Wednesday 24th July
We both slept quite well lastnight however I woke up quite early, maybe due to movement around the halls or due to the time difference who knows. Despite being awake I didn't manage to get out of bed for several hours afterwards because I felt so tired, in fact Liam was up and dressed before me which never happens.
By around 10.45ish we were walking out and starting the day.
First of all we walked to the CPA building so Liam could pick up his bank card that bad been sent there. We then went to see the harbour bridge and opera house.
I don't really know what to say about the harbour bridge, it's big and looks like it does in the pictures! As for the opera house well it's a lot smaller than I imagined, although still big. We went up the steps and you can have a proper walk around the buildings, it's very impressive due to the design on the structures. They're all individual theatres that form the shape of the overall opera house that we all know. We enjoyed having a walk around them and a nosy, then we went to find some food because it was reaching 1pmband nether of us had eaten. After lunch we also decided to treat ourselves to icecream and had a double cone each and ate it whilst walking to the botanic gardens. We walked past dozens of runners and fitness boot camp people whilst scoffing our icecreams.
First stop was the government house which you can go for a tour of but we wernt bothered about that, we just looked at the building from the outside. We spent a long while walking around the gardens which were beautiful, possibly my favourite of all the gardens we've been to. The feel of it was just nice, and was somewhere I'd like to go on a sunny day with friends or by myself with a book. There were so many birds around, some we knew and others we didnt so that kept things interesting too. You could also see the opera house an the bridge from a few view points and from across the river which made it even better.
After that we went to the art gallery and spent about an hour in there, I always love them, Liam always gets very sleepy and spends most of his time sitting on the couches. It was a mix of modern contemporary art, some European, australian and aboriginal. After we had finished in there we walked back through the gardens and through the hospital grounds to find st Mary's cathedral which was a lovely building. I lit a candle in memory of 3 people- our precious baby Oliver, my grandad who passed away not long ago and an old family friend who passed away very recently.
We walked though Hyde park where there was a lovely fountain and a man making giant bubbles. We walked through the city and got a taste of some of the shops and things like that, then we went to the rocks, which is an area in the city known for its restaurants and bars I think. Again, lovely views from across the harbour and the rocks were lovely because all the buildings were sort of a European style and it had a great vibe to it.
After all that plus a small shop to eat in to save money we were very tired from all the walking, and managed to get back to the hotel at around 6ish.
Nothing special from then on, I had a shower, we ate tea, watched some lord of the rings and chatted to a couple of people on Facebook until the Internet decided to stop working. Then I tried to catch up with blogs a bit and read whilst Liam played some games before I was out for the count again a few hours before Liam went to sleep himself.
Thursday 25th July
Despite waking up the first time around 7.30 this morning my head and neck felt terrible so I didn't manage to surface out of bed until a whopping 11am today. Liam was up, washed and dressed before I even pulled the covers off which is practically unheard of!
We decided to head to the pharmacy to find something for my ear which has been giving me a bit of trouble since our skydive, and with the scuba diving getting close it was best to check. I was given decongestants but we decided it was best to get checked at the doctors to be on the safe side. After walking there and making a appointment, then also walking to the Medicare to collect the forms I would need, we commenced our day of walking around Sydney with an immunity boost juice which Liam made us drink!
We wandered the shopping areas and browsed the shop windows which we always enjoy, we finally managed to find a charger for the smaller camera, then we headed to china town. It was nice and authentic, with lots of Chinese people shouting for you to go inside and waving menus at you, as well as an old Chinese man snorting snot out of his throat very loudly! We had a walk around paddys market, which was your typical market really but did seem quite cheap when I compared it to Melbournes markets I went to.
We then went back through Chinatown and bought some "emperor cream buns" which were like little hot custard donuts and were delicious, before buying a takeaway chicken curry and rice. Then plan was initially to eat in the Chinese friendship garden, however it cost money to get in so we just sat outside it which was nice enough! It wasn't a lot of money but we have spent a lot lately and knew we would be going to IMAX and wanted to buy ice-cream, so have to prioritise where the pennies are going.
It was sunny at that point and we stripped down to just a tshirt which was nice to be able to do and be comfortable! We watched the ducks and ducklings, as well as people walking by. It was then time to start heading back for my doctors appointment so off we went.
At the doctors it was confirmed that both my ears had blocked water and air bubbles and were quite inflamed. Unfortunately there was nothing that could be done about it, it just has to dislodge itself which is quite upsetting as its been like that for almost 3 weeks now and we want to dive!
Oddly enough on the way out of the doctors we bumped right in to Caroline, the au pair from Melbourne. She was visiting her aunt for a few days, it was very strange but nice to have a quick catch up before parting ways again.
We walked through various places of interest, past some lovely buildings, statues and fountains. We walked down to the darling harbour, which was an area with a big play ground, lots of grass with deckchairs, lots of cafes and bars and restaurants. There was the Hard Rock Cafe which would have been nice to go in but the prices were a bit too much for us! Instead we booked onto a showing at IMAX, the worlds biggest screen, which is something we felt we wanted to spend money on. And then treated ourselves to gelato whilst we sat overlooking the harbour which was wonderful.
We had tried shopping before but the alarms had all gone off mid shop and we had been evacuated. So we went for it again, bought some breakfast items for the next day and spicy food for dinner for me to try and open up my ears like the doctor had suggested.
We were back at the hotel for perhaps around 6ish where we did some washing and relaxed for a couple of hours until it was time to head back out for our 9.15 showing of man of steel.
The theatre was just amazing. I do like going to the cinema,but it never exactly wows me. Walking into this IMAX I was wow'ed! It was just like a theatre the way the seats were laid out in a big arc all staggered up really high. The ceiling was so high as well and it had lights that looked like stars all over it for the duration of the film, and the screen...oh my god it was just massive I've never seen a screen like it. At the start it even had a announcement saying if you began to feel dizzy to close your eyes for a few moments which we thought was weird. But then we put the 3d glasses on and the images started,it was the best 3d I've ever watched, it really was like in those silly adverts when people jump out the way of things because the 3d is so good. The quality was just amazing, and the screen was so massive I often had to turn my head a little bit to see from one she to the other. It was so good,and I thoroughly enjoyed the film as well. Liam thought the theatre was amazing but I don't think he liked the film as much as me.
After that we went to see sydney harbour bridge and the opera house lit up, and by the time we'd done all the walking and sat for a while and walked to the hotel it was about 1.30am! We were asleep as soon as we got in bed, we aren't used to late nights like that!
