NYE Sydney is the place to be.....to wait. And wait....

                               Date: 31 Dec 2012
And wait some more in order to keep the spot you had previously staked out from your last post!!

If you move, you lose your spot! There are 1.5 billion + people annually that trek to Sydney to watch the much anticipated fire works display. And 1.1 Billion more reported to watch it televised.  After all, Sydney is the first place to turn over into the New Year!! Tell me, where is a better place to be?

Pictures cannot describe what we were not able to capture on camera, so just enjoy what we happened to catch....

And its over in an average of 12 minutes...... Worth it? Yes!! And a much needed day of rest for our tired feet! Plus, the drunken crowds afterwards are highly entertaining.

Happy 2015 to everyone!!

Mission: Staking it out for NYE 2013!

                                                                                                Date: 30 Dec 2012

        Today is an important day! We have 1 simple task to accomplish today, and little did we know at the start of the day exactly what this would entail....

Mission: Staking out our New Years Eve spot to welcome in 2013!!
       So, you see, exactly just how critical this mission is!!!

          The good thing about the sprawl in Sydney; is there are SO many good vantage points to see the waterfront. That regardless of which spot we choose, it should be a good one!

        But our biggest task? Is picking out THE BEST one!!!!

Why is Sydney so LARGE?!  

          We walked a few more miles over the Sydney Harbor bridge to the "North Shore"- did I mention this big city life/traffic is not quite for me? Too fast for this island girl!!

         

         I think we agreed we do not want to get trapped(they close bridge traffic down during the firework show and 45 minutes before AND after) on the side of the bridge our accommodation is not on.... so we ambled back across to look at another option.

Above: People experiencing the Sydney Bridge tour while we walked under.

Left: Sydney opera House view from across the bridge from the North Shore!

          Not quite sure what Ken thinks of all this walking!! I hope this doesn't turn him off from ever wanting to go traveling with me again 😘

        But, as long as there is fish and chips involved he's IN for the long haul! Fuel up and continue walking on!! Right?!! He's So cute!!

        Ken is doing such a great job reminding me to take photos, and taking lots of photos too!

                 Of girls!!?!!

          Haha, don't worry I'm not the jealous type :) He was really only trying to capture an image of a sticker we brought with us from our local brewery and rigged up on a- that's right- A handy dandy versatile chopstick!!!!

          And we end up settling back on the first place we looked for our view: The Sydney Observatory which is located on the top of: Observatory Hill! Right in the center of Sydney.
              Perfect? We think yes.

          We walked probably close to 14 miles today!! 
         
But tomorrow, we stake out our spot and wait!!

Kings Cross- the "red light" district

                               Date: 29 Dec 2012

Revisit to Kings Cross: aka the "red light district" and a visit to backpackers head quarters! (Though we are not lodging here this time around)

It's a true fact; I stayed here, in this exact hostel pictured- with my dad and my brother in 2007. Other than a rare interaction with the bouncers across the street at the night club and the very intoxicated Canadians we were room-mates with at the time.... The "red light district" is a fairly safe place. (Ask me in person if you would like to hear the Canadian/bouncer story firsthand!

A few quotes we couldn't help but pause and ponder on the sidewalk.

Also a true fact, we only came here for the Gelato Mio(ice cream) that one of our companions read in a brochure was a "must try" while visiting the Cross and Darlinghurst.

An extremely warm day today deserves a yummy treat right?! We are still acclimating to the warm temperatures, and most likely will for another week(maybe more!) 

A good day for revisits!

Bondi to Coogee Beach Walk

                                 Date: 28 Dec 2012

Do you know what one of the things I love most about traveling?

Meeting other travelers and exploring!!!!!!!

Even something as simple as going to the nearby market to pick up snacks, here we shared our tasty finds of grapes, mangos, and a few other exotic fruits to fuel our way to the beach!!

     Yes, to the famous Bondi Beach that is!!
     The bus ride here isn't the easiest to figure out, and we ended up getting off early and walking through the town down towards the beach(about 2 miles)

             Then, as if our morning wander/walk to the beach were not enough; we decided to go for the Bondi to Coogee 6km walk (about 3.75 miles) you know, just to stretch the legs a little bit!

Then it got a little windy!!!!!

        But, we kept on walking- because we are troopers, that's what we are!!!

            And walking.....

Kiwi?!!!!

This was surely a day for walking!!

Then we had to walk another 2 miles or so to find a bus depot, 

the first one we found wasn't running this day :( It happens :)

   
         We walked about 10+ miles today- I think? And we all ended the day with just a tad bit of sunburn, and not to mention windburn and a LOT of tired feet.

We shall all sleep well tonight!!!!

Love exploring with friends!!!