G'day from Down Under: Off to Sydney...

Hey guys!
It has been awhile since you last heard from me. I have been on my "holidays" for uni. Everyone here calls vacations holiday. It started out with me taking the train into Sydney and meeting my mom, grandma, and sister at the hotel. It was a great reunion. I think my mom and sister shed a bit of a tear. haha We got ready for the afternoon then headed to the double decker guided bus tour of Sydney. It was really fun. We got to see all of the must see parts of the city and heard the history of it. We made a stop off at the Opera House and the Sydney Harbor Bridge. This was my third time seeing these and yet it still never gets old. We decided to eat at the Opera Bar. It is a cool restaurant bar below the Opera House. There was a beautiful view of the bridge in the background. After dinner, we hopped back on the bus and rode it back to the hotel. Since the fam had traveled that day, they were pretty tired so we just went to bed.

Our second day in Sydney, we rode the double decker bus again but on the Bondi tour. The bus ride took us all over Sydney. It was so awesome. We got off at Bondi Beach to walk around and see the water. We stopped for some delicious drinks to cool us off then back to finish the tour. The bus ride took us up into the neighborhoods which had views of the bridge from their front yard! How cool is that?! We finished the tour and headed home. We then ventured over to The Rocks for some dinner. The Rocks is one of the older parts of Sydney. It is where the first people came to Australia. Our restaurant had a perfect view of the bridge and opera house so of course we had to take some photos after. While at dinner, it started pouring rain. We all thought we were going to have to run home in the rain, but thankfully it stopped. Sydney almost has just as bad bipolar weather as Flagstaff!! The next day, Marli and I were climbing the Sydney Harbor Bridge so it was off to bed early.

At brekky, I made the fambam try Vegemite!! I have grown to like it being here, but I guess they didn't seem to like it that much. None of them finished their slice of toast! :( Marli and I took a taxi over to the bridge climb center. I was starting to get a bit nervous..eeekk! They had photos of famous people that had climbed the bridge before. There was even a 100 year old woman that climbed it!! Crazy! Soon it was our time to get ready and get changed. Everyone doing the climb had to wear a jumpsuit. Everything that went up with you had to be attached onto you. After being up there, I understand why! It was particularly windy on this day. our tour guide told us that the high for the wind speed was 75 kilometers per hour! (Sorry I don't know the conversion, but it was strong enough to hold me up while leaning forward!) I was definitely freaked out about the height so Marli and I stayed close to the leader. It was soo awesome though. I felt like I was on top of the world! Marli and I had a feeling of satisfaction after climbing it!

Marli and I celebrated our success with a beer and a roo burger aka kangaroo burger. It was so good! We went on a cruise around the harbor to relax and see more of the water aspect of Sydney. There are some awesome houses right on the water! We even passed a nude beach..awkward! The cruise had coffee and treats for us so the family got to try a lamington. It is a yummy dessert with with a sponge cake covered in chocolate with coconut shavings on top. So good! We finished the night with dinner in Darling Harbor and a fireworks show since it was their labor day. Such a good day. We had an early flight to Cairns so to bed it was.