Sydney

After endless hours of driving, Grace and I finally arrived in Sydney last night around 9. Although we became a bit delirious on the drive, our adrenaline was pumping when we entered the city. We have been waiting to be in Sydney since we were in the states. 

This morning, Grace and I woke up around 8, grabbed some coffe from the cute shop on the corner and explored the city. We loved the atmosphere and energy of the city. It felt more like cities from home such as Boston and NYC- Without the crazy traffic and honking horns. There was young professionals roaming the street (which shockingly made us feel oddly motivated in a way..), stores, shops, touristy things, and vibrant, busy city life surrounding us. 

We decided to first go to the top of the Sydney tower that overlooks the whole city. To get here we had to walk through a mall (which I of course enjoyed). Then we were directed to see a 3-D movie before climbing to the top. We loved the 3-D movie almost better than the tower itself. Besides the fact that it was air conditioned after we just walked blocks in the humity, it was quite the experience. The floors vibrated, mist was falling, and it legit made us look at each other with excitement and say "omg we're in Australia... In Sydney. How many other people from home can say this right now...?" When we walked out of the theatre, there was a women taking pictures. They suprisingly came out hilarious so we need to download them from the internet and post them. Once we got to the top of the tower (250 meters up from ground level), we had a 360 degree view of the city. We of course, took a lot of photos. 

Soon after climbing the tower, Grace seemed to be getting a bit sleepy. She (with love, I'm sure) asked me to stop talking, and walked us over to a bench in Hanely Park. On the bench, we quietly watched two old men play chess. When she felt relaxed, we discussed our plans for the day. 

We desperately wanted to go to The Rocks to view Sydney Harbour. When we finally found it, we loved it. Seeing the Opera House was absolutely amazing and the moment we had been longing for. After taking it all in, we decided to sit outside at a cafe that overlooks the Harbour for lunch. 2 pitchers of sangria and a shared pizza later, we wanted to ride the ferry. 

We rode the ferry to Watson Bay to lay out on the beach and wait for Judy to get out of work. Judy, is our friend that we stayed with in Canberra (Grant and Brad's sister). Watson bay is a cute coastal city filled with beaches, beach bars and views of the city. After relaxing for a bit on the beach, Judy came to pick us up. 

Judy showed us around Watson bay and brought us to Bondi Beach. Bondi beach is a huge touristy beach where they film the reality tv show, Bondi Rescue. I was expecting the tide to be huge from what I've seen on tv (it's like Australian Baywatch) ... However, the waves didn't seem that large and although it was Monday, it wasn't as crowded as I imagined. We grabbed strawberry ciders from the bottle shop, drank on the beach and caught up on gossip with Judy. 

For dinner, Judy brought us to this cute pub on Cooges Beach. It was decorated rally adorable, we loved it. However, feeling like old ladies after a long busy day, we were exhausted by 8. Now, we are laying in bed at 10 in the largest city that we'll probably be in in a while and we don't feel bad about it... At all. Goodnightttttt