See You In Sydney!

The final leg of my Australia adventure was Sydney! An amazing city that reminds me so much of New York City. But unlike it’s American twin, this city does not smell of homeless, urine, and garbage. Don’t get me wrong. I love NYC. But I also can admit that the cleanliness of this place was far better. Perhaps it has to do with the Australian population already having a step above us in hospitality, and overall kindness.

Being that I left Sydney for the end of my trip I made an itinerary/bucket list of free things to do in Sydney assuming I didn’t have the funds left anyways. To be honest I feel like a got a great experience in Sydney without spending more than my metro card and food.

While we never made it to any of the walking tours.. we did our own. I mean really… if you just pick your head up and look at the people, places, and things around you, you are likely to see amazing sights, and learn amazing things. Maybe even in your own backyard.

We had set off on foot from our AirB&B in search of breakfast and sights to see along our trek to the Sydney Harbor Bridge. While we considered taking the train or bus closer, we opted to walk the neighborhoods instead. It was a great walk. One with twists, turns, and lots of miles.

Our walk took us by the Chard Stairs. They are just a simple set of steps that were constructed in 1923. They may just be a set of steps… but they are also deeply embedded in history. The mini plaza is also home to an excellent coffee shop. Definitely get a latte there. 😉

Next up we wandered through Hyde Park. If you’ve never been to Sydney… they you don’t yet understand the magnitude that is Hyde Park. It is HUGE. It spans over several blocks. Hyde Park is a combination of water fountains, trees, grassy areas, the cathedral plaza, and more. If you’re not a nature fan… obviously just skip this park of the stroll.

After selfies with the St Mary’s Cathedral, and picking up a penny press from the Mint we headed into the Royal Botanical Gardens of Sydney. Yes, we collect pressed pennies. . . We may have a bit of an addiction. I started her addiction when she visited me in the States years ago. I’ve known about Penny Press Machines all my life. And well, my bestie turned me onto the penny collector.com. It’s this site that tells you where any machines may be located. Ummm… amazing. Had I know about this site before, I would have SO many more pennies!

The Royal Botanical Garden is equally as large. It even has it’s own public WiFi and a smart phone app to help you get around the garden, and find where you are looking for, including upcoming events. It helped us locate breakfast. Yum. Excellent coffee once again Sydney.

Somewhere in the middle of the Garden is the Wishing Tree. The plaque of the tree talks about the tradition of the tree. This tree is where the phrase “touch wood” or “knock on wood” comes from. Since you can no longer touch this tree, they also have a “walk around the tree” to make your wish. My bestie and I did the 3 loops forward, 3 loops backwards. I’ll save you the silly video I took of our backwards walking. SO MUCH FUN.

Next up came the overlook point for the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge. Such amazing views. This park was also home to ALL the locals getting in that lunch time run. I mean, now I know why Aussies are in such great shape!

That and if you walk Sydney rather than drive… you’ll definitely get back into, or stay in shape.

From the overlook we were able to walk to the Sydney Opera House, and then make our way to the bridge. By this time the rain had started, but was nothing like the pouring rain we encountered during our walk across the bridge. The bridge is incredibl-y… long and large. We found our access point and started our journey across the bridge. We made it to the first set of columns when the pouring rain started up.

And I mean POURING down rain. When we thought the rain was slowing we opted to cross the remainder of the bridge… only to be caught in MORE RAIN. The walkway of the bridge was flooding because of the extent of the storm. By the time we made it all the way across the storm has passed. Funny isn’t it?

Crossing the bridge, visiting the outside of the Opera House, and wandering through the different parks are all free. What isn’t free is to do the Bridge Climb… it’s VERY expensive, and to us wasn’t worth the expense. I loved our day in Sydney without the added cost.

On the other side of the bridge is Luna Park

Don’t mind us. We’re just drenched.

Luna Park was basically closed up. But the gift shop with our coveted penny press machine was still open. #winning! We did our selfies, made our pennies, and ran to the ferry. Which we made just in the knick of time.

We were the only ones brave enough to stay outside. Personally it helped me dry off. HAHA! But it also gave us the opportunity to just enjoy the weather post rain showers. I LOVE FERRIES!

Once back of “dry” land we headed to a few more penny press sites. We started with the Sydney Museum. … And wound up taking loads of snaps with our new best friend. I couldn’t stop laughing through all the different snap filters.

We were so psyched about our penny that my bestie almost forgot her phone. Good thing Australians are good peeps and left the phone there while we used the toilets. Only to then walk out and take loads of photos with our statue friend.

Since we were really close to the Sydney Tower Eye, and yet another penny machine we wandered to the mall. Only we were lost once inside. Thankfully Sydney is full of wonderful people and a shopkeeper gave us directions.

The penny machine was in yet another gift shop. I already have a ton of crap from Australia, but I found MORE crap I didn’t exactly need, and wound up buying more. Which in turn helped us get more pennies from the top of the tower,… without buying tickets to the top. WOOT!

From the tower we walked to the Sydney Aquarium. My friend had already been there, and we didn’t have time to purchase tickets. We asked to get to the penny machine, and we allowed access to the exit to go get our pennies. Basically I got us into the Aquarium for free. WHOOPS.

My catholic guilt definitely flared up during this escapade. But. OMG. We got into the aquarium and got our pennies. SO amazing. I’m definitely willing to get back there for a full visit to the aquarium.

We ended our night meeting my friend and former technician for margaritas! I MISS Mexican. New England has got to step up their Mexican food game. Sydney has it pretty well down pat.

Hope you enjoyed our day in Sydney!

Happy Travels,

Nattie