Day 3 Sydney & Bondi Beach Tour

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We woke up and started our day by 7:30. Pete and I needed to contact his parents about our recent engagement then contact all of our siblings. With a 19 hour time difference to the West Coast and 17 hour difference to the Midwest it was very hard to call his parents. When Pete called his parents house his Dad was home but his Mom was out for lunch. Failed Again….

The four of us then headed to find Pancakes on The Rocks in The Rocks neighborhood of Sydney. This restaurant was recommend to Mom by a friend that recently went to Sydney. It turned into a 30 minute walk during rush hour and made me realize how I don’t miss working in Corporate America wearing suits and high heels 5 days a week.

We walked down George St the main street downtown Sydney then ended at the restaurant. The food was FABULOUS and of course WAY TOO BIG of portions. After we arrived it showed about 5 locations in the city with one being in Darling Harbor where we were staying. Oh Well. You could even buy the pancake mix in dry form or liquid form to take home with you. We opted not to buy it since Pete and I will be traveling for 30 days with only 2 backpacks and Mom, well she doesn’t cook much.

We then were within walking distance of the famous Sydney Harbor Bridge and decided to walk across. You can do the Bridge Climb on top of the bridge for $180/person and no cameras allowed. We took the free walk across on the pedestrian bridge. Once done we knew the Hop On/Hop Off city tour had a pick up location near so we ventured to find it. Walking along we saw some beautiful old buildings.

Pete and I didn’t realize how much we missed seeing old architecture since Shenzhen is a city of 30 years with not much creative design.

By this time it was 11;30am and we found the bus to begin our city adventure. The bus had 24 stops around the city and also had another tour with 8 stops to Bondi Beach. We went 3 stops to the jeweler to get my ring sized. Great News he could have it done in 90 minutes and it would only be 28 Australian Dollars(AUD)=about $25 USD.

Since we were only 3 blocks from the internet café we ran to call Pete’s parents and all our siblings. We were able to video chat with them and share the exciting news and updated our Facebook status to let the rest of our friends know about our Engagement. I know so 2010 by letting everyone know by this but it is hard when we have lots of family and friends to share the news, but little time and internet access being on vacation.

Then we hopped back on the double decker tour bus to view the city. See the pictures for all the places we visited: The Rocks, Circular Quay, Kings Cross, Sydney Opera House, Botanical Gardens, Hyde Park.

At 2pm we made it to Central Station where we switched buses to the Bondi Beach bus. We rode to the beach and were excited when we arrived at the World Famous Bondi Beach. The water was GORGEOUS. Pete and Dad were pleasantly surprised with the topless women, No lifeguards in Speedos for Mom and I.

We quickly got some food at a local stand. Pete and I split a great chicken ceaser salad and chicken wrap sandwich. Oh the little things we miss living in China. Pete and I walked the full boardwalk and were there for 90 minutes. After enjoying the beach we got back on the tour to go back to Central Station where we would get back on the last 7 stops of the Central Sydney tour that had a stop less than 2 blocks from our apartment.

WOW we were exhausted and sun burnt by this point in the day. The sun is very strong here even with SPF 50 and 30 applied a few times.

It was time to relax before we went to the Sydney Tower as it was our last night there. Pete and I decided we wanted to look for a net book and we found one we liked but they were completely out of stock and so was the other store that was down the road. Oh Well it wasn’t meant to be, but we really wanted one.

On to the Sydney Tower, it is the highest point in Sydney and the views were amazing at night. The elevator ride up was pretty smooth but Pete and Mom got freaked out by the height at the top. After about 20 minutes we headed back down the elevator and went back to the hotel to drink some more wine.

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Photos

Opera House
I have about 30 pictures of the Opera House it is so beautiful

Harbour Bridge
we didn't do the bridge climb since it is $180 and you can't take your camera with you

Queen Victoria Building
This is now a shopping mall costs 75 million to renovate

Fabulous Day
until I got sunburnt after many applications of sunscreen