Waverley Cemetery (cont'd)

A few more pictures.

Waverley Cemetery

I mentioned in the previous post that we had to detour through a cemetery, and I thought this one deserved its own post to explain (and to show some really cool pictures). This cemetery is along the coast between Clovelly Bay and Nelson Bay, and looks out over the ocean. At first it was kind of creepy walking through the cemetery to get back on the walking path. However, after looking at the incredible detail on these headstones and mausoleums, we really began to appreciate the beauty in a cemetery that has been there for over 100 years. There are thousands of tombs in Waverley, and all are above ground like New Orleans. I will try to post some video, as the pictures we took do not begin to do it justice.


The detail in these headstones and statues was incredible.

I thought these next two pictures were really cool. The sky was overcast and steely looking grey, with just a little bit of blue sky peeking in behind the clouds. I thought they might turn out pretty good with a beautiful statue.

Day 6 (cont'd)

Here are a few more pictures from our Coogee to Bondi walk.


We thought this one was funny. And educational.

Steep rocks below. Or everyone do the YMCA.

Day 6 (Tuesday's Travels)

Tuesday was a day that we had at our leisure to explore Sydney on our own. Tina and I elected to take the Coogee to Bondi Beach walk along the coast. It was supposed to be in the mid 70s today, but it was a bit overcast and a little windy, so it was only in the low to mid 60s and felt great. There is a walking path along the coast and the trail is a few miles long. However, they were doing construction on parts of the trail and so we had to detour through a few neighborhoods (and one cemetery – more on that one in a minute) along the way. It’s about a 3.75 miles and a 2 hour walk, and throw in the rolling cliffs and you’ve got yourself a pretty hefty trek. Even with overcast skies, it was still beautiful. We passed through several of the smaller bays and beaches along the way including Gordon’s Bay, Clovelly Bay, Nelson Bay (and Bronte Beach), Tamarama Bay, and finally Bondi (pronounced Bond-eye) Beach.

After we reached Bondi Beach we grabbed a cab and headed over to Watson’s Bay to have lunch at Doyle’s (which is one of the most famous restaurants in Sydney - http://www.doyles.com.au/). Being famous for the fish and chips, we had to oblige. And was it ever worth it. Definitely the best fish and chips either of us have ever had! After lunch we jumped on the ferry right outside the restaurant and headed back to Circular Quay (pronounced “key), which is where all the ferries depart from near the Opera House. Fortunately for us, our hotel is a block from Circular Quay, and easy to get to. After our marathon walk around Sydney, we headed back to the hotel. The princess had a scheduled massage….and I luckily got to go to McDonald’s (or as the Aussies call it, the American Embassy) to update the blog. Who do you think got the better deal?

This is Bondi Icebergs (http://www.icebergs.com.au/), which is a famous swimming club and bar. As you can see, the swimming pool is salt water and right along the ocean. As the waves break on the rocks below, sea water splashes in and out of the pool. As you swim, you feel like you're swimming in the ocean.

We thought this was a cool picture. Tina took this from our ferry as we headed back to Circular Quay.

Monday Night Harbor Cruise

Monday night everyone boarded the buses and went to Darling Harbour where we all boarded a huge ship for a Sydney Harbour cruise and dinner. The boat was incredible with enormous windows lining virtually the entire boat. They had cocktails and hor’dourves (sp? I never can spell that) on the upper deck as we headed out into the harbour. Afterwards we all ventured downstairs to our respective tables where we had a fantastic meal for us. We had steak and shrimp, and it was delicious! The views of the city at night as we ate dinner were beautiful, and everyone had a wonderful time.


I wish this picture was a little clearer, but you might be able to zoom in to see the glass boat a little better.

Tina and the rest of her team.

Day 5 (Queen Victoria Building)

We were done with our bridge climb around 1pm, so we stopped and ate a bite at the Australian Hotel near the bridge. We split a pizza and salad, and had a beer to celebrate our monumental climbing achievement. The food was fantastic, and one of the best meals we’ve had yet. Afterwards we went to do a little shopping, and headed for the Queen Victoria Building. It’s a beautiful building that was restored back in the 80s to a very high end retail setting for many Australian brands and some international ones as well. I wish we had some better pictures of the building because it really was impressive. It reminded me of the Galleria in a way because of the tiered flooring.

Lunch at the Australian Hotel was great!

The exterior of the Queen Victoria Building was impressive. But the inside was even better!

Tina in her shopping wonderland.

Tina's sister is a huge Apple fan, so we thought we'd take a picture of the three-story Apple store on George Street.

Bridge Climb Pictures (cont'd)

Here are a few more pics of the bridge that we thought were really cool.



Tina needed a bit of convincing....until she saw that Keith Urban climbed the bridge. Of course, she had to get a picture with him.

Day 5 (Sydney Harbor Bridge Climb)

Hey guys, guess what?? I know you’re never going to believe it, but we have more pictures of the Sydney Opera House and Harbor Bridge, just in case you couldn’t tell by all the other pictures that we’re actually in Sydney, Australia. I know you’re all shocked.

