Final Days "Down Unda"

On Tuesday we moved to a hotel in the center of town. We headed to the Wildlife Park in Darlington Harbor where we saw koalas, kangaroos, and even a super old crocodile. We had the false impression that it would be similar to the San Diego Wild Animal Park. Very wrong. There were no open fields or expansive areas for the animals to roam unfortunately. So, while we did get a few good photos, we later found out that the actual zoo is much better. Next time.

That night we went to dinner at a unique spot called Bodega Bar where presentation was taken extremely seriously. We sat at the bar and one of the chefs literally was picking through parsley leaves searching for the best ones to carefully place on only certain pieces of meat. One of them even took the skin off of a potato by hand (without a peeler) no clue how. I had to get some photos of them "presenting" our meal.

One of Jo and Dave's friends, Matt, invited us to go to the Australian Natural History Museum for a special Tuesday night treat called "Jurassic Lounge." Now, the title does not even come close to conveying how cool this place is. They open up the museum and serve drinks and have different activities in every room. In one room there wee origami stations. In another room, jenga was set up. In yet another room there was a performance including transvestites singing rocky horror picture show (seriously!), and finally the most anticipated room was the "silent disco". The way silent disco works is you get a pair of wireless headphones before you enter the room. There is a DJ in the corner projecting music to the headphones and everyone is dancing in total silence. Very cool. Matt did a great job juggling two girls at once on our 2 on 1 date. He should be the next Bachelor (maybe a little too much of a reality show reference).

Wednesday was a day that Kirstin and I had been looking forward to since we first started planning our trip. A few months ago we had bought our tickets for La Boheme at the world famous Sydney Opera House. She and I had spent many conversations discussing outfits and hair prior to this day and it seemed so surreal that it was finally here. About a month before we left America, I had seen a living social deal for a blowout in Sydney and had snapped up two of them as a surprise treat for us. I suck at surprises and told her right away. We went and got our hair done, went back to the hotel to primp, and headed out for our night at the opera. Upon arrival we had dinner at the Opera Bar which is also a famous spot right on the water. On one side we were staring at the opera house and on the other side e could see the massive bridge all lit up at night. Again, this clearly warranted a bunch of photos.

The opera was absolutely phenomenal. It probably helped that Rent is one of my favorite musicals ever and was based on La Boheme so I quickly picked up the story line. We had great seats and enjoyed every moment of the show. Afterward we went back to opera bar down below and listened to some live music and had a glass of wine and met a few locals before heading back to our hotel for the night.

On our third consecutive day of fun activities, and my last day in Sydney, we did the bridge climb. Now, this activity is not for the faint of heart. We literally were harnessed in and climbed the entire bridge to the top. It was both exhilarating and frightening all at the same time! We ended up buying a few of the photos because they wouldn't allow us to bring a camera and the views really are phenomenal. Unfortunately I'm currently writing this post at the airport before Sydney and didn't upload the cd of images yet! You will have to check out my facebook page in a week or so to get my "best of pics" where I will make sure to include them.

As I stood at the top of the bridge overlooking all of Sydney I took a moment to think about the past six and a half weeks and all the wonderful memories and activities I have been able to experience. I was able to visit five countries, nearly a dozen cities, and really live out the dream trip we started planning over nine months ago. Standing on top of the bridge my life was put into perspective and I realized how fortunate I truly am. Fortunate that everyone I care about is happy and healthy and supports me not only on this journey, but throughout everything I choose to do in my life. Not only that, it made me excited for all the wonderful things coming up-- from moving back to Los Angeles, to hopefully passing the bar (I find out November 18th at 6pm!), and even planning my wedding. All I could think is 'life's pretty good.'

Hope you all enjoyed reading. Until the next travel adventure...