Sydney

I'm posting a bit out of order here.  I'm jumping over the rest of my New Zealand trip for the time being, because I'm waiting on some pictures from some of the other girls I traveled with.  So, pause on Queenstown for now... skipping ahead to Sydney!

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March 29 - April 2, 2013

Although sad to leave beautiful New Zealand, I was looking forward to being reunited with David in Sydney for a long weekend trip!  One of my favorite parts about Sydney was how surreal it felt to see the iconic Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge every single day.  You see both of these landmarks on TV, in movies, etc., but to see them in person was almost unreal.  They're both just as amazing as I imagined!

We stayed in an area of Sydney called "The Rocks."  This is an older area of the city, and I loved how they've maintained a lot of the historic buildings.  Most of the streets are still very narrow and brick-paved.  It has a very eclectic and funky vibe, and it's a great location in the city.  On our first morning there, we were lucky to stumble upon a farmers' market just down the street from our hotel.  It ended up being a really fun way to explore the neighborhood and eat some delicious food while we were at it!

 

 

 

Our awesome hotel lobby.  Part of the floor was glass so you could see through to the water below. 

 

Mah man.  Enjoying some drinks outside our hotel.

After stuffing our faces with amazing market food, we headed to the Royal Botanic Gardens.  We've visited the botanic gardens in both Brisbane and Melbourne, but this one was by far the most impressive- not to mention huge.  You could probably spend an entire day there, just wandering around and people watching.  We saw two separate weddings being held there, too.  Such a pretty setting! 

 

 

 

Next, we headed to the Opera House for a guided tour we had booked.  Usually I'm a little wary of touristy tours like this, but I'm so glad we did it this time!  It was really interesting to learn about the building's history, construction, controversy with the original architect, etc.  Plus, the tour gives you access to parts of the Opera House that you wouldn't otherwise have.  We were able to go into several of the performance areas, which was amazing (no photos allowed there unfortunately).  I'd love to go back for an actual performance sometime while we're here! 

 

 

 

Close up of the tiles on the roof of the Opera House. 

 

View from inside

 

 

There's an awesome bar right outside the Opera House that was perfect for having a drink or a cheese plate shaped like the Opera House while enjoying the views. 

 

Opera House at different times of the day

The Harbour Bridge was so neat to see in person, and just about anywhere you go in Sydney (as long as you're near the water), there it is. Our hotel was actually literally right at the base of part of the bridge.  And of course, you feel compelled to take a picture of it just about every single time you see it.  :-) 

 

 

This was the view of the bridge from right outside our hotel!

On Easter Sunday, we took the bus to the famous Bondi Beach and went on the well-known Bondi to Coogee Coastal Walk.  This ended up being one of my favorite parts of our trip.  The coast line is gorgeous, amazing views the entire way, and it was so fun to visit all the beaches along the way.  Oh, and awesome people watching, too... as you'll see below :-) 

 

I couldn't resist sneaking a photo of this beach babe :-)

 

A really cool pool/swim club literally right on the ocean.  It was originally built for lifeguards to train in when the ocean was too cold. 

 

 

Scary cliffs

 

 

 

The next day, we took the ferry to Manly Beach, another well-known beach in Australia.  The ferry ride was fun, and the beach was pretty.  But in general, I was a little underwhelmed with Manly.  It might just have been the crowds, but I was more impressed with the beaches we'd seen the previous day.  We found a fun little brewery (Four Pines Brewing Company) on Manly and had a great lunch and beer tasting there.  Definitely check it out if you're ever there!

 

 

Later that afternoon, we headed to the Sydney Aquarium.  I'd never been to an aquarium with one of those "tube" walkways where sharks and other sea creatures are swimming all around you, so that was really fun to see!  David loved the sharks, but that manatee was my favorite by far!

 

 

Manatee eating lettuce.

 

Eek!

On our last day in Sydney, we visited the Pylon Lookout Point, which is basically where you can climb up 200+ stairs in the base of one of the Harbour Bridge's main supports (a pylon) and get an incredible view of the harbour, the bridge, and the Opera House.  It was pretty interesting too, because on your way up, there are several exhibits where you can catch your breath learn about the history and construction of the bridge.  It was a perfectly clear day when we went, and the views from the top were breathtaking!

 

 

 

 

 

If you look closely, you can see the people climbing the bridge.

 

Sydney was amazing!  It was so incredible to visit such a famous city- someplace I honestly thought I'd never have the chance to see. 

