Sydney is the capital of New South Wales, and the most populous city in all of Australia (4.6 million metro area). Sydney is also essentially the birthplace of (European) Australia. The First Fleet landed here in 1788 to establish a penal colony away from England. They first landed in Botany Bay, but kept looking for a better place slightly north and ended up at Port Jackson, which is modern day Sydney, on January 26. This date is now celebrated as Australia Day each year. I can just imagine what the beautiful landscape looked like when the English rolled up in their 11 ships laden with prisoners, officers and their wives - approx 1,500 people - after a journey of 250+ days. Captain Phillip called the port "the finest harbour in the world" and named the area after a British Lord. It sounds romantic in a "whole new world" kind of way, but the reality is that these people (the ones that made it) had a horrible journey, then almost starved to death in those first few years. Life was not easy, definitely not for the convicts and not for the officers either. (And especially not for the Aboriginal people, whose lives were never to be the same again...but that's a bigger issue than my simple blog can cover).
But I digress. Chris and I arrived on a Thursday and had a leisurely lunch and a long sightseeing walk all the way from Chinatown into the Harbour to get a beautiful view of the Bridge and Opera House. There was no time for relaxing before our celebratory dinner at Rockpool - we were celebrating the end of Chris’ apprenticeship, my Permanent Residency, and our upcoming 1 year anniversary.…really just life in general! We were sufficiently stuffed and walked all the way back to our hotel so at least we burned off a few of those calories!
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| Some of the world's most famous landmarks |
Friday was the much anticipated Harbour Bridge Climb! I’ve been wanting to do this for ages...and just quietly, especially since Oprah did it right before I moved to Oz. I was disappointed to find out from the Bridge Climb guide that she took the elevator for the most difficult bit! Come on Oprah. It was an awesome experience, a beautiful day and a great view! Luckily we had great weather because the rest of the weekend turned a bit rainy and windy.
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| We made it! Top of the Harbour Bridge! (and no, we are not wearing matching outfits on purpose...that's the required uniform for the climb so they know we're not out there to jump off the bridge) |
We were also able to check out the Vivid Festival and all the different light installations around the Harbour, where lights / images are projected onto the buildings and structures. The coolest had to be the awesome displays on the Opera House. Also during the Festival there are some really good artists and concerts. I was able to get tickets to a show called "Sounds of the South," finally seeing a concert inside the famous Opera House! Major bonus was that it included Justin Vernon, my fellow Wisconsinite (aka Bon Iver).
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| A few of the cool projections from the Vivid Festival 2013 |
And of course, when in Sydney, one must check out what's happening at Manly and Bondi Beaches! It would be rude not to! They were rainy and windy days, but I can just imagine what the beaches look like in summertime. I didn't manage to see my crush the Bondi Vet, unfortunately (he has his own Aussie TV show). Imagine Gerard Butler saving puppies.
It truly is near the top of my list for one of the most beautiful cities in the world. I don't think much could beat the Harbour Bridge and Opera House in that harbour on a sunny day. Well done Sydney! I left saying, "I could live there"...don't know how Chris felt about that! Hopefully one year I'll at least fulfill my goal of seeing the New Year's Eve fireworks display.
