Our first day in Sydney started with a coffee in the botanical gardens, a walk to the Opera House and a trek across the Harbour Bridge.
Despite having a lovely morning, the smoke from the wildfires was suffocating the city, so in the afternoon we took a train two hours south to find cleaner air. We passed through Royal National Park and its dense forests before walking the beaches in Wollongong.
The next day, we took a ferry to Manly beach, soaked up the sun until the smoke was getting too much, then strolled through a few museums, including an exhibit about Aboriginal languages and stories which was our favorite. We ended the day at St. Mary's Cathedral and watched a light show.
Day three, we rented a car and drove to the Blue Mountains where it was surprisingly less smoky. We might have done a bit of trespassing on accident because the national park was closed due to the fires, but afterwards we did some legal nature viewing at the Three Sisters lookout. My favorite part was walking across the Honeymoon Bridge. Craving more beach time, we headed to Bondi to people watch and scope out a spot for the next day. At dinner, we got our pizza stolen by an ibis (named Gary by the waitstaff) which was definitely one of the most memorable moments of the trip.
Day four, our last day, was spent exploring The Rocks market, walking along the coastline and at Tamarama beach watching the surfers. By 5pm we were headed to the airport and home. Thanks Mom for such a lovely vacation! I had a blast!
