Sydney Recap

We arrived in Sydney very early in the morning, so early in fact that we couldn't check into our hostel. We decided to rent some lockers for all of our luggage (we had quite a bit!) and head out to tour the city. Darling Harbour, a popular site in Sydney, was a short fifteen-minute walk from our Hostel. The harbour had a lot of shops, restaurants, and a couple of the tourist attractions. We did some browsing and enjoyed the beautiful sites this location provided. We dined here for dinner on our first night. After walking from place to place, trying to find a restaurant that wasn't frightfully expensive, we settled on a cute outdoor bistro. The food portions are smaller than we are used to in the states and more expensive as well. The biggest adjustment for us was getting used to the lack of water. Almost everywhere you go here in the city you have to buy a bottle of water, which is $3 AU for a small bottle. It was rare to find a restaurant that would give us a free glass of water.
Prior to leaving the states we purchased a 3-day "See Sydney Smartvisit Card". This card allowed us to access all of the main attractions anytime throughout a 3-day period. On Sunday we started using our cards. We first visited the aquarium. The aquarium was bigger in size and attractions compared to the Baltimore aquarium. They had similar attractions but also had Penguins (my personal favorite) and Dugongs (very similar to a manatee). They also included a Great Barrier Reef attraction, which was breathtaking! We left the aquarium and headed over to the Wildlife Center. Here were able to see Kangaroos, Koalas, Butterflies, and plenty more. Both the Kangaroo and Koala exhibit were the best. While in the Kangaroo exhibit we were able to witness two male Kangaroos fighting. They prop themselves up on their tails and use all of their limbs to fight each other, looking very similar to a boxing match! We walked thirty minutes to Circular Quay to see the Opera House and Harbour Bridge. This is when we took a boat tour around the harbour, seeing Nicole Kidman's, Russell Crow's, and the Prime Minister's houses. We also got to witness a seal crawl onto a buoy out in the middle of the water, which was an added bonus! We visited the Opera House and took an hour tour, which provided a lot of interesting information about the creation and uses of the Opera House (they even had a skate park inside at one point!).
On Wednesday we took a 2-hour train ride up to Katoomba, this is where the famous Blue Mountains are located. The weather was rainy and somewhat miserable so we decided to visit the Jenolan Caves. After having to purchase pants, since it had not been raining when we originally left Sydney, we boarded a bus to the caves. It was about another hour and a half ride down a small twisted road. Although the ride wasn't very smooth, we were able to see wild Kangaroos and Wallaby's along the way. Once we arrived we had some time to walk around before our tour would begin. We walked around a lake located right next to the cave. The water was a beautiful blue shade, which is unbelievably beautiful. We learned that the water is this color due to the limestone in the area. It really was a fantastic sight! The tour through the Lucas Cave lasted about an hour and a half and was very interesting. The cave had a total of 910 stairs and was the most difficult cave they offered for tours. Feeling adventurous we headed on in. The formations inside the caves were remarkable. We were informed that this particular cave has been used for weddings and even concerts! At the end of the day we all agreed that the long journey was worth it and wished we had more time to explore the mountain.
Our last two days were spent at Bondi (pronounced Bond-eye) Beach. This was the most gorgeous beach I have ever seen (and I have been to the Caribbean a couple times). Although the water was cold we had very warm weather and enjoyed basking in the sun for quite some time. The water was very cold so no swimming, although we did put our legs in (now I can say I experienced the dangerous waters of Australia!). I am writing this blog from the airplane, we are headed to Melbourne to finally meet our host families. Our flight was canceled and we ended up having to pay an extra $150 for our luggage, since it is a domestic flight. Needless to say we have had a somewhat stressful morning/afternoon! I will going on a trip on Monday – Wednesday with the 3rd and 4th grade students. I don't know all of the details but I was informed I will be taking a sleeping bag. As I am deathly afraid of snakes (and Australia has several of the world's most poisonous) I am praying I will not be camping in the outdoors. More updates to come once I have landed and gotten settled in!