Travel Wednesday- Australia

Happy Wednesday everyone, and welcome to another post in Travel Wednesday. In case you missed my first post last week you can check it out here. Australia-The Beginning of my Travel Journey

Today’s Travel Wednesday is all about Sydney, Australia, my home for 3 1/2 months in 2010. During my time in Sydney I was able to do and see so many things which made it difficult to choose what pictures to post and what to talk about today. Basically I just think everyone needs to visit Australia at one point in their life and experience the beauty of the country for themselves (if only it was that simple to get over there though right).

Before I get into the rest of the post I just had to share how my time in Australia started off. I mentioned in my previous post that I got incredibly sick on my flight to Australia and even passed out on the plane. As if that wasn’t embarrassing enough I have to share how I made my entrance into my new home for the next 3 months, the lovely outdated student accommodation at GVA.

When the cab arrived at GVA I was more than out of it. Between the jet lag, the fact that I hadn’t slept in over 24 hours and the lovely bump on my head from passing out on the plane I was a mess! So when the cab driver handed me one of my suitcases to hold on to I clearly wasn’t all there and just let go of it. My bag then preceded to roll down the hill in front of GVA, insert me running after it like a crazy person and walking back to the cab completely out of breath and even more of a mess (but at least I saved my bag). Such a wonderful first impression, I was aiming for the unforgettable angel and I am pretty sure I crushed it! Of course I needed to reenact this moment so I would never forget it.

Anyways enough embarrassing stories for one country. Back to the good stuff. Here are some of my favorite things I did while living in Sydney.

Visit Darling Harbor
Oh Darling Harbor how I miss the many lovely days I spent with you. The company that I was interning for was actually located right near the harbor so I got to enjoy many of my lunch breaks taking in the beautiful views. I could write an entire post about the Darling Harbor but here is a summary of my favorite things to do, eat, and see while in the harbor.

Visit the Sydney Aquarium
Be sure to walk through the shark tunnel!

Spend a day walking the harbor
There is always something happening at Darling Harbor and it is a great place for sightseeing and lots of street entertainment. With views like this it is easy to spend an entire day down here.

If your lucky you may even spot Waldo walking around.

That guy walking by doesn’t look to impressed but Waldo owned this outfit and walked the harbor like it was his runway. I just had to share this picture, shortest shorts I have ever seen a man wear!

Watch a movie in the IMAX theater
The IMAX theater in Darling Harbor is the largest screen in the world. I was able to catch none other than Harry Potter on this screen and it was amazing, as close as I will get to actually being at Hogwarts. This was also H and I’s “official” first date, nothing more romantic than a Harry Potter movie for a first date ;)

Grab a drink at the Orbit Bar
Finish your day at the harbor off with a drink at the Orbit Bar. Located on the 47th floor you have some amazing views of the harbor and city.
My through the window picture doesn’t do the views from the Orbit Bar justice. They are amazing though and its a great place to have a drink with friends.

Leaving the wonderful Darling Harbor area here is some of my other favorite memories of my time in Sydney.

Take a ferry to Manly Beach
While you can get to Manly beach by bus or car I think the ferry ride is part of the experience. It is a short ferry trip from downtown Sydney and is full of beautiful views of the city in the distance, sailboats in the harbor and small beaches along the way.

Manly was my favorite beach to spend the day at with its laid back feel and boardwalk full of fun beach shops its a great place to spend a Saturday.

See a performance at the Opera House
The Opera House is iconic when you think of Australia, just look at how beautiful it is! No wonder we see it printed everywhere promoting Sydney. I am so glad I got the chance to visit and see a ballet, but if you don’t have the time to see a performance at least drop in for a day tour. They usually offer free tours one day of the week so be sure to check in to see which day the tour is free.

At the very least walk by the Opera House and take a billion pictures to try and capture the beauty of this building. Look at how massive it looks behind me! Oh and those stairs up to it, not the easiest to walk up when in heels, just a tip.

The Sydney Bridge Climb
Yes, I climbed this! I should first off I should say that I am terrified of heights, its my biggest fear. So when a friend first asked me if I wanted to do the Sydney Bridge climb I didn’t even think twice before saying no way. Funny how travel can change you though, seems to give you an extra boast of confidence and bravery when you need it, and before I knew it there I was suiting up to do the Sydney Bridge climb.

They make sure you take off any piece of jewelry, bobby pins, everything before your allowed to head out for your climb. Our climb was of course the option that took us on the outer layer of the bridge, 1,332 steps to be exact. You can chose do to the climb either during the day or at night. For some reason I felt that if we did it at night I wouldn’t be as afraid since I couldn’t see as well how high up I was, and the pictures on the website for the night climb looked like this.

Yes please sign me up for a view like this! There is quite the climb to even get outside to the bridge and I think that part was the most difficult for me. You are all attached together though on a long wire so I didn’t have long to stall which I think is the only reason I went through with it. When we reached the top I was so glad I pushed myself and faced my fears, it would have been such a shame to miss out on such an amazing experience because I was afraid. Bonus, once we were at the top and getting our photo’s taken a firework show was going on over the harbor making that moment even more magical.

Moral of the story face your fears and amazing things will come! And if your in Sydney please do the Bridge Climb, you can thank me later for all the unforgettable views you will see.

Have dinner at Sydney Tower

Since I had gotten over my fear of heights I figured why not go have dinner in the tallest freestanding building in Sydney. At least this time I was enjoying spectacular views inside a room and while being treated to some amazing food.

The Sydney Tower is a revolving restaurant so you are getting amazing 360 views of downtown Sydney at night. They have a large buffet menu with every kind of seafood you can think of,enough deserts to make Willy Wonka happy, and even kangaroo meat if your into that kinda thing. It is a fun dining experience and one of my favorite evenings during my trip to Australia.

Visit Bondi Beach
I can’t list the best things to do in Sydney without mentioning the famous Bondi Beach. I only visited this beach a few times as it was a bit far from where I was living and it tends to always be very crowded.

I am still amazed at how quickly this beach fills up! On one of my visits to Bondi Beach our beach day was ruined by a thunder storm and I was even more amazed at how quickly the beach was cleared once it started raining. No trip to Sydney would be complete though with being a beach bum at Bondi for the day, so pack your beach bags and head over.

After writing this post I am more than ready to head back over to Australia and do it all over again! Next Travel Wednesday I will be sharing some of my Australian adventures outside the lovely Sydney. Like the time I went wine tasting with H in the beautiful Australian countryside.

Give me a room full of barrels of wine and I am one happy girl (H can stay too, as long as he doesn’t drink to much of my supply).

Stayed tuned for more Travel Wednesday fun, I will be back with a new post after the holidays :)

Question of the Day?
If you have visited Sydney, any favorites you had while you were there? Have you every faced one of your fears while traveling?

Linking up with Nicole and Treasure Tromp!