Anyway, today we got up to do our last half-day excursion and climbed the Sydney Harbor Bridge (http://www.bridgeclimb.com/). To say it was incredible would be an understatement! The whole thing lasts about 3 hours from start to finish. You spend the first 30 minutes to an hour getting fitted for your climbing jumpsuit, harness, belts, etc. and also practicing on the stairs inside before you go outside for the real thing. Once we were ready, our guide told us we were about to do the hardest part of the climb…..walking outside to the bridge dressed like Ghostbusters. We all thought that was pretty funny. Once we got hooked in to the cable system on the bridge, we began our climb 440 feet into the air, up 1,337 steps to be exact. It turned out to be a beautiful day, and we were able to see all the way west to the Blue Mountains, and east to the Pacific Ocean. Tina is a bit afraid of heights, but she was a trooper. When we looked on the web site beforehand, I saw that lots of celebrities have climbed the bridge (including Keith Urban), and that’s all the convincing she needed. It’s incredible how high up you are, but the views were spectacular. It’s pretty surreal looking down at 8 lanes of traffic going by underneath you, and all the boats in the harbor. We are so glad we did it because it was so much fun.

Umm....did I mention there's a lot of steps?! 1,337 to be exact...

Day 4

Today we were supposed to go on our Ku-Ring-Gai Walkabout out in the Outback, exploring Sydney's aboriginal culture in Australia's second oldest national park. However, Tina wasn't feeling very well and so we elected to bypass the trip to stay in town and explore Sydney on our own. It actually turned out to be a great day as we were able to see Sydney on our own schedule and were not pressed for time. We were able to walk around The Rocks District, and check out the weekend market they have set up in the street. We bought a few souvenirs and just walked around taking in the scenery.


The planned dinner gala that was supposed to be tonight got pushed back to tomorrow night because of some "technical difficulties" (read: the sprinkler system was accidentally set off in the ballroom and everything was soaked). So tonight we are on our own for dinner, and we're trying to figure out where we're going to go. There are so many incredible places to eat around Sydney, especially around our hotel, that selecting a good place is a bit overwhelming. Oh the troubles of fine dining in a major international city...


Tina at lunch at The Rocks market.


Christopher's "Mortal Sin" cake at The Rocks Cafe. It was baked cheesecake, chocolate mouse, and whipped cream. Oh, and it was delicious.

Tina at the nearby warf.

The view from outside our hotel. Down the street is The Rocks District and the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

The Rocks Bicycle Tour (Video)

Here's a short video of us on our bicycle tour. This was definitely one of the coolest things that either of us have ever done. The views around Sydney were gorgeous!

Sandsurfing Video

Here is some video of Tina (slowly) sandsurfing. She swears she was "flying down the hill", but if you look at the end you can see a guy pass her by.

Update

For those that are interested, I've gone back and added a few links from some of the older posts with information about some of the things we've seen. It's hard to fully explain everything, so I thought it would be easier to click on a link to get a better understanding.

Ok, I need to run back to the hotel. It's 10am here and Tina is about done with her morning meeting, and we're about to go on our next excursion to the outback for a "walkabout". More to come later. Can't wait to see everyone.

Day 3 (Part 4)

Saturday night, after we got back from our marathon long day out of Sydney, we went to dinner at a place called Rockpool Bar and Grill with Tina’s team and their spouses. We thought it would be a rather quick, casual dinner since it was a bar and grill (compared to the other Rockpool restaurant, which is one of the nicest, most expensive restaurants in Sydney). However, it was neither, but turned out to be an incredible dinner. Afterwards, we went to this place called The Loft where the concierge at the hotel got us in the door. It was right on the harbor by Russell Crowe's apartment. After such a long day I was not much fun and Tina had to get up for an early morning meeting, so we headed back to the hotel. It was the first night either of us had been awake past 9:30pm.


At The Loft. Fortunately there was a no glow sticks policy.

Tina and I with her partner Leslie and her husband Ron. They are a lot of fun, and we've enjoyed hanging out with them!

Day 3 (Part 3)

After lunch at the brewery/winery (which no one wanted to leave for some strange reason), we boarded the bus and headed to Nelson’s Bay in Port Stephens for our dolphin watching cruise. Unfortunately we ran over schedule at Murray’s (surprisingly?!) and so our dolphin watching cruise was a bit abbreviated. Unfortunately, our cruise was a bit disappointing as we only saw a few dolphins (and none closer than 100 feet away) and were only out in the harbor for less than 45 minutes. We then had to board the bus for a long ride back to the hotel.

Our ship, The USS Minnow.....or the Moonshadow. Sadly it was not a 3 hour tour, but fortunately they didn't play Cat Steven's "Moonshadow" on repeat.

Day 3 (Part 2)

After our surfing adventure we went to a local brewery/winery nearby called Murray’s Brewery (http://www.murraysbrewingco.com.au/artman2/publish/) where we had lunch and wine and beer tasting. The food was fantastic! We had steaks, sausage, potatoes, cole slaw, salad and cheesecake.......oh, and a few glasses of wine and beer. All the makings of a healthy lunch. They had a guy playing acoustic guitar for us as we ate lunch (Gerry, you would have been in heaven). I then went on a quick brewery tour, and Tina tasted a few other of their wine selection. We had one that we particularly liked, and so Tina bought it for us to take back home.

Tina and our friends from lunch.

Tina's unquenchable thirst for beer and wine has clearly proven to be problematic.

This picture didn't turn out very well due to the glare, but the sign says "Free Beer Here (Tomorrow Only)". Unfortunately for me, it was today. The other sign (that didn't turn out very well due to glare, was a plaque for St. Arnold who is the patron saint of brewers, proving that the Catholic Church has a saint for everything. I think I might trade in my St. Christopher necklace for a St. Arnold one.

It's hard to see, but in the background are the grapes of the vineyard.