Shopping, Sun, Sand, and Surf

Playing around near Darling Harbour.

My mom wrote most of this post too...(Mom, when did you do all of these?)

Um, yes, that is my dad planking in a water feature.

Saturday, November 12 began with a walk to Darling Harbour, a harbour just beside the famous Sydney Harbour.  It was quite a diverse shopping center with many restaurants, cafes, and and tourist shops.  There were various fountains and water features as well. 

This is made entirely of Legos!

After using yet another one of Aubree’s fabulous coupons and eating the most delicious pizza, we donned our swimsuits and took a bus to one of Australia’s most iconic destinations, Bondi Beach. 

Busy Bondi Beach

Bondi Beach is a large expanse of a fine white sand gashed out of rock platforms that borders the most beautiful aquamarine water.  Unfortunately, because of the cove’s shape, the swimming area is known for its dangerous and sometimes deadly rip currents.  Perhaps some of you have seen Bondi Rescue featured on one of the cable stations – I have not, but was quickly informed that the show features all of the happenings at the beach, including many swimming rescues.  While we were there, we ourselves saw three successful rescues – and each time, someone in our group could be heard saying, “Bondi Rescue!”  The beach was very popular for tanned and toned bods and a great place to people watch, and as we discovered, it's apparently one of Australia’s topless beaches. We chose not to participate in this custom.  

Listen to the signs...

...or you might get "Bondi rescued"!

Sculpture by the Sea, an annual outdoor sculpture exhibition, was taking place while we were there, so we walked along the oceanfront and saw several unique pieces of art.

Sculpture by the Sea piece

After returning to Sydney, we took a 30-minute ferry boat ride through the Sydney Harbour to Manly, a peninsula lined with fine restaurants and tourist attractions.  The ferry gave us a stunning view of the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge spectacularly lit up in the evening sky.  We ate at a German restaurant that featured many kinds of sausage and delicious sauerkraut.  The evening was topped off by some delectable chocolate treats from Max Brenner Chocolate Bar.  -Sue

Sydney Opera House view from Manly ferry.

Lots more posts to come...our day in the Blue Mountains, time spent in Melbourne and along the Great Ocean Road, my adventures with Morgan in Uluru, etc. Thanks for reading!  -Aubree

Harbour Bridge view from Circular Quay.

Sunday in Sydney Synopsis

We arrived in Sydney early Sunday morning to spend a full day checking out the sights.  We did a TON of walking, but we saw a lot.  After checking into the hotel, we started by taking a quick stroll past the Archibald Fountain and through the Art Gallery of New South Wales.  You could probably spend a whole day just in there.  We saw some Aboriginal art, a self-portrait by DaVinci, some strange sculptures, and a Picasso painting (pictured below).

Then we walked through part of the Royal Botanic Gardens, where there were lots of interesting birds (more about that in another post).  We ended up at a Mrs. Macquarie's Chair, a seat carved in the stone that gives a good viewpoint of Sydney Harbour.  Then we walked around Farm Cove to the Sydney Opera House.  I got goosebumps when I first saw it...I guess because it's such an iconic structure, and it was hard to believe I was seeing it in person.  It really is a strange series of buildings; they kind of look like helmets or something.  We walked around them, went inside one, and then had a relaxing lunch sitting in the sunshine outside with a view of the Opera House on one side and the Harbour Bridge on the other side.     

  

After lunch, we walked around Circular Quay.  Quay is pronounced "key" by the way.  This is a big touristy area, because it's right between the two main attractions, and all sorts of ferries and charter boats take off from here.  Several street performers, or "buskers" as they are called here, were out entertaining the crowds.  Fake Aboriginals (I think they were fake) were dancing and playing didgeridoos in more than one location.  Anyway, we next headed to walk across the Sydney Harbour Bridge.  We only went halfway across, but it was neat to get different views of the city and the Opera House, look down at the clear blue water below, and admire all of the sailboats out on the sunny day.

After the bridge, we walked around an area called The Rocks.  There was a street fair going on, and we bought a Sydney Christmas ornament because we like to collect ornaments from the different places we visit.  Then we took a bus out to the famous Bondi Beach (more about that in another post as well) and enjoyed some yummy gelato while watching the talented surfers.  We had dinner in Chinatown back in the city and went to bed early because we had been up since 4am with our early flights.

Sydney is definitely different from Melbourne.  We think we like Melbourne better overall.  The weather might be a bit better in Sydney; it seems to be sunny more often and a few degrees warmer.  It is a very clean city; the taxis are immaculate and the streets are spotless.  But it seemed to lack some of the character of Melbourne.  The downtown area is kind of dead; the only "happening" area we saw was Circular Quay with the tourists.  Their Chinatown is underwhelming, and the main mode of transportation is bus versus electric tram.  It just doesn't have the same charm.  Melbourne has so many unique areas of town with various shops and cultures and crowds.  Maybe we are biased, but we get the impression that Sydney is a great place to visit, but Melbourne is a better place to live.  But it is a beautiful city right on the water, and we had a splendid Sunday exploring Sydney!