Kurt & Virginia's Travels: First Stop

On December 6, we drove the 535 miles north to McKinney to visit with our Son, Brian, and his wife, Laura. On December 11 he drove us to DFW Airport for our 17 and a half hour direct flight to Sydney. We chose to fly on Qantas Airlines because they had premium economy seating on a really big double decker Airbus. It was nice to have room to stretch out a little and even get some sleep on our flight to the "Down Under".

The lower deck boarded from one gate and we boarded the upper deck from a separate gate.

The Sydney Harbor Marriott was our home for the next three nights.

From our 23rd floor window we could see the Sydney Harbor Bridge along with the historic "Rocks" District.

View of the Marriott from the "Rocks" District

Since we arrived early in the morning on December 13, we wanted to treat our jet lag by staying busy all day. We purchased a two day pass for the Big Bus-Hop-On/Hop-Off Double decker Bus. We got a tour of the city.

ROYAL BOTANIC GARDENS

We hopped off the "Big Bus" at the Royal Botanic Gardens. This is the Gate House.

View of the Sydney Tower from the Botanic Gardens

There were many tropical plants in bloom because December is Springtime in Sydney. These Lilies of the Nile were everywhere and they even matched Kurt's shirt.

Mrs. Macquarie's Chair was carved by convicts in 1811 for the then-governor's wife. From this sandstone bench she would sit and view the harbor during her evening walks. Now being used by Mrs. Naville

The gardens were abundant with birds we never saw before. It was fun identifying them. Here are a mother and chick Noisy Miners. We watched for a while and thought the chick was larger than mom.

Australian White Ibis

The Royal Botanic Gardens are adjacent to the Sydney Opera House.

After a good nights sleep, we found a little bakery in the Historic "Rocks" District for breakfast.

We hopped off Big Bus at St. Mary's Cathedral

The Hyde Park Barracks Museum This former prison provides a glimpse into the lives of convicts and orphans who lived here in the 1800's.

This bronze wild boar statue sits near the Parliament building. Legend states if you rub his snout and make a wish, it will come true.

Parliament of New South Wales of which Sydney is the capital.

Parliamentary Library

SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE

We took an inside tour of the Sydney Opera House. Opening in 1973, it took 14 years to build.

Truly a timeless architectural wonder.

Within the Opera House there are seven separate theaters.

MARITIME MUSEUM

As a passing afternoon shower came through, we took Big Bus to the Australian Maritime Museum in the Darling Harbor area.

Modern Art

Sydney Harbor from our room.

BLUE MOUNTAINS

We booked a Blue Diamond tour of the Blue Mountains for Saturday. They picked us up at our hotel at 7:15 am for a full day of touring. The Blue Mountains are located about 70 miles northwest of Sydney. Our tour guide, Ian, drove the 14 passenger Mercedes Benz van.

Echo Point overlooking the Jamison Valley

Early morning clouds lift from the rock formation Three Sisters

After waiting around a minute, we got the picture.

Taking the Skyway Cable Car above the Jamison Valley.

Wentworth Falls taken from the Cable Car.

The Vast Jamison Valley

The World's Steepest Railway to the valley floor a thousand feet below.

We had to sit at a 52 degree tilt as we descended.

After returning up the railway, we transferred to the Scenic Cableway.

While on the valley floor we went for a hike along a board walk through the forest.

We looked for the elusive liar bird who inhabits this forest, but no luck.

The rock formation Boars Head is immediately above the plaque to our right.

The Megalong Valley

FEATHERDALE WILDLIFE PARK

After we departed the Blue Mountains we stopped at a wildlife park on the way back to Sydney.

The koala was napping on this very warm afternoon.

Frogmouth Trio

Kookaburra wouldn't laugh for us.

Three Little Blue Penguins crowding into the shade.

This wallaby liked his head scratched.

Our tour van avoided returning to the heavy afternoon Sydney traffic by dropping us off at a ferry terminal outside the city.This provided us with a scenic boat trip up the Parramatta River to the city center.

BONDI BEACH