A Brief Time in Sydney

It just feels like a given. If you go all the way to Australia, you’ve got to go to Sydney and see the Harbor, right?! So see the Harbour we did! Right from our hotel room window! I’m all about a room with a view and this one was fantastic. We had a totally unobstructed view. We were also right around the corner, within walking distance to the Harbour, the Bridge, and all its activities. There were loads of restaurants and bars. I would say it is the place to be!

After checking in and checking out the hotel we took to the streets to see the sights and find some dinner. Weather is just about perfect in Sydney in late February – but I do wish someone would’ve told me to grab an extra cardigan! It got chilly when the sun went down, but nothing too bad.

1st Full Day in Sydney!

The next day we got up early for our Full Day Blue Mountain Tour. I had originally booked this tour under the expectation that it was a cool place, a good tour and in the end you got to hold a koala. I’m a sucker for holding animals. Any and all types. I’m the girl in the crowd that raises her hand and jumps up and down if someone asks for volunteers. That is me.

I do think that it was a great tour. We saw lots of cool things. However, I just don’t know if Jake and I are “tour” people. If I had to do it again I would hire a canyoneering guide to take us out to the Blue Mountains, which is actually a canyon not a mountain! Jake and I would’ve spent the day *literally* hanging on the rocks. This canyon definitely was cool and had irrestible rock faces that this girl wanted to get her hands on!

About the tour…

Promptly at 7am we hopped on a tour bus right outside our hotel(another convenience of the Four Seasons!). The bus takes us and the other 20 passengers to the Blue Mountains stopping once for snacks at a strip of local bakeries (highly recommend the pastries from the asian family store), a short lookout at the Three Sisters Rock and then a longer look out over Australia’s very own “Grand Canyon” before finally getting to the main entrance of the Blue Mountain attraction.

One by one in small groups we loaded onto a string of cable cars that took us above the canopy and down into the canyons.

At the bottom of the string of cable cars our guide was waiting for us to share some interesting tidbits about the area and the wildlife in it. These mountains were once part of a booming mining industry and some of the equipment has been perserved and monuments brought in to honor the miners who once worked here.

Now if you’ve ever been to city streets in the US and really anywhere in the world you are used to seeing a flock of pigeons… but have you seen a flock of cockatoos?! Oh my! It feels majestic until you realized how much bigger these birds are and their beaks could really mess you up! Ha!

After wrapping up our time at the Blue Mountains we headed out to lunch and then finally… The Sydney Zoo!

We didn’t even make it out of the Australian Area of the Zoo!!! No joke, we were having so much fun being mesmerized by the Kangaroos running freely, didgeridoos playing, the Koalas being just so darn adorable and our new found love for the Tasmanian Devil! I have to admit, TD really reminded us of someone from home we really love!!! What do you guys think? Is Nala part Tasmanian Devil?!! LOL

Although we only made it to 1 section of the zoo, and the Sydney Zoo no longer allows guests to hold the Koalas, I would still highly rate the Sydney Zoo as a must-see. I smiled so big and for so long while enjoying my favorite Australian animals. By the time we got on the bus, my cheeks and face were sore! I am always a little kid when it comes to animals! Scroll down to see a gallery of my favorite moments from The Sydney Zoo!

And finally as the 10 hour Blue Mountain Tour came to an end we took our last ride provided on a ferry through the Harbor. Although the wind and sun made it hard to take pics, seeing the Opera House from the water was a beautiful sight!

From the ferry we see the fish markets and boy did we get excited. So excited that after exiting the ferry and taking a short (but scenic) stroll to the main road we grabbed a taxi and headed that way for dinner! Fresh caught seafood coming our way! Er… well that’s what one would think. Unfortunately, we realized our mistake too late. Our uber wasn’t very friendly and pretty much hit the gas the second our feet were out of the car. The fish markets close at 4 pm and it was now 6 pm. With our ride already nowhere to be found we just started walking! lol With our hopeful tummies a little sad we walked and we walked and came across a new happening part of town that I’m so glad we stumbled upon!

