First - our accomodation. We are staying with Kelly's host mom's sister and her husband in Sydney. This not only saved us money, but they are the most WONDERFUL people. They cook our meals, help us get from place to place, give us great travel ideas. They are brilliant people and so genuinely nice for letting us stay with them! AND - we have warm water here! YAY! :)

We arrived in Sydney early Tuesday morning. Kelly and I slept the majority of the flight because it took off at 6:20am... UGH. Which meant getting up at 4:15! Who scheduled a 6:20 flight? Oh yeah, WE did. Aunty Di (the host mom's sister I mentioned above) picked us up at the airport, which is only a short 15 min from their house! We then got cozied into our new accomodation - we each have our own room. :) And by 11, Kelly and I had caught a train, and then a bus, and were staring at the most beautiful Bondi Beach. I talked to Joseph as I layed out soaking in the 24 degree Celsius rays, and told him to Google Bondi Beach. When he did, he said, "Emily, I don't see a lot of beach here... only a lot of skin". Which was a DEAD on description of Bondi. Kelly and I had a good time though and considered going back another day if time permitted. Kelly even said, "when I envisioned Australia, THIS is what it looked like!". Gorgeous white sand, HUGE waves coated with surfers, you get the jist. :)

Wednesday was our busiest, but probably our BEST day in Australia. We caught the 9:30 train to Sydney City to take in all of the well known sights. We got off in a far away station from really anything, but I assured Kelly that this would make touring easier. We then walked through Hyde Park, went into St. Mary's Cathedral (Kelly's Catholic too), enjoyed the Botanical Gardens, ate our packed sandwiches near Mrs. Macquarie's Chair, walked the bit to the Opera House, took in the Circular Quay, walked along George Street and did some shopping, checked out Darling Harbour, came back along the other side of George Street and stopped in and enjoyed a tasty treat at a specialty cupcake shop, took a short tour through The Rocks, and walked most of the way across the bottom of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. After grabbing a quick chicken sandwich we made our way to the building of the Sydney Harbour BridgeClimb at about 5pm. ALL of our walking and amazing sightseeing could not prepare us for what we were about to encounter. We had chosen to do the BridgeClimb at night because it was not only the cheapest, but we wanted to see the transition of dusk to a beautiful Sydney nightscape. It was the best decision we could've made. After getting suited up in our gear, and practiced walking some fake steps, we were ready to make our climb. I didn't find it scary at all, and neither did Kelly. Our tour leader was phenomenal and told us some interesting, funny, and downright amazing stories about the people and places of Sydney. For instance, the man who created the Sydney Opera House, just died a few years ago and NEVER once stepped inside of it. In the end we had climbed to the top, went across the center then came back down the same side. It took about 2 hours, and we had climbed 1,337 steps. I would STRONGLY STRONGLY STRONGLY encourage anyone who is in Sydney to do this! It's simply the BEST.

Today, John (Di's husband) was kind enough to take us through a tour of the Blue Mountains. In various touristy shops, I've seen postcards of the Blue Mountains, but hadn't really heard much about them. We first stoped in a quaint town on the way called Leura. John enjoyed a coffee and Kelly and I a hot chocolate each. It was around 50 degrees, so it was a PERFECT start to the day. After Leura we headed a little further up the road to Scenic World. Here we were able to pay a small price to do three amazing things. First, we took the Skyway across this huge divide between two mountains, over 300 meters above the ground. We saw a miraculous waterfall on one side, and fascinating rock formation called the 3 Sisters on the other. The Skyway also had a glass bottom that we could look through if we wanted. Once we returned from that we did something we would've done all day if we could... we rode the STEEPEST train the world. It goes straight down the side of a mountain, through a little tunnel for part of it, at a 52 degree angle! When we first sat in our seat, we didn't understand why they were reclined so much, but as we got going, we realized it would've been super uncomfortable if they hadn't been. Down in the valley, we enjoyed a short rainforest walk of great scenery and a little information about the mining that had occured here in the olden days. We then took the Cableway up back to the top before heading on our way. After Scenic World, John bought Kelly and I some delicious meat pies (an Australian delicacy) and we ate them at a beautiful lookout called Edge's Point. Following that we made our way to the Wentworth Falls. Here, we decided to take a path that had been labeled an "easy grade with few steps" down to a lookout of the falls. That sign was a lie. The ENTIRE thing were quite steep steps! John also walks faster than anyone I know, leaving Kelly and I in the dust. This was WAY more intense than our BridgeClimb! After leaving there we made the 2 hour trek home. Kelly and I slept most of the way.

When we returned back here, we enjoyed another nice home-cooked meal. You will find it fascinating to know that our meal consisted of 2 meats and SEVEN different vegetables (not mixed or anything). We had bacon and sausages (plain, not with bread or anything) and mashed potatoes, corn, peas, carrots, mushrooms, onions, and pumpkin (they eat a lot of it here). My parents would be pleased to know I ate everything but the mushrooms. :) I also found it interesting because they call their sausages (which look and taste like mini-brats), snags.

Tomorrow, Kelly and I are having a rest day. We are walking the 25 minutes to the nearest shopping mall to have an experience of Asian culture. According to Di, we may be the only 2 Caucasion people in the place. Our bags are RIGHT on the weight limit so we don't plan on buying anything TOO big. :) Then, we plan on curling up and watching some movies. It should be a relaxing day after three big days of go-go-go! Then, Saturday, we fly out of Australia once and for all and head for the beautiful Auckland, New Zealand. Don't worry, Auckland is on the NORTH island - the earthquakes are on the SOUTH. :)

G'day!

written by  cowane1 on September 23, 2010 from Sydney, Australia
from the travel blog: Australian Adventures!
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Wow! what an adventure you have been having! I think that we really did the wrong things when we were in Sydney! Should have went to the Blue Mountains and Bondi Beach! Hard to know! But if we talk to anyone going there, we will be sure to tell them! Less than a week to see you! Can't wait! Love ya!

MOM

written by  Marcie Cowan on September 23, 2010

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