Day 8 & 9 - First Sydney, Then Home

Alison and I woke up early this morning and headed to the Sydney Harbour to see the sunrise. It was well worth it. The sunrise was beautiful. We watched the sunrise from Dawes Point, a park right in the middle of the Harbour with views of the opera house and the bridge. Alison took pictures while I flew my drone. It was a lot of fun. The only people at the park this morning were us and a local photographer. We became friends with the local photographer and he showed us some of the beautiful photos he had taken around Sydney. He was a really nice fellow. We have been very impressed by the kindness of everyone we have encountered in Australia. They have been kind and hospitable.

As we were watching the sun rise a cruise ship came into dock at the Harbour. Our local friend told us 1-2 cruise ships come in every day around sunrise.

When the sun was up we walked around Circular Quay (pronounced key) from there we walked along a raised highway to the base of the bridge. From the raised walkway we had views of the bridge, cityscape, and opera house.

We walked back to our hotel for breakfast. Then we walked back to the raised walkway and up to the bridge. We walked across the bridge and down along the far side of the Harbour. We enjoyed the views and being out. We stayed down by the water and made our way along until we came to a dead end.

Then we headed back over the bridge. Then we spent some time up by the opera house. We got to see this iconic building from every angle. One thing that strikes me is how different iconic buildings look up close. There are so many details that aren’t readily apparent from the famous pictures. We were surprised at the brown color of the building and the fact that it was 3 separate buildings. Additionally, we all agreed the opera house looked better from a distance than up close.

Blake and Debbie joined us for a walk around some nearby botanical gardens. They were kind of like the Sydney version of Central Park. Then we walked back over to the Opera House with Blake and Debbie.

When we were done there we caught a ferry from Circle Quay to Watsons Bay. The ferry system in Sydney can take you all over. There are stops all around the Harbour and connecting waterways.

We went to Watsons Bay because we made lunch restaurants at Doyle’s By the Sea. It is a seafood restaurant that is the place to eat in Sydney. There is a Doyle’s takeaway restaurant right off the ferry landing. We almost ate there, but we realized this was not the place where we had our reservation, fortunately, the sit-down restaurant was right around the corner.

It was a fantastic lunch. Doyle’s is famous for their fish and chips. That is what we all got. Doyle’s serves a fried variety of fish and chips. You get to choose your type of fish. I went with the John Dory selection and it was excellent. We also had the best calamari I have ever eaten as an appetizer. The unique food in Australia is the seafood. It is all so good.

After lunch, Blake and Debbie headed back to the hotel while Alison and I went on a walk to a nearby lighthouse. It was a pleasant walk along the ocean. On our way, we passed pristine beaches and had views of the Harbour in the distance. Alison and I really loved this trip to Australia. It has been one of our all-time favorite trips. We wish we did not have to go home tomorrow.

We took the ferry back to Circular Quay and made our way back to the hotel. It was a windy day and we did a lot of walking so we wanted to regroup. Back at the hotel, I relaxed and Alison took a little nap.

We headed back out to the Harbour for sunset. The colors were so different and beautiful. The cruise ship had pulled out of the Harbour so we could walk down by the terminal and have views of the opera house. We walked along the Harbour until it got dark. Then we made our way back to the hotel. We stopped for a hamburger and a milkshake (literally a milkshake - US-style milkshakes are what they call thick shakes here). On our way back to the hotel we found a huge Christmas tree. It made Alison happy because she loves Christmastime. Right after we got back to the hotel we heard some explosions and looked out our window and saw fireworks. We watched a fireworks show from our hotel before calling it a night. We were tired after walking 17+ miles today.

We were up early again the next day so we could walk down to the Harbour for sunrise. It wasn’t a great sunrise today. There were too many big thick clouds, but we enjoyed some final moments in Sydney Harbour.

Then we returned to our hotel for brekkie, packed our bags, and checked out. We headed to the airport to catch our flight home. Ironically, we are flying at the same time as Debbie and Blake, but we are on different flights to LAX. We are on a Virgin Australia flight and they are on a Delta flight. When we booked these flights the Delta flight left later. We wanted the earlier flight so that we could catch an earlier flight home from LAX, but then the Delta flight moved up to the same time.

As I said before, this trip to Australia greatly exceeded our expectations. It was a really fun trip. We are so glad that Blake and Debbie came with us. Alison and I were having a conversation at breakfast that really blew my mind. Australia is the 14th country we have visited. We visited all of those countries in the last two years. In fact, exactly two years ago we were visiting Egypt, Jordan, and Israel with Blake and Debbie. These past two years have been full of adventure. I am looking forward to many more years of adventure yet to come.