We have all been having an amazing time. I made it into Sydney on the 23rd after a 16-hour bus ride from Surfers Paradise and had a whole day to explore. Instead, I pretty much just enjoyed staying in a real hotel with a real bed and my own bathroom and no cockroaches (at least that I could see). I did go to Hyde Park and explored the shopping area, but other than that I wasn't really very exciting.
The next day I surprised my family at the airport, and after dropping the stuff off at the hotel we immediately headed out to see some of the city. It reminded me very much of New York, and it was definitely the biggest and most 'real' city of all the Australian cities I've been to. I apologise if this makes no sense; I am le tired.
We went to the shopping district I went to my first day, and then we walked to the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. The Opera House is so amazing to see and it never gets old. We went on a cruise around the harbour and saw some beautiful suburbs in North Sydney, and when we got back we went on a walk through the botanic gardens and saw heaps of cockatoos, lorikeets, and flying foxes.
The next day (Merry Christmas everyone!) we went to the Taronga Zoo and spent our time visiting all the Australian animals. We saw a keeper give a presentation on spiders and he was very funny and awesome. We also saw a platypus, which was very exciting because they are the cutest animals in the world. And as if they weren't cute enough, baby platypi (and echidnas) are called 'puggles'. Awwww!
The next three days are a bit of a blur. We crossed the Harbour Bridge and saw the yachts heading out of the harbour for the Sydney to Hobart yacht race, explored some beautiful suburbs, went to the Australian Museum, and lazed around Bondi Beach. Mom, Dad and I even saw a presentation of the Australian Symphony Orchestra inside the Opera House. It was a compilation of various operas and the singing and playing was fantastic. The concert hall was just gorgeous and the acoustics were incredible. Here are some pictures of the race; Bondi pictures (and an illegal picture of the inside of the Opera House) to be had tomorrow!
Today we left Sydney early to head to the Blue Mountains. We stopped off at a wildlife park where Mom, Dad, and Emily got to pet a koala and feed the kangaroos. We arrived here in Katoomba in the early afternoon, and after seeing the Three Sisters rock formation we had dinner (where Dad and Emily got to eat kangaroo) and now we are back at the hotel. The place we are staying in has a very 'Shining' feel to it, and I am not entirely sure how I feel about it.
Sorry this was so brief; a lot happened in the past week and I have been terrible at keeping this updated. I promise I will be better now that we are in the Blue Mountains and I have internet access in my room :P
2 comments:
Yay I think i'm the first to comment. I absolutely love the picture of the opera house you have, with all the sail boats very well done!! Say hi to the family. Look forward to reading more.
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HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
You are coming home in two weeks! Boo for you, yay for me!
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