Our trip to Australia: Sydney

Max and I arrived in Sydney on January 9. We didn't know it but the Sydney airport doesn't let transportation vans park outside the airport. Would have taken a taxi if we had known!

Thanks to our friend James, we had a great view of Sydney Harbour from our room at the Marriott and could see the Sydney Harbour Bridge. With the extra zoom lens on my camera, I could even see some of the Bridge Climb people!

The next day, we went to the Sydney Aquarium. They had so many species that I had never seen before - platypus, dugong, and lots of colourful fish. They also had some sharks, a giant prawn the size of a lobster, and stingray. We were probably there for 2-3 hours.

For lunch, we went to Lowenbrau Keller. Their Rahmschwammerl mit Semmelknödel (mushroom goulash with bread dumpling) was AMAZING! Even Max said it was better than his schnitzel. That afternoon, Max did the Sydney BridgeClimb. I walked around the city a bit and checked out a few souvenir stores (something I love to do but not Max's favorite). For dinner, we went to Appetito Pizza Pasta Bar. The food was great but the service was SO slow. Which, to generalise, I found to be true throughout Australia. By law, waitstaff are paid $26/hour. Which means they don't work for tips. I think it hinders good service.

On January 11, we went on a boat cruise around Sydney Harbour with an older couple from England. We had lunch on the boat in a small protected cove and saw the giant Rubber Duck in Darling Harbor. A great way to spend the day!

Our last day in Sydney before we went to the airport, we went on a tour of the Sydney Opera House. Wish we had gone to a show while we were there. Not enough time to do everything!