Monday, February 17, 2014

Setting My Sights on Sydney

Day 17: Photo Prompt - Something I never would have seen if I'd stayed home.


Holy cow!  I moved to Sydney for goodness sake.  What wouldn't I have missed?  We were lucky enough to find a great apartment in Kirribilli with jobs in the CBD.  We walked to work and back home every day (unless it was raining) across the Harbour Bridge.

Walking to work one winter morn ...


Before finding said apartment, I did the required touristy things.  Top of my list (and what I recommend everyone do) is the Bridge Climb.  Yes, I know that it's pricey, but I completely loved it.  I did it during Sydney's fall/winter and that's what I would recommend.  But that's just me because I hate sweating.  LOL





If I'd never left home, I would have missed Vivid Sydney, which is AWESOME!  There are so many activities going on and it all has to do with lights.  Everything gets lit up in differing ways.  The Opera House is always involved in some way, too.

Image Credit:  Spinifex Group


I also would have missed communing with a nature that you can only know Down Under.  I've had my photo taken with a koala twice.  I've fed the kangaroos twice.  I'm more than ready for another go at it.





I sure hope the photo prompt wasn't for just ONE PHOTO.  Especially because I have more that I want to show.  Mr. Smith and I took a long weekend vacay to Grafton for the Jacaranda Festival.  On our drive up and back, we passed the Big Banana in Coffs Harbour.





And most important to me, as always, are the people.  If I had stayed home, I would never have met the wonderful people I now call friends.  The people will always stand out as the best part of Sydney to me.  Here are just a few:

Me and Bee, my closest and bestest

Me and Frannie

Shiplu

Bee's mini me ... Benji
Declan
Sweet lil Feebs



9 comments:

  1. So jealous you got to touch a Koala! I paid to stand next to a Koala and not touch it. Lol. Also love the bright coloured tights! & Wow, the bridge climb makes for some awesome photos!

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    1. TWICE, Samantha! LOL

      This was at the Koala Park Sanctuary in Pennant Hills NSW. They are open every day except Christmas Day. If you go during feeding times for the koalas, you can take a picture just like this one and it only costs you the price of admission to the park ($27 adults, $15 kids).

      http://www.koalapark.com.au/myweb2/default.htm

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    2. Haha! I agree! Here we have places like that, where you pay to stand near them. Screw that! I want to hold one! Great photos, Yvette.

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  2. Aaaaah, the Big Banana! Did you go ice skating? Or down the luge-y thing? So much to do at the Big Banana!

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    1. Unfortunately, we were just passing through. We had no idea what it was, but had to stop and take photos. It was such a long drive to Grafton!!!

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  3. I loved all of your photos, particularly the one that has you walking across the Harbor Bridge in winter. It's great. Now I wish we had stopped to see the Big Banana … so many things to do and see! It would take a decade at least, I think, to do justice to Australia.

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  4. Where is this Big Banana! It looks amazing! I have yet to see it.

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    1. Big Banana is in Coffs Harbour, on the highway. Please forgive my interruption. If you go further up the highway, to Ballina, you can see the Big Prawn which is much bigger than the banana but not nearly as big as Goulburn's Big Merino Ram. Australia is full of "Big" things. In Canberra we have Pollies Palace but had the forethought to bury it under a hill.

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  5. this looks like you're having a great time! my favorite picture is the one of the Opera House. As someone from New Jersey/York that loves how the Empire State Building lights up for all special days, I love the lights of the Opera House. Very cool

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