Day Trip to Sydney Harbour

The other day I woke up and the first thing Dave asked me was, "Wanna go to Sydney tomorrow?" Of course I replied, "Why NOT!!" so we did just that. Newcastle is about 2 hours north of Sydney and lucky for us there is a train that goes there every hour. We walked to the station, ordered our usual hot chocolate and chocolate chip muffin, and anxiously awaited the train to arrive. During the 2.5 hour ride down to Sydney we chatted a bit about what we would do, watched the scenery go by, and took a little cat nap.

Dave explaining which way we were traveling

Once we got to Sydney we grabbed a few maps and were on our way. Instead of taking the bus or rail we decided to walk so we could really get a feel for the city and explore things as we came across them. Right away when we got on the street Sydney felt like New York City with the fast pace, large amounts of people, and skyscrapers block after block. It was welcoming change from the slow pace city of Newcastle. 

After touring parts of The Rocks, the first settlement in Australia by British convicts, we headed to the nearby harbor. As soon as you walk onto the sidewalk you are met with spectacular views of both the Sydney Harbor Bridge and the Sydney Opera House. Both iconic landmarks are breathe taking, I couldn't stop myself from taking picture after picture. ( I will do separate posts with more pics!)

After spending a good hour or so taking pictures at the Opera House we headed to the Royal Botanical Gardens. If you are ever in Sydney you NEED to visit the Botanical Garden, it is definitely a MUST SEE! We didn't get through half before we had to leave because the sun was setting. The garden had the most wonderful array of trees I have ever seen. I love trees and I really geeked out over these trees due to their size and uniqueness. (More tree geeking out in another post!)

We ended the evening by grabbing a bench and watching the sunset over the bridge and the light bouncing off the opera house. For awhile there it felt like everyone disappeared and it was just Dave and I there taking in the beauty.  We grabbed a bite to eat at Burger King  Hungry Jack's, headed towards the train and talked about all the things we want to do when we come back for a second time!

Cheers!