Sydney!

Olympic emblem

Sydney, once the site of Britain’s first Australian settlement is today the southern hemispheres stylish and lively hub of multiculturalism. Approximately five million people from all around the world have made Sydney their home yet, it maintains the Aussie essence. It is a bustling metropolis full of opportunity and wonderment with no shortage of happenings. Whether you’re after the spectacular landmarks near Sydney and darling harbor, surfing beaches, endless shopping, a stroll through the botanical gardens, or letting hours melt away in a café – Sydney has something for everyone. Â

Sydney Harbor

One first day in Sydney, we took it easy while we were overcoming the jet lag (which was affecting me unusually severely ) and took a stroll to the beach. Coogee Beach is one of the major beaches in Sydney that Sam happens to live 10 minutes walk from. It has a lot of character, with a street lined with locals cafes and smoothie shops, a park overlooking the water, and a promenade type area to sit and admire the view. The beach was already “packed” in the eyes of us WA beach bums, and it was only Tuesday!! Since it still wasn’t too hott yet, we decided to keep walking on to Bondi.

Bench for giants!

Little did we know, Bondi was really over 6 kms away, and walking around the jutted coastline took much longer than we expected. However, we were pleasantly surprised because not only was the view,of course, spectacular, but we happened to be there for

“Sculptures by the Sea”!! We actually had seen this at Cottesloe in WA, and I got probably overly excited when I saw the same awkward red man in a different position!

Weird red man!

We finally made it to Bondi and were overwhelmed by how busy it actually was!! We plopped down on the sand, ate our peanut butter sandwiches, and people watched…hoping to see a famous Bondi rescue! … AND WE DID!!! It totally made the 2+ hour walk there worth it

Bondi!!

Sam and Ariel arrived that night and it was so so great to see a familiar face…..and a gorgeous happy as ever little Sam look-alike! We took a girls day with a stroll to some markets that sold all things i love most about markets. One purchase of this amazing broccoli/silverbeet/kale veggie juice, a gobble down of a chunk of buffalo mozzarella, and a few tastes of some local olive oils, and we were on our way to get our nails done, compliments of my love Brad

Nail Day!

That same night we all went to Kristy and Colins for dinner! After eating way too much cheese and crackers, we enjoyed some delicious pizza for a really nice night in playing with the girls and chatting over wine!

My little buddies :)

Brad and I took to the city the next day and fell in love with Sydney Harbour! The water with the bridge and opera house make it so picturesque…. even in the rain, we enjoyed the view. After roaming around all the little towns, we walked across the bridge for the best view of all!Â

LOVED this view!

On the other side, the famous Luna Park awaited our arrival. It was actually closed…. but the gates were open and we wandered around this abandoned clown park  in foggy rainy weather. It was eerie!! I loved it!

We were lucky to get another nice day in Sydney, and took the ferry across to Manly! Although the beach was nice, it was similar to Bondi, and I actually found I enjoyed the bay more. Our favorite by far though was the 4 pines microbrewery. I recommend anyone to go…it’s got a really laid back atmosphere, a tasting plate of good sized beer for only $15 and everything else you could hope for in a microbrew!Â

4 Pines!

We waited until dark to catch the ferry back, so we could see the city lit up at night! It was so beautiful, and I feel like we were SO lucky, because we saw fireworks at the Sydney Opera House and it was such a cool atmosphere!

Fireworks!!

The weekend arrived, and that meant only one thing…. STAMPEDE!! The valley stampede in Glenworth Valley to be exact. My family friend, Michelle picked us up for the road trip up there to what turned out to be one of the most unique and crazy things any of us have ever experienced. Dressed in Christmas gear, a group of 8 of us set of on a 5k obstacle course through the mud. After some log rolling, tire skipping, ice trenching, rope climbing and hay jumping….we were all wondering why everyone was finishing this thing SO dirty.

Straight Grossness!

WELL… bring on the mud. Next was running through deep wet mud, crawling through muddy tunnels, slip and sliding down into mud and straight up jumping into a sloppy mud pool! It was MAYHEM!!! The funniest obstacle of all was probably running through an electric maze…which really did electrocute you!! How they got away with that…I’ll never know!

The gang!

Anyway it was an absolute blast, and even better being able to catch up and spend time with Michelle and her friends! We finished the day off perfectly with a BBQ and drinks at a nearby hotel. Thanks Shelly for organizing everything!

Our last day in Sydney was spent exploring Darling Harbour. It’s got lots to offer, and the Chinese Garden looked very cool….BUT we mostly just walked around and took in all the crazy Santas floating around

It was really great to get back into the thick of it again and the busy streets of Sydney was a great launching pad. Â Thanks so much to Sam, Valerio and Ariel for hosting us as we remembered how to be budget travelers again. Â Much love to Kristy, Colin and the girls as well. Â

We’re excited for phase two of our travels and hope we have as many amazing stories to share as the first half. Â Thanks for reading!