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Australia - Sydney
We arrived in Sydney to the torrential rain . After getting off the train we took shelter standing in flip flops and shorts deciding on how we going get to get to our hostel . After 20minutes of pondering we quickly realised that we were standing next to it!
The rain stopped, so we quickly checked in and headed for the city sights by walking over to the Sydney opera house and circular quay where lined with bars and restaurants we strolled and took in the views of the harbour bridge . We headed up into the botanical gardens where the trees were filled with flying foxes which are huge bats. There were hundreds all hanging upside down with the occasional one flying over our heads which was quite unusual to see .
From our centrally located YHA hostel we purchased the explore 4 pass which gave us entrance to four of Sydneys most popular tourist attractions . On our first full day we decided on the Sydney aquarium which was excellent. Packed with various marine life , jellyfish and sharks plus the more rare and extremely weird Dugongs, a species which grow up to 3metres in length and while in captivity eats 200 lettuces a day ! Hard to describe so check out the photos for this one .
On day 2 we met up with another of Julia's friend called Jenny . An old university friend who has moved to the coastal area of Bondi . We met up at Coogee bay and took on the 1 1/2 hour coastal walk to Bondi . A beautiful walk walking the coast giving us top views of four beaches and the locals surfing . Just on the edge of Bondi we stopped at Icebergs which is a lovely bar/ restaurant and had a well deserved beer in the sun .
From here we visited Watsons bay to check out Jennys wedding venue as she is due to marry next year before enjoying a delicious home cooked meal with Jenny and Warwick at their apartment . So big thanks to both Jenny and Warwick for your kind hospitality .
On day 3 we visited Sydney wildlife world where Julia had a photo with a Koala and both of us had a photo with Kangaroos . We also got up close with some of Australias scariest spiders and snakes so we made sure we checked under the pillows that night for any lurking creepy crawlies . The evening was spent in Darling harbour watching the cruise ships while enjoying some calamari and chips ( could not quite afford the lobster ) but still very enjoyable.
Day 4 we met up with Olga , a teacher who previously worked with Julia at Kings Langley school . Olga kindly picked us up and drove us the outer suburbs of Sydney . We went to Cabramatta known as little asia as mainly populated by Vietnamese , Thai , Lebanese and other asian nationalities . We started with a Vietnamese lunch including dim sum which included chicken feet . I had to try these but will not be making it a regular dish as once Olga quoted " Their does not seem much meat on these today it seems to be all muscle " I soon became put off and returned promptly to my spring rolls . The afternoon was spent eating Arabic and Turkish sweets which were lovely but I think we over ordered by ordering a kilo of them . A really enjoyable day giving us a different and interesting look at the less touristy side of Sydney . Big thanks to Olga !
Day 5 was spent checking out Paddys indoor market and checking out numerous shopping malls and as we liked the walk we had previously done with Jenny we decided to do it a again . For the evening Julia met up with Olga to watch the new highly anticipated Harry Potter movie giving me the opportunity to frequent a city pub for a quiet pint or two .
For our last day we went up the Sydney tower giving us great views high above the city before having to pack up for our next flight to Singapore .
Stay tuned for the next update .
Love Mark and Julia xxx
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