Waiheke Island, New Zealand {aka Paradise}

Waiheke Island, New Zealand ~ March 19-23, 2013

I set off to New Zealand to meet up with my cousin, Lee Anne, and a few other girls that we went to high school with in Phoenix to attend the wedding of another high school classmate and, of course, to explore New Zealand.  Honestly, I didn't have a real clear idea of what to expect of New Zealand.  David and I are pretty OCD travelers, and when we travel together, there's almost always a day-by-day itinerary, tickets/reservations for all attractions and restaurants in advance, maps/routes planned out, etc.  I get really into it usually, and I love trolling around on Trip Advisor and pouring through my Australia travel book.  This trip was a little different.  Obviously, there were more people involved (6 in total), and the whole thing was just much more laid back and relaxed.  Plus, I'd been super busy with work in the couple months leading up to the trip, which hadn't left me much time to obsess over travel books or Trip Advisor.  I was actually kind of looking forward to a different travel style.  So I guess it's safe to say that I really didn't have all that many expectations of what to expect in NZ.  However, I think it is safe to say, that any expectations that I did or could have had were absolutely blown away and exceeded.  New Zealand. Is. Incredible.  I loved it.  Loved everything about it.  I can go on and on (and I will), but for now, I'll start with just Waiheke Island. 

Waiheke Island is a small island just off the coast of New Zealand.  It's about a 40 minute ferry ride from Auckland.  It didn't take long for all of us to fall in love with it.  And I kid you not, by the second day there, we were (only half-jokingly) talking about wanting to buy a place there.  Just another day or two later, the six of us were actually getting somewhat serious about it and even picked up some real estate magazines.  One can dream, right?  Retirement, maybe?  :-)  But really, Waiheke Island is just that incredible.  It ranks right up there in my top 3 favorite and most beautiful beaches that I've ever been.  Here, have a look for yourself...

The cute little beach town of Oneroa

Free wine tasting? Yes, please!

Someday I will have a beach house with a porch like this... sigh...

One of the girls there for the wedding was training to be a yoga instructor, so she offered to give us a yoga class with an amazing view!

 

House shopping/dreaming

Dreamy, isn't it?

Our first day there, we got settled into where we were staying and enjoyed the views with some wine and cheese. 

Cheese, wine, and llamas!

Later that evening was the Groom's dinner.  The groom is actually from Scotland, so it was fun to see all the little Scottish touches that the groom's family added to the night.  It was a beautiful night! 

The view for dinner

They brought in a wood fire pizza food stand for dinner!



Scottish details - Scottish soaps "for the lassies," Auld Scots Words, kilts!

Scottish Band, and crazy blurry Scottish dancing

There was even a flash mob (skip forward to minute 2:30 or so- there was some issues with the music at first)!  All of the guests had been sent an instructional video a few weeks prior, and it was pretty impressive how well everyone knew the moves! 

The next day, we visited a place called Wild On Waiheke.  It's a winery and brewery where you can also do archery and laser clay bird shooting.  Genius!!  Someone open something in the US like this.  Oh, and they have tons of giant bean bags to sit on and drink your wine in- perfection.

The following day was the wedding.  There's not really much else to say about the wedding, except for the fact that it was by far the most gorgeous wedding I have ever (and probably will ever) attend.  The ceremony was at a place called Lavender Hill on the edge of a cliff overlooking the ocean.  Stunning.  The reception was at a vineyard called Mudbrick.  Seriously, insanely beautiful and there were so many very thoughtful details throughout the entire day.  Wow is all I can say. 

View from the ceremony - And lavender everywhere!

Amazing cocktails post-ceremony.  And this cute pup belonged to the owner of this place- he looked down on everyone the entire ceremony. 

I can claim Phoenix, Houston, and Brisbane :-)

View from the reception

The start of a gorgeous sunset

I mean seriously with this sunset?!

 

Our last full day on Waiheke Island was spent on a winery tour- we visited The Obsidian Winery, Peacock Sky Vineyard, and Kennedy Point Vineyard .  We had an awesome tour guide, Christine, who seriously was full of interesting information and fun factoids about the island.  My favorite being (well 2 favorites): 1.) Waiheke Island does not have any native mammals or birds  and 2.) New Zealand's only native land mammal is a bat AND there are no snakes, spiders, or any predatory animals for that matter.  WHAT?!?!?!  Living in Australia for the past 8 months where just about every creature has the potential to kill or at least injure you (OK maybe I'm exaggerating), this was a huge deal to me!  Another interesting thing about the wine tour is that two of the wineries we visited were owned by Americans who had visited Waiheke on vacation, fell in love, bought property, and never returned.  See?!  We weren't the only ones who wanted to stay!

Wine and grape tasting

 

This winery was completely organic.  These two cows are living the life there- their job is to clear the fields, eat the old vines, and provide "fertilizer"

This winery also made honey.  These trees (and the bees of course) are the source of the delicious Manuka honey- which is also used in many New Zealand beauty products.

Phew! Congrats if you made it this far.  As you can tell, I had a really hard time narrowing down the photos to include.  Missing Waiheke already... time to plan a trip back- this time with the husband!