Sydney 11/22/12 - 11/24/12

After our 14 hour flight from Santiago, Chile and going through a time warp (14 hour time difference from Santiago), we made it to Sydney, Australia!  Luckily we arrived in the early evening so that we could grab dinner, go to bed, and work on recovering from jet lag.  We only had 1 full day in Sydney, so no time for jet lag.

The next morning was our Friday morning, but it was Thanksgiving afternoon back in Texas so we arranged to Skype with each of our families first thing in the morning before starting our day in the city.  It was a little hard to see and hear about all the great food we missed out on, but it was so great to "see" our families via skype.  We love the holidays, so seeing our families made it a little easier.  Our "thanksgiving meal" the night before consisted of a Vietnamese noodle dish.  Not quite the same as the turkey, sides, and desserts back home ;-).  

Our day started with a ferry ride across the Sydney Harbour to Manly Beach.  Along the way we enjoyed views of the most famous sites of Sydney: the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House.  No surprise, the weather was pretty cloudy and overcast in the morning, so the sites didn't seem as impressive.  Luckily, the sun came out in the afternoon and we were able to enjoy views in the sunshine!

Manly Beach is across the harbour from Sydney and is known as a great surfing beach.  We enjoyed this beach because it was different than others due to the tall trees along the shore line.  It made for a unique beach environment.  It was also fun to watch the hundreds of kids from surf clubs get out and ride the waves.  Oh, to be a kid in Australia!  There was a quaint shopping area near the beach where we enjoyed a lunch before a short walk around the beach for better views.  

Once back in the city and trying to get in the holiday spirit, Kristin insisted on having a photo by the Christmas tree in Central Station.  She loves Christmas trees, lights, decorations, all of it!  It is a little strange seeing all the decorations when the weather is so warm, then again, the weather is like that sometimes in Houston.  

It was the Friday after Thanksgiving, so Kristin was beyond ecstatic when she saw a Target in the shopping center!!  First Target we've seen since we left the states.  We got to do some "Black Friday" shopping! Matt wasn't near as excited as Kristin.  Shoes, socks, t-shirt, tooth paste, and a new tooth brush makes for a great day of backpacker shopping. :-)  

That night, after we split a big spicy Schezwan chicken dish in Chinatown, we shared a brownie and ice cream desert from Max Brenner.  There's a Max Brenner dessert shop in NYC that Kristin loves to go to, so she was literally just like a kid in a chocolate store! 

Earlier in the day, we walked in the tourism center for some maps of Australia and she asked what we had seen so far in Sydney.  After we told her we saw the bridge, the opera house, and a beach, she confirmed that yup, you've seen it all.  We're sure Sydney has more to offer; however, our schedule this time did not allow for it.  That was our one big day of tourism in Sydney, and it was time to leave the next day to fly to Melbourne.