These pictures are from the full day we had in Sydney & Manly ending with the lights around the harbor and city.

The picture with the flags shows people climbing the bridge. There were tours available but we were not that adventurous.

 

After touring the outside of the Opera House we got on a ferry towards Manly. Manly was a nice town with more beautiful beaches. While eating our shared fish and chips on the beach, one seagull snatched a chunk of fish right out of my hand. The birds had no fear.

The hike along Manly coastline was pretty. We crawled through an opening in an old wall once used as a quarantine divider. Saw a couple large lizards and several scary spiders (non-poisonous) hanging a few feet from our heads.

 

 

We got up early the next morning and headed for downtown. I just loved Sydney, wish we had more time there. Saw several old buildings, a grand cathedral and the beautiful Royal Botanic Gardens on our route to the Opera House. Took a ferry to Manly where we hiked along the coast. Got back to Sydney Harbor in time to see the lights turn on around the Opera House and Harbor Bridge. Sat for an hour watching giant fruit bats invade the night sky. Amazing day!

Because I took 2,000 photos on this day alone, I’m giving it more than one post 🙂

 

 

  

Hi everyone! I haven’t forgotten about you! Sorry this has taken me so long to get organized. It has been an interesting couple of weeks adjusting back to our time zone and going through 6,500 photos!

Todd is making me maps so that you know exactly where we were each day. I think I have plenty of pictures to post for each day or more (about 15 days). I wish I could show them all. My goal is to have our trip concluded no later than Christmas 😉

We started our trip from Seattle after being dropped off by some wonderful friends. We flew to San Francisco where we boarded a Jumbo Jet (747-400) for a 14 hour flight. A couple movies and short snooze later we landed in Sydney at 6:30 a.m. their time. After customs and immigration we bought tickets for the train and headed into downtown. Got off about three blocks from our hotel where we took in the sights for the first time. First impressions were of a very clean, beautiful and friendly city. Left our bags at our hotel and then bought tickets for a bus to Bondi Beach.

It was maybe a 30 min bus ride to the beach. The water was beautiful! We walked the whole beach then took the Coastal Walk for about a mile and a half to other beaches. It started raining on us, which you can see the dark clouds in the pictures, but it was a warm rain. Ate dinner at Hungry Jack’s (a.k.a. Burger King) then went to bed around 7:30 that night.