SYDNEY = WOW

Dec 30:The train ride here took just over an hour and a half. It was absolutely breathtaking. We rode along the coast, stopped in the forest, and even at a stop called CoalCliff which was pretty crazy. The train stops literally in the middle of the Coal yard which is on a cliff, with piles of coal everywhere! 

We arrived in Sydney with ease and walked to out hotel; Swissotel Sydney. We scored this hotel on Hotwire before we left with some Christmas money from our families! Thanks family!! This hotel was in the middle of downtown and walking distance to the Harbour. We dropped off our bags and headed on another adventure!! 

After getting our iPad and Cell phone hooked up, we grabbed a sub and a Gloria Jean's Coffee (delicious) and hit the Ferries to go to Manly beach! 

The ferry ride was great! We saw the bridge, the Sydney Opera House and many other famous and amazing sights. Our train ticket was a multi pass so the ferry ride was included, bonus! 

We wandered around the shops and Manly beach for a couple of hours in the heat. It was beautiful and quaint there. After a quick ferry home, we walked to the Sydney Opera House, and the Botanical Gardens; also awesome! After walking for almost seven hours we grabbed a pizza and a case of beer and hung out in our hotel room.

 Okay so the bird cages are random... but we found this little side street with all these bird cages and we went to go take some pictures. True story, they have hidden speakers in the alley and they play hundreds of different bird calls. You totally think there are birds in the cages until you get closer and realize there are none. 

Dec 31: New Year's Eve

The day time was not overly exciting for us here... we slept in, worked out, found a Starbucks (Yay! Used some of my Christmas gift cards!), and explored an area called the Rocks (older part by the harbour with lots of cool old pubs). 

At around 430 we ended up in a pub called the Glenmore! We had a great dinner of Salt and Pepper Squid and Burgers... followed by a few pitchers of beer and laughs. 

We headed down into the Rocks section near the bridge around 8 and there was tons of action in the street. Pubs sell beer in cans or plastic cups and people walk around visiting, socializing and buying/selling things. It was here we caught the 9pm fireworks! They were good, but we didn't have the best spot! 

We spent the next couple of hours wandering around looking for a great spot and exploring. At around 1030ish we sat down on a hill to wait for the fireworks...and promptly fell asleep. Yup gotta love two days of walking and jet lag! We woke up in time for the fireworks; they were one of the most amazing events I have ever seen. With 45,000 people in the streets, 13 minutes of fireworks and 7.7 million dollars spent, they were truly EPIC. 

We were right under the bridge but off to the side a little for them and the view was spectacular. We took some pictures but mostly just stood in awe. I know it sounds so cheesy, but if you have ever been you understand. It is like being a little kid all over again, except this show is pumped up and there is literally dozens of different locations setting them off, it is hard to know where to look! 


After the fireworks, it was time to walk back. The streets of downtown were all completely closed off to cars and what would be a 15 minute walk took us almost 45 as we walked with the 1000s of people in the streets. It was great; people were just so excited and happy and silly. 

We totally crashed when we returned to the hotel. What an awesome two days!