So back in May (yes, I've been busy since then) my boss sent me to Australia to a conference. We are starting the story here, because this important fact means...
1) I got to fly 14 hours there, and 15 hours back in business class with a sleeping pod, good food, free alcohol and an amenities kit full of fancy lotion, lip balm and ear plugs on someone ELSE's credit card and....
2) I didn't have a TON of time for touristy stuff, but I still saw the important things one should see when visiting Sydney PLUS had time to catch up with an old friend.
Here's a photo retrospective with a bit of commentary here and there (that I can remember from 7 months ago :P)
Sydney Opera House and Harbour
My first glimpse of Sydney was the sun rising over Sydney Harbour from the plane as we arrived around 6:30am Sunday morning (after leaving LAX Friday night).
Here's my first photo of Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House out of window of the plane..
After an early check in at my hotel in the business district near Sydney Harbour -- the Sofitel Sydney Wentworth, which was lovely with the exception of the fact my room was too close to the loud elevators -- I took a brief nap then headed out to explore the Harbour and see the world famous Opera House, where I remembered what I'd forgotten to pack: Little Green Alien :(
The Opera House was not what I expected.. I think I expected the entrance and stairs to be facing out towards the harbour, and it's not. It faces downtown, and you get to it by walking along the water past restaurants, stores and the Dendy movie theatre where my work conference was held... the area is known as Circular Quay. But the opera house IS huge and is fascinating to look at...
I had my first meal in Australia at a crepes restaurant run by French people in Circular Quay - the Four Frogs Creperie. I honestly did not know there were as many French people in Australia as there are (which is a LOT). But like most of the Aussies, the French in Australia were also really nice. And my crepe was delish!
After eating there I also discovered a coffee shop nearby that had chai tea lattes, which became my daily pit stop before work to feed my chai addiction, as there are not a lot of Starbucks in Australia... the Aussies actually consider Starbucks a symbol of American commercialism and waste. Imagine that. (One of the speakers at the conference shocked people when talking about loyalty programs and he told them that in in America, people actually load money on a mobile app to buy their Starbucks with each day and earn points. I was like... "Uh, and the problem with that is???")
I also discovered a few other interesting things wandering around... they still have ancient things called "pay phones" in Sydney. And I apparently have long-lost, bad spelling Australian relatives who play in a bar band :)
Work and my never-adjusted-to-the-time-difference sleep schedule took up most of my time from Monday through Thursday. But I'd decided to stay the weekend on my own time to see the sights. So Friday became the start of my 2017 International vacation around Sydney...
Taronga Zoo
My main goal going to Australia was to see Koala Bears and Kangaroos. So I booked a ferry ride across the harbor to the Taronga Zoo.
On the ride out, I got to see the other sides of the Opera House...
And once in the Zoo, I got to see the kangaroos and wallaby up close... they put them in fenced in areas with walking paths, so you can walk through the enclosure and see them hanging out and hopping around...
Fun fact I learned: Kangaroos are pretty lazy during the day... not as lazy as koala bears, but lazy...
Speaking of koala bears, I paid a mere $20 USD* for the Koala Encounter experience, where I got to go into the koala enclosure and talk with a zoo keeper to learn about the koalas, who sleep about 19 hours a day. I also got a souvenir photo.
(*That $20 would've covered four people if I'd had any Aussie buddies with me, but alas... still, it is a good deal. In LA they'd charge like double or triple that!)
Below are photos of the two koalas I encountered, one of which was kind enough to wake up for awhile... they were soooo cute!
Other fun animals I saw at the Zoo included this photogenic emu:
Giraffes, whose enclosure overlooks the harbor:
And a family of elephants, who have scheduled playtime and activities with their keepers to keep them active, alert and intellectually challenged:
There was also a cute family of chimps..
Bondi Beach
After the Zoo (which I got on the wrong boat back from....oops!) I took another nap (did I mention I never fully adjusted to Australian time?) before hopping in an uber out to Bondi to meet up from my former Disney Videos co-worker, the awesome Paige, who moved back to Australia a few years ago. She and her family are lucky enough to live in walking distance of the famous, gorgeous beach and Paige gave me a tour of the area, including her gym on the cliffside of the beach, and a great gelato place we walked to after a yummy dinner with a great view of the ocean!
St. Mary's Cathedral
On Saturday, I did the ultimate touristy thing and took the hop-on, hop-off bus tour of Sydney..... the coolest part of the tour was St. Mary's Cathedral, which I'd walked near earlier in the week (it's close to the ONE Starbucks I finally found...) It reminded me of the cathedrals in Europe... gothic architecture and tons of religious statues. I even went in an lit a candle to make up for my ex-Catholic guilt of being a tourist in a place of worship :)
View of the cathedral from the park across the street... the statues in the fountain were a gift from J.F. Archibald to commemorate the association of Australia and France in the Great War 1914-1918.
This is my favorite photo from the trip... I didn't realize until after I took it that the sun was perfectly centered between the steeples. I just loved the cool clouds...
Saturday night, I had dinner at an Italian restaurant at Circular Quay with this great view of the Bridge. It started raining in the middle of dinner... a quick five-minute downpour like they have in Florida. Luckily my table was under an umbrella so I stayed nice and dry.
After dinner I walked down to the Opera House again to see it at night ... gorgeous!
The Rocks and Royal Botanic Gardens
Sunday was my last full day down under. On my hop-on, hop-off tour I'd driven by an outdoor market near the base of the Harbour Bridge. It was walking distance from the hotel on the other side of Circular Quay in an area known as "The Rocks." I finally found a Christmas tree ornament, hand-painted by a local artist, as well as photo coasters that now sit on my coffee table to remind me of my trip. I did NOT sample the alligator and kangaroo jerky also available for sale. (ICK)
After the market, I stopped for a sandwich to eat as lunch on a picnic in the Royal Botanic Garden up the hill from the Opera House. I took a book and sat out and ate, read and people watched. I was a lovely last afternoon in Australia and I can't wait for the opportunity to go back and see other parts of the country one day :)
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