pictures so you can have a look here!
Also at the very top of the website there is now a link ‘All Posts’ which if you click on will show you all our posts we’ve ever written in date order!
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