First on the itinerary upon landing was to head to the city and check into our Airbnb. We accomplished this after Brooke and Daniel went into a hotel and called the guy we rented from to remind him that he needed to meet us. So not seamless, but we got in! The real problem was that the apartment didn't have wifi... seriously, what apartment in this age does not have wifi?! I'll blame this lack of wifi for the delay in posting everything about our first couple days.
After settling in, we decided to grab lunch and then we met up with Carissa and Eric at the Opera House. Our guide for the tour was Bruce (like the shark in Finding Nemo!) and he was fabulous. We learned all about the construction of the house (very dramatic and inspired the drama The 8th Wonder), that Operas are never held back to back due to the singers needed to rest their voices, and that there's a net over the orchestra because one time a ballet dancer fell off the stage while performing and another time chickens that were part of a play fell into the pit, scaring the cello player who threw it back on stage. Crazy stuff!
Following the tour, we took a walk through the Royal Botanical Gardens and were rewarded with some fantastic views of the harbor and the Opera House. We also stumbled upon some girls feeding birds (like the lady in Home Alone 2), however, instead of pigeons, they were feeding parrots and cockatoos.
Next it was time to grab dinner so we headed to an Asian Noodle place that was delicious! We had dumplings and stir-fried deliciousness.
And then we went back to the apartment, tried to stay awake a while... but ultimately passed out at like 9pm. Decent bed time given all the travel and the time difference so we were quite proud.
My fabulous new eye mask that I got for Christmas, the entrance to Chinatown and beers in the Delta Sky Club as we waited to take off for Sydney!
The look through Hyde Park (one of the parks near our place), Humongous jets that we weren't on, and our new pal Tyrone who we played Battleship with in flight
The view down Hyde Park, the menu of burgers we selected from for our first Aussie lunch, and the group minus Brooke: me, Matt, Daniel, and Sam.
Sam tried the charcoal burger bun (it didn't actually taste like charcoal!), my burger which was Asian inspired and our first view of the Opera House!
Selfie on Circular Quay! And then the Sydney Harbour Bridge which we deemed too expensive to climb. I wasn't too sad about this as I did it 10 years ago :)
With time to kill before meeting Carissa, we had Fat Yak beers at a restaurant in Circular Quay. And then I forced Sam to take my picture with the bridge.
Group selfie (this will be a pattern) on the Opera House stairs, and then the view inside the smaller drama theater of the Opera House.
No famous people spotted, but this is where they would enter the building. And then some cool looking wood that is where the organ pipes are contained. JK I made that up, I can't remember what they are.
Acoustics and architecture of the building--they had to find a feasible way to support the curves of the Opera House and this is part of the solution. A lovely photo with Carissa as we completed our Sydney rendezvous.
A close up look of the Opera House shells, as I like to call them, and then looking out of the Opera House towards the Harbour Bridge.
The frowned upon photo I took of the main performing hall (they told us not to take any as there were rehearsals and sets being erected but I'm nothing if not a rebel!)
Why didn't I ever get a Sydney Opera House Barbie growing up?! My childhood suddenly seems less fun.
Hall designed by the Opera House Architect who never actually saw the building or this hall completed because of all the drama behind the construction of the Opera House. There should be a VH1 Behind the Construction special for this.
Why buy the photo book when you can take pictures of your picture? Sorority squat was the go-to pose for us ladies.
It's not a trip for me and Carissa without some good ole statue photos. I found a friend!
200! No idea what this is but hey, looked nice. And then this is a fabulous tree that I wanted a picture of and also fell on top of because I'm a clutz. A sideways view of the Bridge from the Royal Botanical Gardens.
Views from the Royal Botanical Gardens
Actually, this was the tree I tripped over. Leave it to me...
Bananas? They were quite small. And then some pretty things in the garden.
Maybe I took a few too many photos of the same things, but I'm sure you're enjoying it anyway !
Beautiful views of Iconic Sydney
This is what we're going to call a urinal... but you should notice that the spouts on the side dump the pee back onto the grass outside. I'm sure all the people who were in the park for NYE really really loved this. Sam and I fought over the wishbone but sadly neither of us could break it so we could get a wish.
We stumbled upon these girls feeding and playing with the birds. Pretty cool to see these just chilling about. Sam and I also got our heads scratched by them.
More fun scenery in the garden
We also walked by St. Mary's Cathedral but missed being able to go inside by 7 minutes as it had already closed.
Our first Asian noodles of the trip! I tried to make a dent in mine but was not super successful.
