| Frank & Lisa's Amazing Cross-Australia Adventures |
| Sydney |
| It's official - my little car has driven over the Sydney Harbour Bridge! Once arriving at our hotel in Pott's Point (about 4 blocks away from the notorious King's Cross suburb, but technically not still on Darlinghurst due to a street name change) we were pleasantly surprised with our hotel room! We have been travelling on the cheap with an upper limit average of $100 a night for rooms. With $100 a night in downtown Sydney we weren't expecting much, but we had a nice room with a fabulous view of the Harbour Bridge and Opera House in one direction and Double Bay in the other! (pics below) |
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| The night we got there we hooked up with Frank's friend Lloyd (formerly of Rev Can and currently of Ernst & Young) to watch the New Zealand vs Canada rugby match. Sydney was definitely in the throes of World Cup fever while we were there, with people sporting various countries' supporter jerseys all over town! Despite the 68-6 final score, we were impressed |
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| with Canada's performance! They held the All Blacks off for 18:18 before there was a score on the board. Considering many people were suggesting an All Black century, the Canadians earned respect that night and made look even more forward to attending their game against Italy in Canberra in a few days time! (pic right) |
| Our next day was spent on a bit of a wlking tour of downtown Sydney. Our hotel was not far from the beginning of a suggested walk out of the Lonely Planet... We walked basically to the first bay near us (Woolloomooloo) and continued on a path that took us right around the shoreline of Sydney Harbour to The Rocks. The point between Woolloomoolo and Farm Cove is called Mrs. MacQuarrie's Point and offers the perfect photo opps of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge. I am sure because of all the tour buses parked there! This is where Frank & I got our best photos. (see four pics below) |
| From there we travelled through the Royal Botanic Gardens around Farm Cove to the Opera House itself. We continued around Circular Quay and Sydney Cove to The Rocks. We visited the George Street markets and observatory park (I took a shot of the Harbour Bridge from the other side here - pic right) before heading off to the Sydney Aquarium... |
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| The Sydney Aquarium was fantastic! It had all kinds of Australian aquatic life, including everyday freshwater & saltwater species, a platapus, seahorses, crocodiles, and reef dwellers. Some were in huge aquariums (pic left), but the best part took you through underwater tunnels where things like sharks, rays, and sea turles swam around and above you! (pics below) Frank & I thought it was so cool that we went through that bit twice, lingering for some time while we were there! |
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| That night I sent Frank out on his own to watch the rugby with Lloyd and the boys... It made me look like a great girlfriend in front of the guys, but the truth is that Frank had actually wanted me to go, but I was exhausted and wanted to stay home to sleep! The next day we walked through Hyde Park to meet up with my friend Rajeev and his family for lunch. This park is really interesting. It has trees on either side of the main walkway forming a sort of tunnel, which, while we were there, had an impromptu art exhibit inside (see pic). There are also memorials and statues galore (see fountain pic for an example)! Then we were off to the Art Gallery of NSW in the afternoon, no pics though because I hate it when people take photos in art galleries. |
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| We were off to Canberra the next day. We still had a couple of things we wanted to see & do, but expected to be back in just a few days on our return home from Canberra. However, we decided that it was easier to return to Sydney than it would be to get back to the Hunter Valley, so the Hunter won out. So as it stands, it is safe to say that Frank & Lisa's Amazing Sydney Adventures will continue again in the future! |
| on to Canberra ...or |
| Northern Territory: Red Centre , 2 / Top End , 2 NSW & ACT: Hunter Valley / Sydney / Canberra , 2 Queensland Coast: 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 South Australia: Barossa Valley / Kangaroo Island / McLaren Vale & Coonawarra Victoria: Great Ocean Road , 2 , 3 / Melbourne New Zealand (North Island): Aukland / Rotorua / Tongariro / Wellington (South Island): Nelson / Westland / Queenstown / Milford / Dunedin / Mt Cook / Christchurch |