A word of warning, this blog could be long and muddled up. Sydney is the longest stop I’ve had for a while so I can’t really remember what happened on what days. Anyhoo I’ll start at the beginning, I drove from Byron Bay to Nelson Bay and it really took it out of me. Headed for Sydney on the 22nd and after a couple of slanging matches with the satellite navigation lady, I arrived in Coogee Bay, home for Christmas 2008.

Coogee is like a mini Bondi in a lot of ways but a bit more relaxed. Stayed in the Coogee Bay Hotel which is a hive of activity and big hit on the pub list in the area. Anyhoo headed into Sydney that night and had a stroll around China town and the following day myself and Remi, who I first met in Darwin and was going to be hanging out with us for Christmas, started hitting the must sees list. Had a look at one of the Cathedrals and a stroll through Hyde Park and around the Market Street area. Resisted shopping but went to some really lovely shopping malls including the Queen Victoria Boulevard which had the nicest Christmas trees I’ve seen in Australia. It spans the 3 floors of the mall so you can see a piece of it on every level. Just gorgeous to stand under. It felt sooooo Christmassy 🙂

It also had a grand piano which played Christmas songs all by itself, very cute!! (you can watch the video on my flickr… http://www.flickr.com/photos/lindybear/3176542082/in/set-72157611510055485/

We walked through the Strand Mall which is really old fashioned and quaint (apart from the prices!!).

Then we headed to Darling Harbour which I wasn’t massively impressed with to be honest but later I went back there at night where it is much prettier when it’s all lit up.

Next was the Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge and they are just as awesome as you would imagine. We had a great day weather-wise and got billions of photos. Went for a drink at the Opera House bar which offers views of the bridge and the Opera House so we hung out there for ages. 

We also went on a cruise of the harbour which was okay but there was no commentary!!! It gave us some more nice views of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge though.

Also had a stroll through the Botanical Gardens where you’re invited to hug the trees, smell the roses and walk on the grass. It’s really beautiful and absolutely massive.

Christmas day saw us taking the walk from Coogee Bay to Bondi.

It’s a nice walk in ways but a little strange in others, like when you walk through a massive graveyard (with many Irish buried there), a car park and a housing estate. Still though you walk through some beautiful beaches and eventually you find yourself walking on the cliff top with the sun shining and gorgeous views.

Suddenly the sprawl of Bondi beach hits your eyes. It was just so packed with people………

Full of Irish in GAA jerseys and designer sunburn and english with no jerseys at all really 🙂 Christmas dinner was a picnic so I did miss my Mammy’s cooking but Christmas day on the beach is just lovely and such a novelty!!! As is wearing a bikini and having a swim!!

Headed off to Manly on the ferry. Manly is a lovely area with gorgeous beaches, some were really packed but it’s summer time here and all the kids are off school so everywhere is busy. The water there is lovely and clear and I took advantage with a long swim.

We also had a stroll across the Harbour Bridge (which we were meant to climb but it was booked out – gutted!!!) and through the first settlement area in Sydney which is called The Rocks. It’s pretty much like Coronation Street (English Soap Opera) with tiny little corner shops, terraced houses and pubs with rooms to stay over them.

Sydney is quite British overall, from the street names like King Street, Queen Street, George Street, to their obsession with meat pies, slow steady all day drinking and just a generall feeling of Britishness!? I suppose I just forget that it’s long live the Queen over here.

We also hung out in The Rocks for most of New Year’s Eve day and evening as it is really close to the harbour so we walked down and watched the fireworks there with the masses and it was spectacular. There’s a few videos on my flickr site that show some of the action.

Took it very easy on New Year’s Day, I literally only went to the new South Wales Gallery to see an Impressionists Exhibition and did pretty much nothing else all day!

Our last day in Sydney we headed off to Blue Mountains, it is just beautiful there, the air is sooooo clear that I couldn’t stop sneezing! 🙂

Believe it or not I also relaxed and slept a bit over Christmas, which isn’t like me at all!! But it was nice to recharge the batteries. I was really sad to leave Sydney, it felt like a huge goodbye in many different ways. Even though we have Melbourne to follow, I kinda feel like leaving Sydney behind was a huge milestone. It’s also 2009 and I’ll be home in a few short months which is very, very scary…..

More photos on http://www.flickr.com/photos/lindybear/sets/72157611510055485/