Friday, April 25, 2008

Iconic Sydney

Decisions, decisions! I wasn't planning to post a thing until after our trip to Australia, but we're almost finished with the second of 3 parts of our trip (Brisbane) and I'm afraid it'll all get away from me if I don't post something NOW!

So, let's start with Sydney, where we spent a week with Dave and Dave, my nephew and his partner!


Almost everything we did and saw was down at the Sydney Harbour where we took the ferry and a harbor cruise to see the sights. It's never the same from a boat out on the water, you know!


I'm guessing the two most famous Sydney landmarks are the Opera house....


...and the Harbour Bridge.


Sometimes you can see both at the same time.


Another icon almost as big as the Opera House is the Sydney Tower, which can be seen from all over the city and is Australia's second tallest structure. And yes, I went to the top, but I'll save that for the post when I also went to Australia's tallest structure, just south of Brisbane. (Hold your horses.)


For me, the Central Station clock tower was also one of the most memorable sights of the city, especially since we went by it almost every day.


The guys took us on a couple very nice drives hither, thither and yon over the weekend, where I was able to get some more impressions. One of these days I'll have to make an album!




For those of you into shopping, YES, Sydney has that as well. The QVB (Queen Victoria Building) reminded us of London's Covent Garden. Just superb.


And just in case we don't see them elsewhere on the trip, we did go to Sydney's Taronga Zoo to get in our prerequisite koala bear and kargaroo.



As I write, we're finishing up a lovely stay in Brisbane, the capital of Queensland. Tomorrow we fly to Townsville for the remainder of our stay, on Magnetic Island. You'll hear all about that later. But for now, I just had to give a smidgen of Sydney!

Trivia: I am posting this at 8:20 Friday morning, Atlanta time. But here in Brisbane it's 10:20p, 14 hours ahead. And time to go to bed! So, Good Night. :)

16 comments:

  1. These pictures show and tell that you both are having a great time, you have been all over the place and one third is yet to come.
    Hights and clocks, you lucky lady, it is so fun that you always know to capture these, the blue sky tells me you have had some great weather too.
    That koala is just priceless, sleeping in a tree and just don't fall out.
    Ginnie and Donica, please enjoy the last part of you great travels, cherish these moments, they will be over before you know, but you always will have these stunning pictures to remember.
    Take care, hartelijke groeten, Astrid.

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  2. Awesome pictures Ginnie. I can tell from them you both are having a wonderful time. God Bless you both...Bob

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  3. I was just thinking: "What happened? Back already?" Thank goodness you both are still well and enjoying Australia. And what a great time you seem to be having! Enjoy the last part... As Astrid said: it'll be over before you know it.

    Can't wait to have you back to read more. Big hugs!

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  4. My sister-in-law and her husband were there 3 weeks ago and loved it! He's a surfer. They saw wild koala in the trees like we see deer. I can't wait to see more pics and read all about your wonderful trip! Stunning photos as always!

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  5. What a WONDERFUL SURPRISE to find your great pictures and words! I knew you would have a super time but am so pleased to have it confirmed. Can't wait to see the more. Enjoy the rest and the rest of your time.

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  6. Well howdy-do, Mate! Yes a big surprise checking in today! So glad (and of course!) you did a harbor cruise (or is that "harbour"?) to see that magnificent city from the water.

    I'm always curious about the more subtle differences too, like how the air feels there, the smells, the light. Has it been cool?

    So many questions!

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  7. Awww Ginnie - what a great post and wonderful pictures! You know I was in Australia and Sidney too - more than teen years ago. Seeing all this and reading your report took me down my memory lane - thanks so very much!

    You know what: I've had a Koala in my arms and it was so sweet and warm!

    Have a great stay still and give more reports!

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  8. Well, Well... I'm so surprised to see you posting! I only got the hint because I saw you comment on CS's blog.. I just love all of the photos and it brings reminders of sites here to show people (I'll have a visitor over the summer)...

    The zoo is just so wonderful! And yes I think you need to do a book. Why not do a book for all of the places you have visited.. It would be a great way to display the photography too!

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  9. This is a place I will probably never get to, but your tour makes it all very tempting. My favorite photo is inside the QVB. Perspective - colors - detail - just superb!

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  10. Astrid: Most of our time in Sydney was rainy and cloudy, so I was very lucky to get a patch of blue a couple times, for sure. Once we headed north up the coast to Brisbane, the skies cleared and it's been sunny every day since! Thanks for your hartelijke groeten, dear friend.

    Integrity: We are indeed having a great time, Bob. Wish you could see what we're seeing. All of it.

    CS: No, not back yet, but we're in the wind-down stage...the most relaxing part. Thank God! :)

    Mad: We saw lots of surfers somewhere along the coast when driving up to Brisbane. We plan to see "wild" koalas tomorrow. Sure hope so. How fun. Thanks!

    Judy: I'm so glad I posted...just for you! :)

    Ruth: G-day! And that would be harbour here in the British influence everywhere we go! This has been the trip of a lifetime, for sure. Can hardly wait to talk about it in person.

    Renny: We have the chance to hold koalas and I wonder if we'll do it. :) So glad I could bring back those happy memories. We'll certainly have them for a long time.

    ET: This is definitely a trip of a lifetime. I would LOVE to do a book of all our trips. Wouldn't THAT be fun. :) Awww. Thanks.

    Ted: You are such a sweetheart! BUT why not make it a goal to get here? I'm guessing we'll never do it again...but once has been amazing!

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  11. love seeing the world from your eyes! continue to have fun and keep us posted :)
    loved the pic where you can see both the opera house and a bit of the bridge :)

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  12. Ginnie - Don't know why you can't see the RSS feeds. It looks enabled and all of the settings are there. Maybe it's my template... Thanks for alerting me.

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  13. I can see from your fantastic pictures you do have a great time down under.

    Did you by the way knew Oslo opened it's new Operahouse some weeks ago. The building is in all white marble and people can walk all the way up to the roof.
    http://images.google.no/imgres?imgurl=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6f/OsloOperaBj%C3%B8rvika_2007-08-26-05.jpg/120px-OsloOperaBj%C3%B8rvika_2007-08-26-05.jpg&imgrefurl=http://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operahuset_i_Oslo&h=80&w=120&sz=3&hl=no&start=21&um=1&tbnid=164svKJMn4PH3M:&tbnh=59&tbnw=88&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dopera%2Boslo%2B%25C3%25A5pning%26start%3D18%26ndsp%3D18%26um%3D1%26hl%3Dno%26rlz%3D1B2GGGL_noNO208NO208%26sa%3DN

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  14. Moi: I love the world that I am so lucky to explore! And you can be sure that I will still show pictures of it as long as I am able.

    ET: Where are your RSS feeds? I still can't find them...but maybe I'm looking in all the wrong places! :(

    Tor: The link didn't work but I think I found it anyway: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oslo_Opera_House.
    Thanks for alerting me/us!

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  15. Thanks, I needed my blog fix! :) Fabulous pics, I expect nothing less of course. I'm glad you're both enjoying the trip. Looking forward to even more details.

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  16. I saw the Sydney Harbour from the bow of my ship! One of the most spectacular sail-in's in the world, they say! Definitley worth waking up for .

    How did I miss all these posts? How cute is that sleepy little Koala!!!

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