On Day 2 in Sydney we decided to get a good dose of old fashioned sight seeing by taking a bus tour of the city. We hopped on the red double decker bus first thing in the morning and did a circuit of the downtown city area (it was supposed to take 90 minutes but ran closer to 3 hours!) sitting on top of the bus, taking in all the sights and historic buildings.

We learned about cathedrals, a wishing well, The Australia museum, statues, pubs, and drove under the Harbour bridge and learned that Paul Hogan (original Crocodile Dundee) once had a job painting the bridge. We drove through an area of town called King’s Cross (bit of a red light district from the look of it actually!) with the iconic Coca-Cola sign.

We also passed the Queen Victoria building which you’d think (from the way it looked) was a government building, but it was really a huge shopping mall!

Sydney has a lot of streets named similarly to those in Ottawa, probably cause of the British influence: George Street, York Street, Gloucester, for example. They also have a Hyde Park, like London, and it had horse races back in the 1800s taking place there. There is also a huge monument to honour the men who fell in the World Wars, behind the Pool of Reflection. We also saw the Sydney Tower, which is Sydney’s tallest free-standing structure. It’s the gold one that you can see in many Sydney skyline shots.

After the bus finished it’s loop around the town, we decided to walk down to one of the sights we’d passed for a better look up close: Darling Harbour. It was a bit of a walk getting there, but so pretty and lots to look at and listen to on a Sunday afternoon. Tons of families milling about and I know my Dad would have liked it there too (check out the lamp posts).

Lunch time, and the moment of truth. Our trip is winding down and Tyler still hadn’t tried kangaroo meat yet. So now or never – we went to a lovely Harbourside restaurant called Blue FIsh, and he didn’t hesitate to order a kangaroo fillet off the menu. And guess what?

Smothered in sauce and rocket (salad), sitting on sweet potato fries…it wasn’t that bad! I even tried a small piece and it wasn’t as chewy and gross as I thought it’d be. Seriously! Would I order it myself instead of a steak though? Not on your life!

Next up, we caught the second bus tour that made a circuit of the easter part of Sydney including the Bondi area. There weren’t as many “sights” like famous buildings with stories on this tour but it was really enjoyable because the scenery was outstanding, and it was that time of day when the sun starts to sink and casts a pretty yellow glow on everything. A couple of areas that stood out were Rose Bay, with it’s lovely little harbour full of boats, and of course, Bondi Beach, with sand stretching to the sparkling blue water set on a backdrop of they city. There were an unbelievable number of surfers bobbing around in the water – I can only imagine how crowded it gets on a summers day when it’s really warm out!

The bus trip ended at Central Station, where we’d actually been dropped off from our Greyhound the day before, and it wasn’t making another round for awhile, so we decided to try and walk it – we had a map and were starting to know our way. It was a good, healthy walk, but we made it! We stopped to check out a few stores and even the huge fancy Victoria building mall on the way home. For dinner, we ate at a small Italian place complete with red-checked table clothes and angry waiters. The food was good through, we got to chatting with a couple from Sydney sitting next to us after I gave them our salt shaker. Tyler told them he’d sampled kangaroo for lunch and they were a bit grossed out (they had never tried it before).

Another great day in Sydney – one more left before our trip comes to a close.

We arrived in Sydney in the middle of the afternoon after our long bus ride. Our hotel, the Russell, is in the Rocks area, and is close to a lot of fun stuff. It’s very quaint – think tiny room, fresh flowers, blue and white china on the mantle, a quilt on the bed, and NO TV! First off, we walked out to the Rocks Market, which is stall after stall of goods: jewelry, hand made clothes, wooden carvings, all kinds of food from corn cobs on a stick, to mini cupcakes and fudge, realistic rubber masks, crocheted hats, embroidered pillows, and on and on. We had a good time browsing all the interesting items.

After hearing warnings from the Melbourian people, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I loved Sydney right away. The cobble stone streets, old architecture, food and more delicious food – I think it’s a wonderful city and I can see why so many millions call it their home. We decided to walk across the Sydney Harbour Bridge next. It took us a few tries to figure out how to find the stairs up but as soon as we did, and climbed, we were rewarded with awesome views of the Harbour area , the Opera House, and the city skyline even though it was a bit overcast. There is a bridge climb you can pay to do, where you get harnessed in and can walk right on top of the bridge itself, but neither of us decided to do that (a bit pricey – and I’m sure I’d be too scared and carefully watching my step to enjoy the view). So we had to be happy just walking across and back. Here is the bridge – a view from below (we walked the straight across part near the bottom):

And the view:

Tyler was very patient with me as I took about 37 pictures of the Opera House from slightly different angles. I can’t help it. I love the building and I just couldn’t believe that I was seeing it, here, in real, right in front of me. I’ve always wanted to visit the Opera House and it feels surreal that we are here in Sydney, across the world, just taking a walk and snapping photos of this iconic building. I just felt so, SO lucky.

