Exploring Sydney: Wow we're in Australia!

We left Hong Kong on New Year's Day and arrived in Sydney the following morning. Even with little sleep the night before on the plane, we were excited to start exploring the city. It was hard to wrap my mind around the fact that we were in Australia. It is just so far from the United States that I wondered when I might ever have the chance to go.  Since it is only a mere 9 hours from Hong Kong, we just had to visit during our time here. :-)

The location of our hotel could not have been more perfect for exploring. We were minutes from Darling Harbour and Cockle Bay, two beautiful and popular locations on the waterfront. We were also about a fifteen minute walk from the Sydney Opera House.

There are many interesting things you can do in Cockle Bay....

Point and laugh at all of the signs that say "cockle"

Watch giant lizards with human legs hanging out of them walk around town

and apparently hang out with a fig tree named Fred. It doesn't get any better than that!

We also enjoyed a delicious breakfast and were pleasantly surprised by many of the menu items - pancakes, waffles, and eggs & toast. You don't find many waffle houses in Hong Kong, I'll tell you that. After breakfast and a nice walk around Cockle Bay, we had to go back to the hotel to rest for a bit. An overnight flight with three or four crying toddlers will wear out even the most seasoned travelers.

Later that day, feeling refreshed and ready to explore again, we decided to venture over to the Harbor Bridge and the famous Sydney Opera House. Unfortunately, we ran into a bit of a problem when...

Ummm yeah....

We weren't about to let something like a small rock hitting the rental car stop us from seeing the Opera House. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity! Luckily at this point we were close enough to walk the rest of the way.

On our way we passed the Water's Edge restaurant and had to pose in front because we were married at a restaurant of the same name in New York. And there was a wedding being held when we stopped in front. Yay!

Finally a day's worth of adventure led us to this wonderful sight...

Naturally, we had to have a little fun with it. You'd be surprised how good Opera house tastes for lunch or dinner.

After spending some time taking in the beautiful views of the Opera House we didn't think the day could get any better.  That is in until we saw a guy playing the didgeridoo on our walk back and discovered the world's most delicious cookie at a local grocery store. Ultimate chocolate = a chocolate cookie with chocolate chips (white and dark) plus a layer of melted chocolate covering the bottom of the cookie. We bought ten boxes to take home and are currently trying to figure out how we can have more shipped to Hong Kong.

All in all a wonderful start to the vacation!