Wandering Spud: S Y D N E Y
Honeymoon Series- 3 of 5
S Y D N E Y
The second stop on our honeymoon was the iconic city of Sydney, we were sad to leave Melbourne but excited for what Sydney had in store for us. We also learned that Sydney is not the capital of Australia (Canberra is) and that Darling Harbour is not where the Sydney Opera House is, its actually Circular Quay. What we knew already is that my geography is awful!
HOTEL 1888 [4*]
We stayed in Hotel 1888, a beautiful hotel near Darling Harbour which was the world's first Instagram hotel. Its now been bought over by a company called Ovolo so the rooms look a bit different but there is still a lot of exposed brick and the original character and quirkiness of when we stayed.Hotel 1888's veggie breakfast was one of the best breakfasts I've ever had; Mark loved it so much he had it two mornings in a row.
The rooms were stupidly comfortable as well that one night we ended up accidentally napping at about 4pm and I woke up at 10pm to the sound of fireworks and we completely missed dinner. Mark was KO'ed so instead of waking him, I just went back to sleep and we slept right the way through to the next morning.
STUNNING SYDNEY
Sydney is a great city and we were fortunate enough to visit during the Vivid Festival. This is a lights festival created to attract more visitors to the city during the colder months and it was beautiful. The whole city was lit up.
They also had fireworks at Darling Harbour every night so for our one week anniversary we got to sit and watch the fireworks, it was a pretty special moment. We didn't do Luna Beach or Bondi Beach but we got round the city but the Hop on Hop Off bus tour, which was really handy and a great way to see everything. The Opera House is actually smaller than you would expect it to be but its still fabulous.
Sydney is also where we visited Toby's Estate Coffee Shop for the first time and we fell in love with Skybury coffee, if only we knew the plantation was down the road! Next time we go to Australia it's definitely on the to do list.
We spent a lot of time on the water even though it was Autumn and a bit chilly. We did the Sydney Harbour Coffee Cruise and also did a Jet Thrill Ride which was a blast! Top tip- sit on your waterproof poncho! I forgot to tuck mine under my legs and my butt got soaked but it was well worth it.
BLUE MOUNTAINS
On our last day in Sydney we went on an AATKings coach tour and explored the Blue Mountains; it was absolutely freezing, about 3/4 degrees but incredibly beautiful. I'm not a fan of heights so the skyway and the cableway were a lot for me and I hate for my fears to hold me back but it takes some convincing, it's a bloody good thing Mark is so patient. before we got to the skyway the bus driver was really sweet and asked if anyone was on Honeymoon and of course my hand shot up, so he took the scenic route and drove past Honeymoon Lookout and we got out and he took our picture. Apparently 'back in the day' this was were mot Australians honeymooned so it was really nice of him to stop the whole bus just for us. The whole trip ended up with a river cruise back into Sydney seeing all the Vivid Festival lights by boat.
FEATHERDALE WILDLIFE PARK
The second stop of the coach tour was the Featherdale Wildlife park and we got to see a Koala! Very stereotypical touristy thing to do but I have always wanted to hold one. We didn't have long at the park so it did feel a bit rushed but all I wanted was to see a Koala so I was really chuffed. It was great that you got to feed the wallabies as well and we saw a little wombat for the first time.
Next time we go back to Australia I would love at least a month there, not just because the distance and recovering from the jetlag was worse then we thought but because there is so much to do and see, especially in super Sydney.
Next in the Honeymoon Series...
CAIRNS
