Sydney

We fell in love with Sydney.  The city is filled with water, as the harbour creeps its fingers in and out of so many corners.  The sun shone the entire time we were there, and the Sydney Opera House sat gorgeously in the middle of everything.  We stayed north of the city and crossed the Harbour Bridge on our way in and out of town every day.  I just couldn't stop taking pictures.

Being a city on the water, Sydney also has a fun aquarium.  We spent a good morning checking out all of the strange creatures that live in the seas down under.  It was well worth the visit.

And, being a city on the water, Sydney boasts one of the largest fish markets in the world.  We scared the girls with the live monster crabs crawling on the floor, and then feasted on fried fish and cheap sushi.

We were in Sydney during the winter holidays, and the city had a very festive air about it.  As Sydney is a major tourist destination, it may always carry a bit of a chill circus vibe.  Certainly it did while we were there.  We saw some talented street performers, and Dave was even enlisted to help with this guy's stunt.  As he was less performing magic and more performing feats of strain and danger, it made me awfully nervous to see this man's balance relying on Dave as he juggled flaming swords with spoons jammed over his eyes.

As we were in Australia for the winter holidays, we chose to celebrate New Year's Eve at the year's first party - in Sydney.  We spent the afternoon on a large and fabulous playground in Darling Harbour, and then boarded a boat for an evening harbour cruise.  The cruise finished by parking in the middle of the harbour, facing the bridge for the 9:30 family fireworks.  It was loads of fun, and we were back in our hotel room and our jammies in time to watch the midnight fireworks on tv from our hotel room.  They were much more dramatic, but our timing was better.

Featherdale Wildlife Park on the way to the Blue Mountains from Sydney was another family highlight.  The park is a wildlife rehabilitation center and makes a home for many of Australia's native and unique animals.  We pet plenty of wallabies, snuggled a sleepy koala, and saw dozey wombats, noisy emus and dozens of other animals.  The park was small but well run, and the staff gave fabulous little talks about each animal while they fed them.  We now consider ourselves experts on dingoes.

It wouldn't be a week in Sydney without a day at the beach, so we hopped the train out to Bondi Beach on our one overcast day.  The beach is gorgeous and full of people on a summer Sunday afternoon.  We walked a seaside path from Bondi to Coogee Beach, popping into the water every so often and otherwise taking in the views.  We did not, I'm afraid, swim in the Icebreakers pool, showed below.  But doesn't it look fun?  Ocean waves crash up over the side even on a quiet day like ours, and the pool is filled with sea water.

We spent a week in Sydney, and easily could have spent longer.  In fact, given the opportunity to live on Sydney Harbour, I would go in a minute.  I'd even consider a home without views of the water.  Such a fun city.