SydNYE

Alex woke me up Tuesday morning after his sunrise walk and we headed to the CBD for coffee with a friend-of-a-friend currently living in Sydney. It was nice to meet and catch up with a friendly face and listen to her perspectives on Australia. After a couple of flat whites we said our goodbyes and headed to the docks to catch a ferry to the Taronga Zoo.

Since it was a beautiful day, the ferry ride ended up being a great way to view downtown Sydney and the surrounding suburban areas from the water.

Looking back on Sydney from the ferry.

We got to the zoo a little after noon and headed to the closest attraction: another great view of the city.

Great views from the zoo!

We set off to explore the various exhibits and ended up spending a solid four hours just walking around and visiting the many different creatures kept there. I couldn’t help feeling a little sad for all of the captive animals – this coupled with the hundreds of screaming children on a school holiday is why Alex and I don’t make it a point to visit many zoos! Below are some of our favorite zoo buds:

Two younger elephants playing in the pool.

These lions were pretty intimidating.

You almost can’t see the goats hiding up in these rocks!

The giraffes have a pretty great view of Sydney.

I swear this koala did nothing but eat leaves the entire day.

After taking the ferry back to Circular Quay, we walked around The Rocks, Sydney’s primary historical area downtown. Many of the buildings and cobblestone streets have been preserved, reminding us a lot of New York’s South Street Seaport.

Sadly the Greek restaurant we wanted to have dinner at was closed (this has been an ongoing theme as many Australian restaurants close for a week or two around the holidays) so we stopped at a nearby café instead before heading back to Bondi.

Wednesday – also New Year’s Eve - was our last full day in Bondi and we enjoyed a leisurely day of brunch, beach and beauty (Alex needed a haircut and I treated myself to my first blowout since our wedding!). By mid-afternoon it was time to head into the city to meet my dad and stepmom for our new year’s festivities at the Royal Botanic Gardens.

We had purchased tickets to NYE Under The Stars, which provided us with a primetime harbor viewing spot as well as unlimited food and beverages. The four of us had the best time catching up on the lawn, watching the fireworks and stuffing our faces. SydNYE was just as spectacular as we had hoped and we were really happy everything worked out so well!

Fireworks #1.

Fireworks #2.

Group shot.

One of the most pleasant surprises was how easy it was to get home at 1am – Sydney’s public transportation system was fast, efficient and free (they didn’t even take our tickets)! 

We slept in this morning and packed up our bags before heading out for a recovery meal and final stroll around Bondi. We had a (very) slow brunch at AquaBar and then headed to Icebergs for a little “hair of the dog.”

Cheers to 2015!

We're sad to be leaving Australia shortly, but we've also pretty excited about the next two weeks with my dad and stepmom - we're heading to New Zealand to explore both the north and south islands!

Bondi Beach

Sarah and I made the five hour drive from Port Macquarie to Sydney on Saturday morning. We arrived in Bondi Beach, our home for the next five nights, dropped off our bags at the apartment we reserved on AirBNB, then drove the rental car to the airport. By the time we got back to Bondi we were both a little tired from all the travel so we spent the rest of the afternoon doing laundry, catching up on emails and strolling around the neighborhood.

On Sunday, the weather was not great - overcast all day, but fortunately not raining. We decided to walk as much of Sydney as we could in a day and hoped that the weather forecasts for better beach weather starting on Monday would be accurate. We walked from Bondi to Queen Street in Woollahra, then Oxford Street in Paddington, then down to Surry Hill and over to the University of Sydney. We knew school was not in session, but we were surprised to see the campus completely deserted! We literally only ran into one or two other people.

The University of Sydney.

We wrapped up the cloudy day by seeing the latest Hunger Games movie in downtown Sydney. Sarah thought it was okay. I thought it was not great. Probably would've been better as just one movie rather than splitting the third book into two...

Anyway, the weather apps were right and we had a beautiful day on Monday. After grabbing some flat whites, our favorite Australian-style coffee, Sarah and I set out to do the Bondi to Coogee beach walk. The one-way trip took us about two hours, but we stopped to take so many pictures that we probably could've done it in only an hour and a half! Needless to say, the views are stunning and it's easy to see why TripAdvisor rates this the #1 attraction in Sydney.

