Harbor Bridge Climb- Sydney Australia 2013

The Harbor (or Harbour) Bridge was built in 1932 and it's height is 440 feet (134 m). It is nicknamed "The Old Coathanger". It's the world's tallest arched bridge.... and we climbed it in 2013! We boarded the ship Radiance of the Seas that same day and headed out into the South Pacific for a 9 night cruise.

"You can see it from every corner of the city, creeping into frame from the oddest angles, like an uncle who wants to get into every snapshot. From a distance it has a kind of gallant restraint, majestic but not assertive, but up close it is all might. It soars above you, so high that you could pass a ten-storey building beneath it, and looks like the heaviest thing on earth. Everything that is in it – the stone blocks in its four towers, the latticework of girders, the metal plates, the six-million rivets (with heads like halved apples) – is the biggest of its type you have ever seen... This is a great bridge.

— American travel-writer Bill Bryson's impressions of the Sydney Harbour Bridge in his book "Down Under", (2000).

 To get on in Australia, you must make two observations. Say, "You have the most beautiful bridge in the world" and "They tell me you trounced England again in the cricket." The first statement will be a lie. Sydney Bridge [sic] is big, utilitarian and the symbol of Australia, like the Statue of Liberty or the Eiffel Tower. But it is very ugly. No Australian will admit this.
— James Michener assesses the Sydney Harbour Bridge in his book "Return to Paradise", (1951).

                                                       See the Radiance of the Seas?

                                                    See the Opera House?

                                      See our attempt at O-H-I-O & the face the girl on the side is making?

                                          Below you can see the 4 stairways each with 10 steps that you climb.
                                          It wasn't too bad!

Opera House Tour & Royal Botanic Gardens- Sydney Australia

We completed a day in Hunter valley & another day in the Blue Mountains. This was our final full day in Sydney. Last night The Blairs went to an opera at the Opera House-Barber of Seville. Today we are going to tour the Opera house. Later the Blairs are climbing the bridge. We climbed last time so we are just going to meander around the city.

The Barnhills stayed at the same hotel. They are heading out to the Blu Mountains (this was actually taken on the day we went to Hunter Valley)

Aw, poor monkey boy. No climbing in the Royal Botanic Gardens

The trees were massive

Finally we caged them

The art was angry in contrast to the pretty park

See- bones?

Romantic spot

Flocks of white cockatoos

Eating magnolia buds

And berries

The ladies in teal are gearing up for a 50 mile walk for charity

A plover

It was the 200th anniversary of the Royal Gardens

I think this wedding couple was my favorite-

A Blair sighting

Onto the Opera house tour. The Opera house is an Unesco World heritage site.

I think my favorite picture of Ken

Diana Krall is coming to town

So is Simply Red

Someone had a late night

Jim is ordering our food. We got a thing called tour & tasting plate. We weren't sure what to expect but it was quite nice....and a lot of food!

Food arrived

1 per couple

Gulls were very annoying, but Dan fed them wasabi as behavior modification

Tomorrow starts Chinese New year

Blairs went to climb the bridge & we went for more city tours

A barrister

Sunscreen man!

Back to Bondi because we can!

Loved the green space created on this high rise

Monkey boy outside our hotel

Monkey boy is being watched by bridge climbers

Off to meet the Blairs for dinner

No we didn't eat any but what art!

I didn't realize Capt. Cook was a Nurse! (Joke)

We stole the Osters table!

Cool place in the Rocks where we grilled our own food

Or you ate what they cooked- Pork w/ cracklin

Vacation is over (sad face)

Monkey boy doesn't want to make the 30 hour journey home.....