Sydney for the Final time

Sydney – 1 last time!

Sydney has been my favourite part of Australia so I was very excited to play tour guide to the Jess family around the impressive city sites.  We spent the first day walking around (walking a marathon according to Richard!!) and went through Royal Botanical Gardens to Mrs Macquaries point.  I love this view – literally unspoilt view across the harbour to the Opera House and the Bridge.  We took some of the obligatory family photos and mum and dad were very impressed with the iconic sites! 

The next day was New Years Eve which is totally mental in Sydney with the roads, gates and parks being closed from about 3pm depending on the number of people already entered.  We decided to take a chance going down round the circular quay harbour and ended up with one of the best seats in the house...we were so pleased!!Directly opposite the Opera House with views on it and the bridge - unreal!!  We spent 7 hours sitting outside watching the ever increasing crowds attempt to walk past until the fireworks at midnight.  It was worth every minute of the wait....never in my whole life have I seen such impressive fireworks.  I took loads of photos but they just don’t do it justice, it honestly was such a special and unique NYE and I am so pleased we got to do it as a family...my final NYE as a Jess haha!!It was a totally surreal experience be there and watching it life having seen it on TV on many New Years previously!

Our prime position for 7 hours!!

The next morning Dad had a bright idea that we would beat the crowds and head to the Blue Mountains.  We were very lucky as the weather was spectacular so the views and scenery were stunning, it was a great day trip.  The ‘blue’ comes from the haze created from the Eucalyptus trees and because we were lucky enough to have such a sunny day we got a really good impression of the reason for the name!! It was quite a long day and we were pretty tired but it was worth the trip.

To continue with the ‘marathon’ trend and to keep Richard pleased we walked from Coogee to Bondi the next day, the stunning cliff top path was lovely on the bank holiday as we were able to watch many surfers and swimmers on the way.  Bondi was absolutely packed and the photos look like the stereotypical post cards with 1,000s of people on the beach and in the water.  We enjoyed a very refreshing swim before heading back to the city.  I highly recommend this coastal walk as the views are break-taking.

Bondi beach!

We were then in for a great treat as we moved into the Shangri-La hotel – definitely finishing an amazing trip in fantastic style!! It is as close to luxury as I have experienced lol!

Our final day trip was to get the ferry through the harbour across to Manly.  The ferry itself is worth the trip as it gives you a gorgeous view back across the harbour to the Opera house and the Bridge.  Manly beach is not quite as nice as Bondi but it had huge waves and was nice for a swim.

View from Manly ferry

Our penultimate day was extremely exciting as mum ventured off to climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge – very brave as the rest of us were wimps!! Richard and Dad went off to the test cricket match, they chose a good day for it as Ponting and Clarke both got their centuries!!

Very happy Mum - a great achievement!

Sydney has been fantastic as always and it has been very special to be able to share it with my family.  It has been a great way to end an amazing 3 weeks.  We were treated to lots of nice hotels, yummy meals and fun activities.  Again it is hard to believe these 3 weeks are over never mind this being my final Jess holiday (they won’t get rid of me that easily I will just travel under a different name!!!)

Mums moto!! 

Just 23 hours flying and 9 hours in Dubai to go and I will be back in the Province!!!

xxxx