Our first couple of days in Sydney came as quite a shock for two reasons
a) It was pretty cold and we needed hoodies for the first time
b) The Sydney opera house is actually pretty ugly when the sun isn't shining!
Luckily there are some amazing coastal walks around Sydney, where a bracing wind adds to the experience. We chose to visit Bondi beach on one of these cloudier days and were pleasantly surprised by how nice it was - almost free from tourists and quite unlike the overcrowded commercialised place we were half expecting. The walk from Bondi to Coogee beach was quiet and beautiful, just a few keen runners for company.
We also enjoyed our trip to Manly, via the famous ferry, to catch up with an old friend we haven't seen since the year we met. What a great place - we could see why Sydney is one of the most popular, and expensive, places to live in the world. Going to work by ferry in the morning and heading to the beach for a few hours when you get home is something we could get used to! Great view of the opera house on the way back too...
The Sydney harbour bridge turned out to be a lot prettier in the sunshine too, and we were glad to have some lovely sunny days before we had to leave. The botanical gardens were really impressive (and we are almost experts now, haing seen a few) perhaps even better than Singapore's. Definitely another place on the list to come back to one day.
We managed to squeeze in a few days in the Blue Mountains national park, a couple of hours from Sydney, for a short escape from the city. What a beautiful place, like a greener version of the Grand Canyon. It has forest stretching as far as the eye can see, and miles of tracks to walk along the cliffs or in the forest. Not normally too impressed with birds, even we were quite excited to see a kookaburra and gold crested cockatoo. There are also lyre birds which mimic the sounds around them, even if that happens to be a telephone or siren!
We had a great time exploring the park and quirky town of Katoomba. The only down side of all the walking were the sore legs for the following few days. But a fantastic reward for our efforts was the discovery of a cafe with the most amazing hot chocolate where you heat the milk up with a candle then add chocolate pieces to it... delicious.
Final stop of our trip is Melbourne, the most European of the Australian cities which is apparently known for its cafes and restaurants, not to mention outlet shopping malls. It has made us slightly better prepared for the British winter, which sounds like it has been vile so far, as it's quite a lot colder. Though it can vary from 40 to 25 degrees in one day during summer! We've enjoyed the laid back way of life here and taken advantage of the cafes and shops. It's also been quite nice to have a few slower days, giving the feet and legs a rest. We're just about ready to come home now, missing some of the creature comforts and of course friends and family.
So finally it's just left to say a big thank you - to everyone who has been reading this and for all the generous wedding presents which helped make this trip possible. We've had a brilliant time...
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