Fingers crossed this is my last airport update. I say this because my 10:25 am flight to Vancouver is now scheduled to leave at 11:15 am, meaning instead of nearly two hours to make my connecting flight to Newark, I have less than an hour to get off a crowded airplane, go through customs, and hop on my next flight. If you are reading this while I am flying, wish me luck!
Almost a week ago Don and I parted ways. He went home and back to work. I went to Sydney.
I planned this leg of the trip to be more chill. After three weeks of traveling, I yearned to hole up in my PJs and watch Netflix. I did do a lot of that. I also did a lot of walking -- often 30,000 steps and over 30 flights of stairs. My toes are sore.
I took the train from the airport to Central Station. I was feeling restless, so I walked from there to the AirBNB. Yes, GPS told me it was a 30 minute walk. It failed to mention it was a hilly 30 minute walk. Once again, I was dressed like Joey wearing ALL of Chandler's clothes. Once I arrived at the apartment I was surprised to see it is on what American's refer to as the third floor, and there was no elevator.
Decorated in an art deco style, the apartment was just as lovely as pictured. It was also very quiet. Located in the Rushcutters Bay section of Sydney, it is on the tourist map by about a block, but worlds away from the traffic and noise we faced in other hotels. It also meant the metro was a five minute walk away and I didn't even see a bus until I was walking to the metro this morning.
I went on two free walking tours and one paid one. My first walking tour was of The Rocks, where Sydney was first settled in 1844 by Britain's penal system. The next day I paid to tour the Sydney Opera House. The last tour was a 3-hour general tour of Sydney by I'm Free Walking Tours -- the same company that we used in Melbourne.
These tours gave me an appreciation for Sydney's history.
There are so many announcements happening at the airport it is hard to concentrate. The eight of you reading my posts, I am apologizing in advance for disjointed thoughts and mistakes. I will flesh out the thoughts after I get home.
I walked across the Sydney Bridge to Luna Park. Many people told me I had to pay $225 to go up to the top for the full experience. I disagreed. I could have paid a fraction of that to climb up to the top of the bridge, and I didn't even do that. Walking across the bridge gave me lovely view and a nice stretch of the legs for free.
Unlike Luna Park in Melbourne, this one allows you to walk the grounds for free, but they charge a flat rate for rides. The only ride I was mildly curious about was the fun house since it is the world's oldest fun house, but not enough to buy an all I can ride pass. They used to have a wooden coaster, but took it out because *gasp* people screamed on the coaster and the neighbors were upset by the noise.
I took the ferry to Manly Beach. This day turned out to be one of my highlights. It was good to escape the City. After consulting with the tourist office, I went to the Sailing Club for a Parmi (the Parmesan Chicken sandwich is called Parma in Brisbane). It was lovely dining on the water. I put my feet in the Pacific Ocean and hiked to the top for a nice view. The guide told me to look out for whales, but I did not see any. I went back early to clean up to see "Miss Saigon" at the Sydney Opera House. Unfortunately, I remembered wrong and my ticket was for the next night. Better that than the day before. I walked around Sydney. All around Sydney.
The next day I took mass transit to Bondi Beach. Everything I read suggested walking from Bondi Beach to Cooggee Beach. I was a little confused about how long that should take. I read somewhere to allow 3.5 hours and I had 5 hours before I needed to get ready for seeing "Miss Saigon." Each beach along the hilly windy path was somehow unique. Some better for snorkeling or surfing or for small children or for teens or included a swimming pool. I'll share pictures and more detailed notes later. I dipped my toes in the water at Bondi and another beach along the way. When I made it to my final beach with a couple of hours to spare, I dropped my bag on the beach and went in the water. As a Jersey Girl, leaving my bag unattended is a huge leap of faith. Enough others were doing it, I took the chance. It was fine.
Me, on the other hand, wow! The water temperature was in the 60s and felt nice. I was knocked over by a couple of big waves before I got too far in. Heeding the "rough waters" warning, I quit while I was soaked but still safe. While drying off I noticed a text from Don. At least he was checking up on me. Not much he could do from 10,000 miles away.
"Miss Saigon" was great. Abigail Adriano, who played Kim, was phenomenal, unfortunately something must have happened and after an extra long intermission, we were told her understudy was taking over for the second half. She was a great Kim, but she played the role differently. Abigail is a native of Sydney. This was her first professional lead. Keep an eye out. If you hear of her performing go see the show! If this was her on less than 100%, the I'd love so see her at full strength.
On my final day I did a lot more walking. A highlight was walking around The Rocks Markets that takes place every weekend. I had dumplings for lunch, and gelato for dessert. Don and I FaceTimed and I was able to show him the Harbor Bridge and the Sydney Opera House, as well as catch up. Technology is pretty amazing.
I took one last walk across the Bridge and into Luna Park. I started about sunset. Within 30 minutes it was very dark outside.
Lots more thoughts, but the plane is starting to board.
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