Amazing Sydney!

Ahhh we are back home from our trip to Sydney and I cannot begin to explain how much fun it was! Sydney was absolutely beautiful. Cliche I know, but there really is no other way to describe it. It feels so surreal that I was actually standing right in front of the opera house. Seeing it on television over and over again during the Sydney 2000 Olympics is one thing but actually seeing it in person is a completely different experience. My mind is still having trouble processing the idea that I was in Sydney, Australia standing next to the opera house and climbing part of the Sydney bridge. Traveling abroad really does feel almost like an out of body experience. The sites are just so beautiful and so different from everything that you are used to back home. It really opens up your mind!

Although I absolutely loved being in Sydney, the same cannot be said about the THIRTEEN HOUR BUS RIDE that we took to get there (and home). Many of us thought that we could handle anything after our twenty four hour trip from the United States to Australia, but we were very wrong. I definitely recommend flying. However, the grueling bus ride was immediately forgotten the moment that we arrived in the city. We dropped off our suitcases at the hostel we were staying at, freshened up and then immediately began our walking tour of downtown Sydney. We had only walked for about five minutes when some of the Loyola/American girls spotted a Starbucks and literally ran ahead to it. Australian coffee is much different then American and Starbucks are far and few between. After amping up on some coffee we continued walking towards some of Sydney's historical sites. First we saw the Anzac war memorial and then the St. Mary's Cathedral. The church was absolutely breath taking. It was just so beautiful; I did not want to leave. After the church we walked through the Royal Botanical Gardens which were also very, very pretty. Oddly, these gardens had tons of huge bats flying everywhere! Pretty gross. I was really surprised that they were even out during the day time but I guess these bats are much different then the ones I am used to.

bats!

The end of the gardens opened up right into the water and a beautiful view of the opera house. As if this site would not have been beautiful enough on its own, the weather made it even more breathtaking. We really could not have asked for a more perfectly sunny day. We all hung out down on the waters edge for awhile taking hundreds (literally) of pictures. Then we walked up closer to the opera house and relaxed there before breaking for a quick lunch.

After filling up on some delicious food, we walked on further to the Sydney bridge. I have to say that climbing the bridge was probably my favorite part of the whole trip. Although we were not able to climb the entire bridge we did still get up pretty high. The views were amazing, I have never seen anything like it. Much of downtown Sydney is based around the water, making it even more enjoyable. From the bridge you could see everything in the city including the opera house. The water itself was just so blue and pretty! Again I know cliche and corny haha but it was all just so unreal.

We finished up with the bridge (they literally had to pull me down, I did not want to stop looking haha) and took a fairy ride back towards our hostel. Once we got back to our room everyone had to quickly get ready for the night- a boat cruise! We all got dressed up and ready to go and walked over to find our private ship. The cruise went right down the harbor past the entire city, opera house and bridge. I thought seeing the
city during the day was one thing but seeing it lit up at night was even better (if that is possible.) After taking more photos on the boats roof top we all went back downstairs and danced the night away.

We had a pretty early wake up call the next morning and quickly began the days adventures. First we went and saw the Blue Mountains. The Blue Mountains are essentially the Grand Canyon of Australia but with many, many more trees. The site was very beautiful but unfortunately the weather was not. Unlike the cloudless, sunny day before, the Mountain day was much colder.

Although the site was very pretty I think many of us were more excited for what the night had to bring- Mardi Gras! Sydney's Mardi Gras is much different than the United States one. Theirs is actually a Gay/Lesbian parade and celebration. There was no bead throwing but everyone still got very dressed up and into the Mardi Gras spirit. Many of us found really cool masks to wear and tried our best to look as festive as possible! Many other tourists thought that we were actually marching in the parade because we were so dressed up. Being abroad is a lot of fun because you can look ridiculous and it doesn't matter. Especially considering you probably won't see most people again.

After enjoy Mardi Gras festivities we all made it home and tried to catch a few hours of sleep before our last day in Sydney. Although I was really sad for it all to be over I was excited for our last day because we were going to three different beaches! I love beaches, and Sydney beaches were even more beautiful than the ones I am used to. The first beach we went to was Manly Beach and the water was unbelievable. It was so clear you could see your entire body underwater through the surface. I was obsessed. After playing around in the waves for awhile we left and took another ferry ride to Bondi Beach. Before sun tanning we did a cliff walk. The entire beach is surrounded by these huge cliffs that you can walk along to get a better view of the water. The water was clear and the waves were huge. It was astonishing. I have never seen anything like it before in my life; you just feel so small compared to the sites that you are seeing and everything is so beautiful. We finished up our last day and piled onto the bus for the long trip home. This ride wasn't quite as bad as the first one because many of us were pretty exhausted from our long but exciting weekend. I miss Sydney already!