If I lived in Australia, I would move to Melbourne, but if I were to visit again, I would come back to Sydney. There's so much to see and do here that it's sometimes overwhelming. I ended up getting into the kayaking group. I had to wake up at 6 and leave by 7 to get there in time for an 8am start. Luckily I left myself the extra time to walk there because I made a few wrong turns in the process. My guides name was Sophie and man she was buff, like Olympic kayaker buff. It was me, 2 couples, and a work outing. I was the best kayaker...which is sad. We had two people fall in the harbor and one case of seasickness. But the views were spectacular, I kayaked right up to the Opera house and bridge, with views unparalleled. Luckily Sophie took some pictures that she'll send to me and I brought along my camera as well.
Once that was over, I walked to the opera house and past the quay, onto a place called the Rocks. It's these little laneways and on the weekends there is a market there. As I wandered about the market I found all my presents for my family and a few select friends. From there I went back to the quay and hopped a ferry to Manly Beach. I never get sea sick and I still haven't, but the ride over there was so rocky, and the ferry was really listing, I thought we were going down. Luckily, I made it to solid land with the rest of the masses on the boat. I rushed to the beach were I promptly plopped my butt in the sand and laid out for a few hours watching the surf and people around me. Afterwards, I grabbed a not as shaky ferry back to quay and began the trek back to my hotel in Haymarket (the neighborhood I'm staying in). There's a free bus, but that thing was packed and I wasn't waiting 25 minutes for the next one, so I walked back. FYI the trek from the harbor to my hotel is easily 40 minutes each way, so I was incredibly tired by the time I got back to my room. I threw in a load of laundry to get the sea salt stains out of my clothes while I ate some dinner and watched Catching Fire on tv. I knew it was going to be another early morning since I promised to FaceTime the family before I set out on my day trip.
So, 7am, I face timed the GD family (just for you Amy) and then got picked up by my driver, John. On the trip, we went to a wildlife sanctuary where I saw koalas, kangaroos and dingos (and no, they didn't eat my nonexistent baby). Next was on to the Blue mountains, which get their name from the tree oil omitted from the plants that creates a blue hue. I saw the Three Sisters and Orphan Bridge, it was truly spectacular. We then made our way to the Olympic Park stadiums before hopping a ferry back to Sydney. During our tour, I met a nice couple from Lincoln, Nebraska who had their granddaughter from Cairns. Her name was Sabble (rhymes with table) and she's 12, turning 13 on April 15th, we became bros. There was also a father son duo from England who were Arsenal fans, so he earned a high five from me and I hung out with the son for a bit nce he was the closer to my age range and was a pretty funny guy. Everyone else on the trip got the pre-paid lunch. I decided to try my luck and find somewhere, John recommended The Yellow Deli, so I went. It's run by a strict religious group, pretty sure America classifies the, as a cult, but damn they make great food. I had a gyro type sandwich with chips and a Cinnamon bun, it was the best food I've had in Sydney. I would go back, cult or no cult....maybe that's what their plan was, instead of Kool-aid it was eat the food and join our cult. Either way, it was bomb. So after my tour ended, I headed back to pack up my suitcase since I leave for Brisbane tomorrow, and the fact that most of Sydney's under a lockdown.
