1888 Hotel

Here are a few pics from the super cool hotel that we stayed in near Darling Harbour. We stayed in The Loft (two levels with bed upstairs and living area below) which worked out great considering I've been waking up well before the crack of dawn and Amanda has had no trouble sleeping in. Shocking, I know. 

Ferry to Manly

Today's adventure was taking the ferry to Manly to get some of the best views of the Sydney skyline. It reminded me of the Staton Island Ferry in NYC.

While the main goal was a great photo op, we decided to spend the day checking out the beaches of Manly. We also had some of the best Mexican food we've ever eaten -- yes, great Mexican food in Australia. 

Mine, mine, mine.

Lush vegetation 

Cool sculptures tucked in the rocks

Shelly Beach -- not just the name; the beach actually made of shells. 

Awesome sign: Psalm 93:4

Not-so-awesome sign: "SHARK SIGHTED TODAY. ENTER WATER AT OWN RISK."

Coogee to Bondi Beach Walk

One of the things I really wanted to do in Sydney was the 6k beach walk from Bondi Beach to Coogee Beach. After figuring out the public transit (and possibly chasing down a bus or two), we made it to Coogee Beach around 10:00 yesterday morning. The weather was perfect -- low 70s and sunny! 

The ocean breeze was actually a little chilly until we starting tackling these hills. The ocean was so many beautiful shades of blue. #nofilter

I think this area has a little bit of something for everyone. I loved all the cliffs overlooking the surfers below. There are several sandy beaches along the way for the true beach lovers. We ate a late lunch and did a little souvenir shopping in Bondi before heading back to the city. If you're up for a hike, I would consider this a must-do in Sydney!

First Day in Sydney

For two jetted-lagged travelers, we really hit the ground running on our first day in Sydney. Since we arrived so early, we couldn't check-in to our hotel. We went to drop off our luggage and were warmly welcomed by the 1888 Hotel staff. This place is so cool! It totally deserves it's own blog post and TripAdvisor review. After cleaning up and getting our luggage situated, we headed out on foot. We are staying near Darling Harbour which is a pedestrian-friendly, tourist area with the obligatory big Ferris wheel, Hard Rock Cafe, and wax museum. It's actually nicer and less carnival-like than Niagara Falls and other super touristy places we've been. Another major difference, the JELLYFISH! They kind of freaked me out. #squishies #throughitnotoverit (Sorry in advance for all the Finding Nemo references.)

Next we walked all the way to The Rocks for our first views of the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. After that, we caught a bus to Chinatown and walked back from there to our hotel. We passed a really cool, huge splash pad and playground. Sorry no pics. By this point in the day, we were so tired we could barely form words. We forced ourselves to stay up until 8 pm. I know that sounds lame, but we had both spent the night on planes and I had been awake for over 20 hours straight!

DFW-SYD

We watched the Hogs lose yet another one this weekend in Dallas. While the boys were actually at the game, I was watching from the airport before getting what is (for a few more months) the longest direct flight in the world from DFW-SYD. Nearly 16 hours non-stop across the Pacific.

You can watch the flight path on your monitor. It's a straight shot to the other side of the globe. The first 3 hours were the worst. I was anxious and trying to force myself to stay awake as long as possible to get acclimated to Sydney time. I finally allowed myself to doze off into medicinally enhanced sleep and drifted in-and-out pretty peacefully. I woke up praying that some time had passed, and there were only 6 hours left! 

The flight was not all rosy. Crying 2 year old. Sick, hacking people sitting by me. But overall, it went better than I could have imagined. The worst part of the trip was landing in Sydney and finding out that the customs workers were on strike! It was just for 2 hours in the exact window in which I had landed. It was chaos!! I had nothing to declare, and it still took nearly 2 hours and a drug sniffing dog to get cleared and on my way. By that time, Amanda had made it in from Perth. I met her at the domestic terminal, and we set off on our big adventure Down Under. Lots of pics to follow!

Where Did September Go?

Time for a photo recap of our month:

Hogs winning

Lake swimming

Hogs losing

College cruising

Meme doting

Coffee toting

Add in working full time plus (and a thousand other little things) and that about sums up our month! Today I'm leaving this side of the world for a couple of weeks Down Under! See you in October!