Our Trip to Australia, Part One - Sydney

January 12, 2019

Our Trip to Australia, Part One - Sydney

Now that I have grandchildren, I look forward to every trip away - no matter how far.

Over the holidays, my daughter Alexis, grandchildren Jude and Truman, our friend Pamela Moineau, and I, enjoyed a wonderful and very interesting vacation “Down Under” in Australia. We toured parts of Sydney, Melbourne, and Tasmania, the beautiful and isolated island state off Australia’s south coast. Over the next few days, I will share some of the photos of the sights we saw during our journey - the stunning views, delicious foods and of course, the amazing animals.

We left the United States on December 23rd, and arrived in Sydney on Christmas Day, December 25th. We lost an entire day traveling across the International Date Line. Here is the first post about our trip - enjoy.

: Our first stop after arriving on Christmas Day was this beach in Bronte. Bronte is a beachside suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales. The water was so warm, so bright and so beautiful.

: Bronte Beach was remarkable – and so close to the large city of Sydney. The structure in the forefront is provided for family cookouts.

: Australians love going to the beach on Christmas Day – there were so many people enjoying the weather and sunshine. And because the ozone layer over Australia is thinned, which means more UV radiation reaches earth, it was important to be well protected.

: The children couldn’t wait to get into the water. And Truman, who is nearly seven-years old, was full of energy – even after the long 23-hour flight.

: Jude and Truman love the water – they were completely uninhibited on the beaches of Australia.

: Here is Jude – watching her brother from the sand. The water is so clear and clean.

: After a quick dip at Bronte Beach, we did the “Bondi to Bronte, or for us the “Bronte to Bondi”, coastal walk through Tamarama Beach and Mackenzie’s Bay.

: This stroll is one of the most iconic walking trails in Sydney. Many celebrities, such as the late Heath Ledger, owned a home in this area. The panoramic views of the South Pacific Ocean and the coastal cliffs are absolutely breathtaking. Here is Bondi Beach looking in one direction…

: And here is Bondi Beach looking in the other direction. The coastal walk is just under two-miles long between these well-known Sydney beaches. We had so much fun taking in the sweeping ocean vistas.

: We continued our walk and saw this popular roadside stand – the Fish & Chippery.

: This is the Macquairie Lighthouse, also known as South Head Upper Light – an Australian landmark. It is the first and the longest serving lighthouse site in Australia.

: That evening, on Christmas Day in Australia, we ate at Sokyo – the amazing Japanese-inspired restaurant that blends the flavors of Syndey and Tokyo together. The busy first day, along with the 16-hour time difference, took a toll on the kids – they dozed between courses. https://www.star.com.au/sydney/eat-and-drink/signature-dining/sokyo

: The head chef at Sokyo, Chase Kojima, and his team use the finest local produce to create a magnificent menu. This is called Bay Bug – a tempura dish with spicy mayo, green papaya, and pomelo salad – it was so delicious. Sokyo gave us a private room in which to enjoy our Christmas dinner. The staff was so attentive and so welcoming! We loved it there.

: Here is Jude, sleeping. Both she and Truman ate and slept, then ate and slept.

: And here is Truman – taking a short “cat nap” before eating again.

: And I am sure you all recognize this – the stunning Sydney Opera House, the multi-venue performing arts center. It is one of the 20th century’s most famous and distinctive buildings on the harbor. I saw it right from my hotel window. The view takes your breath away.

: This walk along the harbor is lined with palm trees – so peaceful, clean and gorgeous.

: I couldn’t sleep that first night because of the jet lag, so I took more photos from my window of the iconic Opera House. This photo was taken at about 5am. The Opera House occupies the whole of Bennelong Point on Sydney Harbor, between Sydney Cove and Farm Cove, adjacent to the Sydney central business district and the Royal Botanic Gardens. It is also not far from the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

: This photo was captured an hour later, around 6am – I watched the sun rise.

: A few hours later, we decided to get our morning exercise on the Sydney Harbour Bridge. This bridge is a heritage-listed steel through arch bridge across Sydney Harbor that carries rail, vehicular, bicycle, and pedestrian traffic between the Sydney central business district and the North Shore. We walked along the footpath across the span – it was another beautiful and warm day.

: And the views were so clear – we could see for miles.

: Here is Jude with her parasol – she and Truman love to walk and explore and learn – about everything.

: The other pedestrian walk was really a climb on the bridge path up across the arches, but that walk was substantially longer – three-hours – so we took the shorter route across.

: Here is the Opera House from the bridge – I love its famous architecture and design.

: We were fortunate to be invited to see the preparations and start of the Rolex Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. It is an annual event hosted by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, starting in Sydney, New South Wales on Boxing Day and finishing in Hobart, Tasmania. It is widely considered to be one of the most difficult yacht races in the world. https://cyca.com.au/

: We were eager to see all the yachts and their crews. Some of you may recall, this race was marred by tragedy in 1998 when, during an exceptionally strong storm with hurricane force winds, five boats sank and six people died. Of the 115 boats that started, only 44 made it to Hobart. As a result of that horrible incident, crew eligibility rules were tightened, and rules required a higher minimum age and experience level for all competitors.

: Here is one of the boats making final preparations before the race. We were able to get pretty close to see the crews get ready. The “Triton” has competed in several of these races.

: And here is the start of the race. Most of the yachts are sloops, that is yachts with a single mast on which is hoisted a fore-and-aft rigged mainsail and a single jib or Genoa, plus extras such as a spinnaker. There were also five maxi-boats entered in the race.

: Here is another photo of the race start from a higher vantage point – it was a clear, clear day. (Photo provided by Cruising Yacht Club of Australia)

: And one more as the yachts began their arduous journey to Hobart. In all, 85 yachts were entered. (Photo provided by Cruising Yacht Club of Australia)

: For lunch, we ate at the Catalina in Rose Bay, a family-owned waterfront restaurant known for its upmarket seafood dishes and open veranda bar. Here are Truman, Jude and Alexis.

: One of our dishes was this greens salad. Everything was very fresh and tasty.

: And this shrimp appetizer was also very flavorful.

: We all loved this caramelized mousse dessert.

: One of my favorite photos from the trip is this one – my beautiful daughter, Alexis, and her lovely children.

: We saw the Sydney Tower – Sydney’s tallest structure and the second tallest observation tower in the Southern Hemisphere.

: During another walk, we did a little “window shopping” – remember, it was the day after Christmas, Boxing Day in Australia, so everything was closed. This is Piggot’s. I follow their Instagram page @piggotsstore.