Auntie Ali Comes to Oz

A few weeks ago (okay so it was a month) my aunt came to visit! She started her journey in Brisbane then spent a week with me in Sydney before we went on an adventure!  It was probably not the smartest idea that I have ever had to a couple weeks off from class, and I have been working to make it up ever since, but it was so worth it!

So we started by having some fun in Sydney. Auntie Ali flew in on a Monday night.  She made it to my tiny apartment, despite the poor directions I gave her. Then the tour began Tuesday.  We started by heading straight to the harbour.  We say the Sydney Opera House, Darling Harbour Bridge, the Royal Botanic Gardens, St. Mary's Cathedral, and ANZAC memorial.  Needless to say, it was a lovely long walk for the better part of the morning and afternoon.  We walked around the whole perimeter of the Opera House and said hello to the seal that has taken up permanent residency on the steps there.  Then we walked throughout the Botanic Gardens and saw all of the amazing trees that are there.  I have been there a few times, but it never disappoints.  We ate lunch at the Botanic Gardens Cafe.  It was a hopping place, but we nabbed a table and ended up sharing with a really nice pair of older ladies who were very friendly and had some funny stories.  The one that I stuck in my mind was the one woman who went to a performance of Carmen put on outdoors in the garden.  I guess she and her son sat on the top row of the bleachers under a tree.  And the tree was full of bats.  And the bats kept peeing on the top row throughout the performance.  She had a great attitude and was laughing at herself as she was telling the story.  But, I would have been so mad!  After lunch, we headed through Hyde park and popped into St.Mary's Cathedral, which I have never seen on the inside.  But, as a service was just letting out and there was no photography inside, I wont be able to show you.  It was beautiful with a lot of intricate stain glass and high ceilings.  We also stopped in the ANZAC Memorial. Here's a picture of that:

Trying to be artsy.  'Trying' being the operative word.

I did have to head back after we saw that because I had evening class.  We headed back together, but I left Auntie Ali to fend for herself the rest of the night.  I also left her to her own devices for all of Wednesday so that I could go to the library to get some reading done as well as get to my two classes. But, what she did get up to on Wednesday was a boat cruise, a tour of the Sydney Opera House, the Maritime Museum, and I think a few others, but you would have to ask her.

On Thursday, we spent the day at Taronga Zoo.  We took the ferry over, then took the gondola up to the top of the zoo.  It is a very different zoo because it is built on a hill and you sort of wind your way down back toward the wharf.  It is really well laid out and you get to see views of the city skyline pretty much the entire time.  Check it:

Room with a view

We had a bit of a photo shoot.

Some of the other highlights of the zoo, beyond the amazing view, were the baby Asian elephant, the laughing kookaburra (he was really loud), the walkabout kangaroo/emu/wallaby enclosure, the otter feeding, the baby pygmy hippo, and lots more.

Following the zoo, we went to hang around the rocks area for the evening.  We did some shopping then had a drink at the Glenmore Hotel, which had a fabulous rooftop patio.  We snapped up the table on the roof, with direct sights to the Opera House.

Our photographer did not quite get that we wanted the Opera House to be in the picture, but if you look closely, it is there.

After that we went to a Mexican bar called El Camino Cantina, for some nice food and drinks.  We had some very different tasting mojitos because they had nutmeg or some other spice on top of the lime and mint.  The food was quite good; spicy, but good.  Plus it was happy hour so they had free, unlimited chips and dip, yes please!

On the Friday, we took a trip to the Blue Mountains.  We took the train for two hours and headed straight for breakfast when we got there.  We ate in the quaint little cafe called Little Paris. Then we made our way to Echo Point to see the Three Sisters.  We had to stop at a little shop to buy a toque because it was unexpectedly cold in the mountains.  For perspective, there was a slight flurry of snow. But, we Canadians braved it.  We did a small hike to the Three Sisters, or I guess which ever is sitting closes to the rest of the mountain.  It was a very steep descent/ascent with barely enough to room to pass people going the opposite direction.  If I remember correctly, Auntie Ali counted almost 200 steps directly down.

This is a picture of complete strangers to demonstrate the steepness/narrowness

It was only a little scary.  Then you had to walk over a little bridge with a however many hundred feet drop below.  I will say this though, there were a lot of people but everyone waited their turn to cross the bridge and take individual pictures on the rock.  It was appreciated.

We then headed back to the train station to make our way back to the city.  Auntie Ali bought us tickets to go to see the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.  We went to my place to change, then went for dinner at a pub called Buckley's (it did NOT taste awful and it worked). Then we saw a performance of Beethoven Piano Concerto 2 and Bruckner 5.  It was a lovely night out and the piano player, Imogen Cooper, was amazing.  The conductor, Simone Young, also made it really enjoyable because she was rocking out with some dance moves.  It was a perfect day and night for Auntie Ali's last day in Sydney. 

Then on Saturday, we headed on our adventure! We went to Yulara to see Uluru (otherwise known as Ayer's Rock).  But, I am going to leave you on that cliff hanger because, it is my bed time.  Will post what we did in the Red Centre tomorrow!