‘May as well be here we are as where we are.’-Aboriginal Saying

When I was heading to Sydney, I did not actually think I would be spending much time in the city. I was supposed to go the Blue Mountains and see the Three Sisters. I was going to arrive back around 4:30, so, with the push of a friend, I booked a trip to the climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge. While still in Queenstown, I received an email that my excursion had been canceled as I was the only one on it. I was super bummed but sometimes, when traveling solo and it being a Sunday, things happen. But it enabled me to spend the day traversing the city. And I did. I think I may have walked 26 miles (not including the bridge climb).

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I spent the day just wandering. I first when to the ANZAC War memorial. It was really cool and the care taken to memorialize those who fought for the Commonwealth was really inspiring. There were also a lot of cool birds just chilling out! I’m not entirely sure what they were but pretty to look at!

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I continued along and walked through the Royal Botanical Gardens. I love a flower and it was stunning. I am sure the Blue Mountains would have been breathtaking but this was pretty great. The gardens are massive and I feel I didn’t even cover half. As cool as they were, the thing that I remember most was seeing parrots. In the trees. Like I see blue jays or cardinals here. It was a moment when you realize that you are very far from home!

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The gardens are next to the famed Sydney Opera House. Seeing it up close was surreal. I mean, it’s one of the most iconic buildings in the world. What surprised me was the tiling of the roof. I guess I just assumed it was a solid, white surface. It was not and the pattern was very cool! I ate some ice cream on the harbor and sat in a park and just watched the boats go by. It was a really lovely afternoon.

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I happened to be in Sydney during VIVID, which is a massive lightshow that they do for a couple weeks every year. Seeing the harbor lit up and images projected onto the Opera House was spellbinding. It was such a unique experience.

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You may have noticed there are no photos of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. There will be oh so many in the next post about how I, terrified of heights and chronic worrier, managed to muster enough courage to climb to the top of the bridge!