Sydney, Australia: WOW! (Part Two)

The afternoon of our first day in Sydney was spent walking around the harbor area from Circular Quay to the Opera House, and then around Farm Cove to Mrs. Macquaries Chair.  A more stunning city walk would be incredibly hard to come by.

Here's the Sydney Harbor Bridge:

On top of the bridge (click on photo to enlarge), you can see groups of people on the top arch of the bridge.  That's where we were going to be tonight!

Here, Laurie is walking around the front of the Opera House.  I had no idea that the Opera House had so many different show venues.  Many different performances go on here every day of the year and it's not just for opera.  Tomorrow night we have tickets to the Sydney Symphony in the main Concert Hall.  Should be fantastic.

Christmas card material?

Walking along the edge of the botanic gardens, the skyline of Sydney emerges in the background.  I'm simply at a loss for words...

A public, harbor-side swimming pool with treated salt water.  What a location.

After our long walk (4-5 miles during the day), we were quite hot and our feet needed a rest.  The weather was nearly ideal - a perfect 77 degrees and sunny.  But, it was a tad on the humid side and it did feel hotter by mid-afternoon.  AC was on the menu.  Had a short rest in the hotel before embarking on the big activity of the day.

One of the popular tourist activities in Sydney is the Bridge Climb of the Sydney Harbor Bridge.  This is a 3+ hour endeavor and not exactly cheap but it was worth every penny.  It is a very efficient and safe operation with all sorts of important rules to follow.  But we followed every one of course and had one of the most incredible experiences of our lives.  Again, we were very fortunate with the nice weather.  Warm and sunny to start and by the end it was still about 70 degrees as the skies darkened and the lights came on in the city.

Our guide, Albert, was an affable young bloke with a great attitude.  We learned a lot about the construction of the bridge along the way.  We would stop every so often and take in the view and it was nice to really have a long time to look around.  There were only a couple tricky, steep ladder sections to be careful about.  At a couple locations, we could look straight down below us and I felt a bit queasy for a moment.  I had to look up and out at the view, then I was fine.  But that view down from a precarious perch was vertigo-inducing, that's for sure.

Walking the arch was very easy and the stunning views were sublime.  We paid a bit more for this "twilight climb" as the change from day to night is nothing short of magical.  Here is a pic of our group near the top of the arch:

Here we are with all our accessories - hat, headset and headlamp, and of course the stylish jumpsuit (or onesie, as Albert called it).  This was taken on the way up the eastern arch:

Then, we crossed over onto the western arch of the bridge, saw an amazing sunset, and watched the lights of the city emerge.  Oh my.  (We finally realized that we should remove the silly hats and headsets for the photos.)

As touristy as this activity is, I cannot recommend it highly enough.  Save your pennies and make it happen.  And hope that Albert is your guide - he was just great.

At the end of the Bridge Climb our feet were aching and we were famished.  We found a nice little hole-in-the-wall restaurant in The Rocks and had an excellent, much-needed meal.  Ahhhhh.  Then, back to the hotel to crash!

What a first day in this amazing town.