We arrived to absolutely beautiful weather! We hopped in a taxi and went to out hotel first thing to check in. We stayed at the Hyatt Sydney Harbour...wow is about all I could say when we arrived. This hotel was magnificent! Erin and I immediately went running out the back doors of the lobby to the boardwalk along Sydney Harbour and what did we see? The Sydney Opera House!! The hotel was situated right in an area called The Rocks and near Circular Quay, so standing where we were you
could spin in a circle and see the city of Sydney, then the harbour and the opera house, and then the Sydney Harbour Bridge behind the hotel! Breathtaking! We were taken to our room, settled in, and then decided to head out and explore. We boarded a ferry to Manly Beach, where we walked around and explored this adorable town. Erin and I looked for Havaiana jandals because she needed a new pair, but instead ended up finding a totally hippie rainbow beanie for me! We watched the sun go down on the water, listened to some crazy birds up in the trees, and then headed back to Sydney on the ferry. The cityscape at night was beautiful from the water! We had a delicious dinner on the quay and then went back to the hotel to sleep.
The next morning Erin's dad had to go into the office for a few hours, so Erin and I decided to go to the mall and get manicures..so much fun! Afterwards we had a delicious tofu stir fry for lunch and then headed back to the hotel. One of the people who works with Erin's dad told him that climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge is something you HAVE to do while you're there, so we went to talk to the concierge that afternoon to see if there were still any openings. We decided on this at about 3:30, and found out that they had 3 spaces available for the 4:15 departure!! SWEET! It was obviously meant to be! When we arrived at the Bridgeclimb center they outfitted us in these cool looking spacesuits and had us do a climb simulation to make sure we were comfortable with using the devices. We finally got onto the bridge and started climbing, and the view just became more and more spectacular. We were climbing at sunset, so the sky was in the process of turning brilliant shades of pink, orange, yellow and red. We spent a while at the very top, under the Australian
and New Zealand flags, staring out at the beautiful view in front of us! Everything was so amazing that my fear of heights went completely out the window! None of us wanted to climb down! I HIGHLY recommend the bridgeclimb to anyone who visits Sydney! You won't be disappointed! Later that night we went to the oldest pub in Sydney and had the most amazing gourmet pizza...if I remember correctly one was kumara (sweet potato) and brie cheese...mmmm... :)
On Wednesday, Erin's dad had to go back into work for a little while, so Erin and I grabbed boba and trecked across town to a school for students learning how to cut hair.
We got FREE haircuts! It was awesome and we were happy with the results! Once her dad finished work, we hopped on a bus and headed over to Bondi Beach! I see now why all of the celebrities go there...it's Beautiful!! It is a HUGE strip of beautiful white sand covered with people from all over the world wanting wanting to catch some rays as well as a possible glimpse of a movie star...hello Hugh Jackman?! :) There was even an adorable couple doing a photo shoot on the sand. The wife was pregnant and they were standing on a surfboard while the husband held her belly! Sooo adorable...but then again, you're reading the blog of a future midwife and self-professed lover of birth and everything baby :) We hung out on the sand for a while, threw a football with some guys from Ireland, had lunch, and then took the bus back to the city. That night Erin and I celebrated the midpoint between our birthdays with an amazing Italian dinner at a trendy restaurant in downtown. This is where Erin and I fell in love with afogatto...espresso + ice cream = heaven :)
On Thursday we went on a Blue Mountain Safari Tour. Our wonderful tour guide Mel drove us through the Sydney Olympic Park, and then out to the beautiful Blue Mountains! We climbed around in a eucalyptus forest looking for kangaroos (sadly we didn't find any in the wild...we thought we heard one but it turned out to be some kids), had some tea and Anza
c biscuits, and then drove deeper into the mountains. We stopped and did a minor hike down to a lookout where we could see the Three Sisters mountain peaks and the beautiful valley below us. Soo gorgeous! Mel then drove us to a place called Outdoor World, where we took a gondola across the valley, then a tram to the bottom of the valley. We hiked around the rainforest, saw some beautiful birds, and then took a crazy train ride up the near
shear side of a cliff back to the top. Then it was time to head back. We stopped at a historic hotel on our way home for dinner...Fish n' Chips all the way! Our last stop was my favorite! They took us to a wild animal park and rehabilitation center. This place takes in injured animals and nurses them back to health, all while allowing the public to enjoy them up close and personal. We were able to see kangaroos, wallabies, koalas, crocodiles, dingoes, wombats, Tasmanian devils, fruit bats, penguins, emus...you name it! Also, we were able to pet the kangaroos, wallabies and koalas...so adorable!! We acted like total kids and ran around the park with our "passports" looking for the animal stamps for all of the exhibits! We were not going to leave unless we got all of them! haha We did...and they gave us a tiny stuffed koala :) When we got home we showered, got dressed up, and met Erin's dad's coworker on the top floor of our new hotel, the Shangri-la, at their sky bar. I ordered a martini while we talked for a while, and then we left to go meet his family for a delicious Malaysian food dinner in Darling Harbour. They were all so wonderful and nice!
Friday was our last full day in the city. We woke up and got coffee at Starbucks (that had become our morning routine), and then went to do a walking tour of the city. We went to the Opera House, explored inside, and then walked to the botanical gardens. We cruised around for a while, and I got thoroughly freaked out when I discovered spiders the size of Hummers chilling in webs between the trees. Mix that with the thousands of bats that were hanging and squaking in the trees and you have the perfect place for a Halloween celebration! Too bad I don't think they celebrate it. Huge white parrots were also flying all around the gardens from tree to tree. We then too the ferry over to Darling Harbour where we visited the Maritime Museum. Later that night we had dinner at a fish restaurant in the harbour, and then headed back to the hotel to call it a night.
Saturday morning was bittersweet. We packed all of our things and headed to the airport. It was tough to part ways with Erin's dad. We all had so much fun together and we all were not ready for it to end. While we waited for Erin and I to board, we watched the A380 (Erin's dads plane as well as the groundbreaking new Airbus that is two stories from tip to tip. It looks like a flying cruise ship!) pull into the terminal. We then said our goodbyes and boarded our plane back to Auckland...back "home".
The weather was SO gloomy when we got back to Auckland, and as much as I didn't like it at the time, I'm taking the rain for all it's worth now because I know it is going to be blazing hot in California when I get home!
What an amazing trip! Memories that will last a lifetime and beyond... :)
More to come soon!
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