Ahhhhhhh what a week!!! It was so much fun having Libby here I cannot even begin to tell you. We did and saw so many fun things; had good drinks, great conversations, saw the Amazing Race participates running around, and even had a cocktail at one of the top 5 bars in the world. Not too bad for one week.
Libby got in on
Monday of last week. I was an idiot and was too excited to check her flight schedule to know that her flight had been delayed by two hours. So I spent a good three hours waiting for the flight to come in and Libby to go through customs. Good thing I had a book with me. Once we got back to the apt we ate and left to go to the most iconic spot in Sydney: the Sydney Harbour. You never really feel like you are in Sydney Australia until you get that first glimpse upon the Harbour Bridge and Opera House. The weather was amazing and perfect for walking around which is exactly what we did. I was a little afraid that Libby was going to get jet lagged, but she was fine. After gazing upon the Opera House, we walked around the Rocks, which is the oldest part of Sydney. In fact, we also drank a couple of beers from the oldest pub in Sydney. While there we were talking with some English people who made the comment that their backyard shed was older than the pub and we laughed because it is probably true. Australia is a baby.
We continued our walk around the beautiful botanical gardens. At one point we both felt it very necessary to do some cart wheels in the grass. It was extremely appropriate. We also met a woman who made us come with her on her search for the oldest tree in Sydney. I'm not sure if it was really the oldest, but it had supposedly been there since white man came (about two hundred years ago). The tree had been featured in the paper that morning because the tree was dead, (bats killed it by pooping on it) but instead of cutting it down, aboriginals have carved it. After about 30 minutes of getting lost in the park and having the woman ask every person she saw if they had seen "the tree" we finally found it.
After that we left and walked down to the world famous Harry De Wheels pie stand where
Adsy met us for dinner. We all got a Tiger pie which is a meat pie with mashed potatoes and mashed peas on top with gravy. Yum it was delicious.
On
Tuesday we got up and went back to the botanical gardens because Libby wanted to go for a quick jog. I sat and read my book.....Then Libby went and climbed the Harbour Bridge. Since
Adsy and I climbed it last January I did not feel the need to spend the money to do it again. While Libby was climbing I went to a Museum located in one of the bridge's pylons. Did you know they used to keep a cattery up there? I mean a cattery with cats? They used to have fluffy white cats guarding the pylon. Awesome. That was my favorite fact about the bridge.
After the bridge climb we were starving so we stopped off at the Australian Hotel for some Emu pizza and salad. You can also order Kangaroo and Crocodile pizza at this place, but we did not want to overdo ourselves. Another fun fact of the day was while sitting and eating a gust of wind blew up my skirt right as a guy was taking a picture from across the street. That was fun.
It was late in the day after we finished eating so we decided to call it a day downtown and head home. Before the sun went down
Adsy took us on a drive to see where Captain Cook first sailed into Australia: Botany Bay. By the time we got there it was dark and hard to see anything, but we still pretended we saw Captain Cook's ship discovering Australia. Yes we are cool.
Wednesday was probably my favorite day. We took a day tour to the Blue Mountains. The reason it was so fun was probably because of the tour guide who made funny but lewd comments throughout the whole day, and all of the fun people on the tour. We had three (including us) groups from Texas. Austin, Dallas, and Houston were all represented on this tour. The tour included a trip to the
Featherdale Wildlife park, which after being to many wildlife parks, is probably my favorite. We fed kangaroos, took pictures with a koala, ran away from Emus, chased turkeys, and had a blast. The day was also filled with beautiful scenery from the mountains.
Even though I had done one of these tours to the Blue Mountains it was still nice to get out of Sydney. When we got back we ordered in some yummy Thai food and cleaned up red wine that Libby spilled on the carpet because
Adsy left his glass on the floor. Don't worry we got it all up.
Thursday we did another day tour but this time to the Hunter Valley wine region. My friend Mel joined us for this tour and it was another day of nice scenery and amazing wine tasting. This day was not as fun as the Blue Mountains tour because unlike the first day we were on a pretty tight schedule and you could tell our tour guide was stressing about it all. Both Libby and I purchased three bottles of wine which I may save until I get back. The day did get a little long when driving back into Sydney because the traffic stopped and crept along forever. Finally upon entering Sydney
CBD the bus got a flat tire. At this point we got out and took a taxi to my friend Ali's place.
Ali who is American and her roommate Carla who is half American decided to have Thanksgiving dinner at their house. Carla cooked an amazing turkey complete with delicious dressing. We also had mashed potatoes, cranberry relish, corn, green beans, cornbread, the works. For dessert Ali made a pumpkin and apple pie. I must say it was a fantastic dinner for being in a country whose peoples do not celebrate this magical holiday. By the end of it we were all sufficiently stuffed.
On
Friday Adsy dropped us off at a cafe along
Maroubra beach for breakfast. We ate and then walked along for a bit before going to the grocery store to get food for a
beachy picnic.
Adsy had taken the day off from work and he drove us to a beautiful beach about an hour away located inside a national park. The beach was beautiful, but it was also really cold. The water was even colder. I went for one surf with
Adsy before I told him that this was really for Libby and that he needed to take her out. I think she went on about three waves before having to come in. It was that cold. So instead of surfing we ate our picnic and feel asleep on the beach.
When we got back home we all had showers and rested. We watched a little Mighty
Boosh and drank champagne. Then we took a taxi to the city where we were dropped off at the
Shangri la Hotel. On the thirty-sixth floor of the hotel is the Blue Bar on 36. According to Libby she read that this was rated one of the top five bars in the world. It was pretty nice and had great views of the Harbour. There is a restaurant that is next door and they have even better views of the Opera house and bridge, but since we were not eating there we didn't get to see those. We enjoyed a cocktail and left to go to a more Aussie style pub.
At the next pub
Adsy taught Libby to play the
pokies, and I got hit on by a drunk guy who smelled like throw up. Awesome. At least Libby broke even with her five dollars. Afterwards we went to the pancakes on the rocks restaurant which funny enough I have already posted about.
Saturday was a sad day as it was Libby's last day.
Adsy had gotten up early to go for a surf with friends, but they came back early because the waves were not good. Instead they took us down for an early morning swim. Libby and I went, but seeing as the water was freezing we just
layed out instead. We were not out for very long because
Adsy had to get ready for his local body boarding club's awards presentation. Libby and I went and saw
Adsy win second place in two categories. Way to go babe!! Afterwards Libby and I left, and I took her up to see the Famous
Bondi Beach. We also walked along the coastal walk and saw some of the other beaches housed in Sydney.
On Saturday night
Adsy had organized a
Movember party for himself and all of his friends. After waiting 40 minutes to catch a taxi Libby and I made it to the party. Before getting there however, Libby and I bought and put on fake moustaches. Needless to say we were a hit for about five minutes. Then the boys took our moustaches and put them over their own moustaches and wore them. The party was fun, but we were all pretty tired, plus Libby had an early flight so we called it an early night.
Speaking of early flight Libby's flight was scheduled to leave at 6am on
Sunday which meant we had to get her to the airport by about 4:30am. Man was that rough. We got up, drove to the airport, said our goodbyes, drove back, then
Adsy and I got back in bed and slept until 10:30am.
Having Libby here was so much fun. It was great to have that familiar face and a friend who I can easily talk to. It was fun to show Libby where I live and the places we frequent regularly. I wish she could have stayed for longer, but I am happy she got to come at all. Thank you Libby for coming out to visit me and
Adsy! I cannot wait until the Australian dollar goes back down and you can come back over!! If that does happen hopefully more people from home will be able to come over and see beautiful Sydney!!