At this point we are no longer on the oceanfront but the craving for seafood was sticking around. We used to think it would be crazy to eat anything American while abroad. However, we’ve loosened up on that a bit here recently. It’s interesting to see how the rest of the world “does America” when it comes to food. We certainly put our flare on cultural foods let’s see how they spin ours! Often times the American inspired restaurants that we see are 50’s Diner Aesthetic, but one time in Poland we ate at a Texas themed steakhouse- the waitresses were in pigtail braids, plaid flannel shirts and cowboy boots! That one hit close to home! But here in Sydney we found a Cajun themed restaurant called The Boiling Crab. We thought it has a shot at fulfilling our seafood hunger. And here’s where I have a question for other Americans. Have you ever eaten corn rinds? This was our first time having them and they were delicious! – But I’m not sure that’s an American thing? Is it? Our country is quite large and maybe I just haven’t had them… Who knows! Anyhow, we finished the night off with an ice cream cone in hand!

** I google The Boiling Crab and learned it is a US franchise! None in my area but in several larger cities like Dallas and Vegas BUT I couldn’t find corn rinds on the menus here in the States!**

2nd Morning in Sydney!

First stop this morning? The Sydney Bridge Climb! All we had to do to get there was exit through the back of the hotel, briskly walk about a quarter of a mile, realize we missed the turn off, turn around sprint up the stairs, get surprised by yet another gorgeous view and dart across the street! TADA!!! We made it!

The Bridge was honestly a blast! Jake reminded me more than once the day before that we aren’t “tour” people but some activities – like strapping up to walk the structure of the Sydney Harbour Bridge have to be done through tours. We meet up in this building. It is connected, or maybe it’s even part of the bridge. Then we check in. We had a few minutes until our safety briefing and gear rental started. They suggested we get something on our stomachs. It’s a long morning in the sun and it helps you to relax. So we hopped down to the gift shop and grabbed a breakfast sandwich and coffee! Minutes later, its time to gear up! Here’s what I didn’t expect: they have you strip down to undies to put their suits on. As many yoga pant wearing ladies will relate, I was just so glad I had underwear on that day! 🙂

Then there’s the briefing and practice run where you make sure you know how to clip in, go up the rail stairs about 12 feet up, turn on the landing and climbed back down then clipping out. Jake got scared on this step. lol.

I was so excited and eager so of course I raised my hand to be first in line after our guide. I often like to be near or around the guides, I enjoy being able to ask questions and exchange stories. After me, excuse me, about 20 feet after me, was a clammy Jake 🙂 then all the other guests!!! The lady behind Jake actually tol him that she was thankful he was there, it helped calm her seeing someone else more afraid! Hahaha! I have to hand it to this man of mine, for how afraid of heights he is he doesn’t say NO to too many things for me!

…and just like that our time in Sydney is (mostly) over. We catch an uber to the car rental then try our chances one more time at the Harbour Fish Market >>fingers crossed<<!!!

And we actually made it! Without much time to share actually, we were torn between lobster rolls and just a good sit down reatuarant seafood meal. Realizing we had a 6 hour drive ahead of us we decided to eat a sit down meal and then take rolls to go with us! Great plan right?!? Errrr….

Turns out by 2:30 most of the menu is now unavailable so after a struggle to order we finally got our food and !!! Jake’s was terrible, mine was um, mediocre >>place palm on face<< After picking at his plate for a bit longer we give up and decide to just go ahead and get the lobster rolls and head out.

You guys. The disappointment that hit us when we got to the roll stand to find it closed was heavy. In hindsight I’m laughing just thinking about it! I just don’t think it was in the cards to eat what we wanted and that’s okay.

At least I had enough fries to share!

So we hit the road (on the left hand side) right out of Sydney all the way to Thredbo for some hiking! To hear about our adventure on Mt. Kosciuszko and how YOU can summit the highest mountain in Australia check out our Blog Post.

Zoo Photo Gallery!