After our walk, we wandered around Circular Quay for awhile, where all the ferries and boats come in, and had to stop for this hilarious street performer. I swear, he turned a 3 minute act of juggling fire and climbing on a bike set on top of a pole in a 30-plus minute comedy routine. He had audience volunteers, a ton of dead-pan jokes…he was really fun to watch (oh – and it turns out he could actually juggle flaming torches, and a chainsaw, while eating an apple, too!)

Once the sun went down, a huge crowd gathered at the Quay. Like hundreds, thousands of people, to watch this light show that Sydney has on right now. It involves different light installation art pieces across the city, and a big part is the lights flashing over the Opera House at 6pm. We watched for awhile (I even managed to snag a decent , mostly unobstructed spot along the water) and watched the light show. I liked it when they had motion – like a jelly fish shape dancing across the sails of the Opera House, or vibrating lines of yellow and blue. Really cool. I think we will go back on Monday night when (maybe?) the hordes of people will be a bit less than on a Saturday night.

After walking around a bit longer, we got a drink at the Russell Wine Bar (attached to our hotel). We were going to get something to eat, but the cheese plate alone was 25$ so we decided to finish our drinks and head out to look for something heartier. As soon as we stepped outside, we knew it was a mistake. It had started pouring rain and the streets were so crammed with people that Tyler said it reminded him of Canada Day in Ottawa (not just cause of the rain, either!) It was chaotic – even the ice cream shop had a huge line to get in! We went back to the Rocks market and I managed to wiggle towards the front of a food stall, 6 people deep, and snag plates of food which turned out to be delicious – Turkish Gozleme, a thin pancake with spinach, feta, and spicy ground beef. Phew! We retreated through the masses of people back to our hotel, and ate quickly before turning in for an early night. Lots to do in Sydney and we don’t want to miss anything!

On our last full day in Byron Bay, we woke up to a sunny, cloudless blue sky and the temperature was around 21 degrees Celsius. Not bad for winter. And now, we could actually explore the city properly, leaving our rain jackets at the hotel. So, we did! First, since it was so early in the morning and Byron shops don’t seem to open til 10 or so, I asked Tyler if he’d mind making the trek up to the lighthouse again, and of course he said we could. It also seemed like a much quicker walk up there and back down too, in the sunshine!

The view was much, much easier to appreciate this time and we spent awhile walking around the lighthouse and watching the waves crash at the base of the cliffs around it, gathering into foaming whirlpools.

Then, we went back to a couple of the funky fun shops that we’d missed or wanted to see again. There are tons of stores lining the streets, but I didn’t find it to be on the tacky side like I did in Airlie beach. Maybe since the stores were pretty unique and selling handmade goods, or interesting clothes or amazing food. For example, the “Institute of Cute” store was a local artist who sold her work and all kinds of ladybug themed trinkets, including a toothbrush holder that sticks o the mirror and clamps shut around your brush, and a bubble blowing machine stationed at the front door.

We decided to try the vegan/gluten free cafe attached to our hotel, called the Heart and Halo, and we each filled a takeaway container with all of the items they offered: mung bean and tomato quinoa, an indian curry with basmati rice, pumpkin and black eyed pea salad, and some pasta with peppers. It was all amazingly good and flavourful. And healthy – who knew!

After lunch we walked out of town to check out the Arts Factory. It’s a backpackers resort with art spray-painted everywhere, and people stay in dorm rooms, huge teepees or even camp out. We caught a bit of an african drumming lesson that was going on outside, and I also noticed a sign for a make your own didgeridoo workshop. Everything was surrounded by lush green foliage and enormous trees. It reminded me of a hippie commune and I could see why people would want to stay there even if it’s a bit of a ways out of the main town area.

They also have a brewery on site so we stopped and Tyler sampled a Byron Bay brewery beer!

It was still a gorgeous sunny day so we spent a couple of hours at the beach, walking, wading, reading, and relaxing. It was pretty busy, and there were a ton of surfers enjoying the high waves. We saw someone trying to kayak over the waves too (didn’t work very well).

One thing I noticed especially about Byron Bay was that the people were really friendly. Walking down from the lighthouse for example, we passed lots of joggers, mothers with strollers, other tourists (probably) and most smiled, nodded and said hi (or if they were Australian, smiled and said, “How ya goin?”) I could see why people would come here intending to spend a few days and then have it turn into a few weeks, or even months. It’s such a laid back, fun place and especially beautiful when the sun is shining!

I’m writing this on an overnight bus headed towards Sydney. It’s a long, bumpy, mostly sleepless and kind of smelly ride with so many people stuffed into the bus. We’ll be in Sydney soon though and ready for the last few days of our adventure in the big city!