For Chinese New Year we were able to get outta China for a few weeks and decided that we wanted to go to Australia and the Philippines. We took a long flight to Australia and got there where we embraced the blue skies and no pollution. We also arrived with very swollen legs and feet. I don't think I walked enough on the plane, or drank enough water. I could barely walk, it was so gross.
We started our day taking a tour on a double decker bus around the city. We loved the heat (its summer there) and the sun was out! It was a "hop on/hop off" bus so we decided to get off at the Sydney Opera House to take some pictures. Heres a million pictures of the opera house for you to look at.
From the Opera House you can look over and see the Sydney Harbor Bridge. It is such a beautiful city! From the Opera House, we went and toured the botanical gardens that were right next door. It reminded me of an arboretum. It was really nice to have people speak English and no one was staring at us for being caucasian! Its the simple things you begin to notice when you leave China for a bit... We also noticed that the Australian people are extremely friendly and extremely beautiful.
We have a friend who recently just went to Australia (Hey, Brandt!) and he told us that we should check out a place called "Featherdale Wildlife park". I am so glad we did! It was one of my favorite parts of the trip. Its a small zoo, and they let you feed the kangaroos and pet/hold the koalas. It was so fun to get that close to the animals. We had a pretty good time there. Definitely recommend it if you visit Australia!
Side note: Did you know that koalas sleep about 20 hours a day? What lazy bums!
After we went to Featherdale park we kept driving to a place called "Blue Mountains" about 2 hours outside of Sydney. This is a National Park and the views were breathtaking. We did a small hike, and took some pictures. We were still loving the blue skies and the weather! It was a gorgeous day.
G'day Mate! The following morning we wanted to climb up to a look out point on the Sydney bridge called "Pylon Point lookout." The weather wasn't too great, but it was a really cool view from the top. I am also pretty proud of myself for climbing all of the stairs. There was about 200 (I asked) and while that might not seem like a lot, to a pregnant woman, this is a small victory.
We then headed to the Sydney Temple, which is about 30 minutes from the Harbor. We were able to do a session and also visit a distribution center. I was so glad we got to go to the temple because we don't have one in China we can go to. I love visiting different temples all over the world. Its so fun to see the differences and character of each one. This one was small, but very nice (as always!)
Our last day we took a Ferry boat to Manly Beach on the other side of the island. We saw a million sail boats and took a nap on the beach. Manly Beach reminded me of Southern California and I miss my beach, so much! I felt like we were in Newport. It made me quite homesick.
Our Australia vacation was amazing and we loved seeing all the sights. I would definitely come back!
I tried to put a kangaroo in my suitcase, but sadly I was filled to capacity. One day we randomly turned a corner and saw a Target! I could recognize that bullseye, anywhere! I was so excited. We went and got some clothes/baby stuff and I was a happy girl. Unfortunately, this also meant there was no room for a little Roo in my suitcase. Til next time, Australia!
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