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Day 15: Sydney (Round 2)

 Although the trip is over for some, there are still a large number of our group that have not left yet. Some of them have afternoon flights and will leave later today, and some have flights out tomorrow. Luckily, the two people I have connected with the most on this trip are staying today and tomorrow before flying home so we decided to spend today together. 

After checking out from the hotel, we said goodbye to the rest of the group and headed further into the city to drop off my bags at my new hotel. Luckily, when we got there, my room was already ready so I got to go up and put my things away before heading out for the day. 

While I was checking in, my friends had looked up a place for us to get some brunch so we walked a few blocks there after I had dropped my things off. The food was excellent and it was a very cute spot on the corner of the street with outdoor tables. 

After eating, we walked back down to Darling Harbour to check the availability of a harbour cruise we’d heard about. Luckily they had spots available in the afternoon so we booked our tickets and then walked around to do some shopping. We came upon a mall which was absolutely giant and quite a maze to navigate. We also found a nail salon and got manicures! After 2 weeks of non-stop travel and volunteer work it was nice to be pampered for a bit. 

The afternoon harbour cruise was more like a ferry which made stops at the opera house, zoo, and darling harbour, but that was okay because we still got great views of the harbour bridge and opera house. 




Instead of making a round trip, we decided to get off at the opera house on our way back so that we could get some dinner (in a very cute Italian restaurant) and see the opera house up close. 


After picking up a few more souvenirs, we headed back to my hotel. When I checked in, the front desk had given me drink vouchers for the bar attached to the hotel so the three of us stopped in there for our free drinks and then headed upstairs to my room because the front desk had also told me there would be fireworks in the evening and I would be able to see them from my room!

The fireworks are apparently a weekend occurrence and were pretty cool to watch from my room. After the show, I said goodbye to the other two who were headed back to their hotel. They have one more day in Sydney before heading home, while I leave in the morning for New Zealand!


This was such a fun day, and I am pleased to have made some new friends to spend it with.


Comments

  1. Sarah, what a great day! I love that you guys found a nail salon and got manicures. What fun to be on the water in the harbor, and then to wrap up your day with free cocktails and fireworks. Do the two ladies live close to you in CA? Hopefully, they are in the area and you can plan other activities- like Ana Neuvo State Park.

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