Bondi Beach.

Another view of Bondi further down the path.

Approaching Bronte Beach.

Bronte Beach.

Waverley Cemetery. Best cemetery view we've ever seen!

By the time we made it Coogee Beach we were so sweaty that we dropped our stuff on the sand and jumped right into the ocean. We were pleasantly surprised to find the water much cooler than it was further north - very refreshing on a hot day! After a few hours in the sun and some lunch at a local café, we took a bus back to Bondi to relax for the rest of the afternoon.

We ate dinner at Fishmongers for "fancy" fish & chips. It was great - definitely not what you'd think of when you hear "fish & chips" but we really enjoyed it. After dinner we met up with one of Sarah's high school friends who lives in Bondi for a drink before calling it a night.

I woke up early this morning to catch the sunrise over Bondi Beach. We heard it was worth the early rise and I definitely agree!

Not many people on the beach before 6am!

Icebergs is not very crowded at this hour.

Spotted someone who got up early to swim some laps.

One more of the sunrise.

Bondi has been one of our favorite beaches in Australia and it's only a short bus ride away from downtown Sydney. Well worth a stop for a few days if you're ever in Australia!

Sydney, Briefly

Alex and I have considered dropping the "honeymoon card" at various points during our trip but we generally feel awkward and uncomfortable about it, especially because we are essentially on a yearlong honeymoon! We finally decided to try it at the Hong Kong airport since our flight to Sydney by way of Seoul was a long one; we figured "Why not ask?" The check-in desk agent was perfectly nice to me but stated that unfortunately our flights were very full and she couldn't upgrade us. She said she'd let the gate agent know if anything changed and we walked away toward security thinking "Well, it was worth a shot." After grabbing a quick bite we started to board and were stopped when our tickets set off a loud beep. I started to sigh assuming something hadn't been checked properly but was stunned when the agent informed us we had been upgraded to business class! It worked! Alex and I were basically giddy about our good fortune for our entire journey: champagne for the newlyweds? Yes please! Dinner with wine pairings? Don't mind if we do! I can't believe this nice check-in agent actually did follow through and succeeded in giving us an upgrade but I am so happy we asked! I am really going to have to restrain myself from bringing it up every time we check in to a flight or hotel now...

We arrived in Sydney completely exhausted after nearly 24 hours of travel but awake enough to appreciate the warmer temperature. Our room wasn't ready yet (we have actually been surprised occasionally and allowed to check-in super early, but not this time) so we dropped off our bags, grabbed some massive caffeinated beverages and headed to Sydney Harbor to walk around.

What "they" say is true: the harbor views can't be beat. 

View of the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbor Bridge.

The sun was shining and there weren't too many other people around so we had a really nice walk through the area surrounding the Opera House and nearby park. After a quick lunch near our hotel it was check-in time...and once we got to our rooms it was nap time! We knew it would mess up our sleep cycles but we just didn't have the energy to do much else. The weather coordinated nicely with our timing (almost an endorsement of the unscheduled nap): it started pouring as soon as we got to our room so we stayed indoors for the rest of the afternoon. (We may or may not have been binge-listening to Serial and are almost out of new episodes).

We ventured out in the rain to buy an umbrella - we really should have packed one - and enjoyed a nice dinner at nearby Onde. Really great food if you're ever staying near Kings Cross in Sydney.

Sunday morning we both woke up late and disoriented. We went to the gym in search of some energy and were excited for a beautiful day in Sydney. Unfortunately, by the time we had showered the storm clouds had replaced the sun again. (The locals said this weather has been abnormal so we hope it clears up!) Alex and I headed out with our umbrella anyway and walked in and out of the shops on Oxford Street for shelter when it started to pour really badly. I bought a few - practical! - items and strolled around until most shops closed around 5-6pm.
 

Rainy day shopping on Oxford Street.

A park along the walk down Oxford Street.

Wet and still a little out of it, we headed to a tapas place by our hotel, Jekyll and Hyde, for dinner. After a glass of wine and some amazing small plates, we are off to bed so we can wake up for our flight to Cairns tomorrow. We didn't get to do a whole lot in Sydney but we'll be back for five days at the end of our Australian roadtrip so we are excited to continue our sightseeing here!