First visitors of 2009

My parents made their way across the Pacific to be our first visitors of 2009. Although we didn't have anything planned out, we were able to see a bunch based on Sydney's crazy weather. The first half of their visit, the weather was miserably hot, however on the second half of their trip the weather changed to showers with temps in the mid-70s (and this is summer).

One of the highlights (I believe) was watching Jess swim the North Bondi Ocean Classic 1k Swim. Another highlight was driving out west to Camden airport.

Although it was tough to say goodbye, it was great to see my parents. Thanks again for everything Mom & Dad.

New Year's Eve in Sydney

Words can't really describe our New Year's Eve experience. We were lucky enough to have fantastic friends (thanks Jennie & Thor) with a spectacular view of the bridge & harbour. Add in great food & drink and it was a terrific night. Hopefully the pictures capture some the night's magic.



Hope everyone had a safe and happy new year!

Harbor Fireworks

We are very fortunate to have friends with amazing accommodations in Sydney, because occasionally we get invited for spectacular views and fun times. Recently, we went to our Jennie and Thor's place in Kirribilli to watch the finale of Australian Idol. The main focus was not on the show itself, but on the fireworks that accompanied it. Jennie and Thor's view is like a postcard, with uninterrupted views of the harbor, bridge and opera house.

Because I knew there would be fireworks, I invested in a tripod and attempted to learn as much about shooting fireworks as I could. Everything happened so quickly, that I was a little behind the curve and a lot of the photos are unrecognizable. The photos below are some of the better ones from the frenzy that night.

Bridging The Weekday Gap

So the blog is turning into more of a recap of our weekends, which isn't what I had intended - but that is when all the interesting adventures are taking place.

That being said, last Saturday we headed out to Darling Harbor to watch the Dragon Boat races as part of Sydney's Chinese New Year Festivities. It was fun to watch the dragon boats...but after one race, we kind of felt like we saw the whole event.



Afterwards, we decided to walk around the harbor and accidentally discovered the Pyrmont Bridge - the world's oldest electric swingspan bridge. I say accidentally, because we were taking pictures of the races on the bridge when we heard an announcement saying the bridge was closing. We wondered how the bridge could close as there were no gates and no one seemed to be moving off the bridge. As we looked around, we noticed a small section of the bridge (maybe a 1/4th of the overall length) start to close its gates (which were well hidden) and I dragged Jess closer to get a better view. The bridge section swiveled around its center and opened about 90degrees. I really can't explain the bridge in words, so hopefully this video makes more sense.



On Sunday, we went into Central Sydney to climb the Harbor Bridge. One of Jess' work colleagues was in town for meetings, and we decided to share this adventure with him. After a nice lunch at the Glenmore Hotel, we made our way to the base of the bridge for the climb. The climb basically takes a path along the outside arch the bridge and down the opposite arch. For safety reasons we were fitted with a special suit and harness and we couldn't take camera's (or most personal belongings) on the climb, which was disappointing but understandable (no one wants to drop a camera on the traffic below). After a small safety demonstration, we were on our way climbing to the top. Most of the climb is very minimal, with the worst section being 5 separate ladders to get the base of the arch. Our guide was very knowledgeable about the bridge (hence being a guide) and provided some interesting insight. For example 80% of the bridge is made out of British Steel, and the Australian government continued to pay on the bridge until the 1980s when the British decided that waive the remaining balance. The climb provided some of the most amazing views of Sydney I have seen, and I highly recommend this diversion for anyone planning to come visit.

Seaplanes and Opera

Since Jess was working today I went out on my own expedition. I took a 10min bus ride to Rose Bay to check out Sydney Seaplane base. Jess got me Seaplane ride for our 1st anniversary present. The bay was packed with some very nice boats and a couple of seaplanes (beavers on floats). On the East side of the park is a the Sydney sailing club and a kayak rental place. I had a quick bite to eat at the Lyne Park Cafe...a tasty chicken burger...and watched 2 seaplanes come and go.



After the seaplane base I took the bus back to Edgecliff station where I caught a train to the Circular Quay (pronounced "key"). This is the spot where a bunch of stuff is going on...ferries, busses, tourists, street performers, etc... I headed out to get some pictures of the Harbor Bridge, The Opera House, and Sydney's Downtown. Although it is summer here, the temperature isn't really that bad when compared to Houston. The best part is that in the shade with a little breeze it feels just like air conditioning...which is not very common here.