Sydney: Came to visit, here to stay

As Dave and I are in search of our new home, we hopped on a quick plane ride to Sydney. The flight went smoothly (despite the very loud humming coming from a propeller during take off), bringing us to the very large city of Sydney. Instantly we loved this city. We stayed in the suburb of Glebe which is filled with cute bakeries and great cafes. Our first night in the city was exciting, as we had a reunion with our good friends Chris and Emma. We met for a few drinks and dinner at a pub, and spent the evening walking around the Darling Harbor looking at the beautiful lights of the city. Sydney instantly felt like home.
   Dave and I loved our time in Melbourne, but Sydney had one thing that we had been missing for the past few weeks... beaches! We set off the next morning to check out Bondi Beach. It was very different than the beaches we were used to in Byron Bay, as it was much more crowded and not surrounded by the smell of eucalyptus and rain forests, however beautiful just the same. Our time was spent looping around the coastal walk which wraps around beautiful cliffs that surround many small beaches. Many stops were made along the way to take a quick dip in the ocean, or to take in the scenery. We became very excited as we looked into the ocean from the cliffs, and saw a pod of 15-20 dolphins! They were all swimming together and surfing in the waves, occasionally making a jump out of the water to say hello to us. The day just kept getting better, as we were walking back to catch the bus, we heard a strong French accent say, “Becki?! Dave?!” and we saw our good friend Morgan who we lived with in Byron Bay running towards us. He had moved to Sydney last November, and it is crazy to think that in a city of 4.6 million people, we ran into one of the only people we knew on the second day there. We are excited to see him again soon and catch up.
    That evening, after showering the sunscreen and sand off of us (a very familiar feeling), we set out to see more of the city. We walked down to the Sydney Harbor and watched the sunset over the breathtaking Opera House and Harbor Bridge. I was so excited to see the famous landmarks in the night sky, with the beautiful lights of the city. Our night then led us into the city to enjoy a few drinks in the city nightlife.
    The next morning we decided we wanted another day at the beach, so we set off to take a ferry to Manly Beach. The area felt very touristy but still beautiful, and filled with cute shops. Dave played a few games of volleyball as I napped on the beach, both of us enjoying the sunshine. It is great that beaches in Sydney are a quick bus or ferry ride away!
    Earlier that morning, we had been invited to join our local barista Jarrah and his girlfriend Alice, to a folk festival that night. We decided to take him up on the offer and we set out into the city. When we arrived a little late to the show, we were sad to find out that the venue had been sold out. As we waited outside trying to make new plans for our night, Jarrah joined us outside and introduced us to Eileen, a member of the headlining band, The

The Perch Creek Family Jug Band

Perch Creek Family Jug Band, who amazingly ushered us in for free! We felt so lucky and were very excited to see what our night of folk music had to offer. As the Jug Band took the stage, we were amazed by their talent. The band is made up of four talented family members who were between the age of 17 and 25 who play everything from the saw, washboard, jug, banjo, tap dancing, harmonica, train whistle, keyboard, trombone, ukulele, guitar, melodica and a family friend who played the double bass. We were amazed with the energy in the room and on the stage, and the talent all of them had. We spent the night dancing and are now fans of folk music. After the concert we hung around to chat with the band, and thank Eileen once again for helping us get in to enjoy her show!
    Very tired form the night before, Dave and I had a late start to our morning and went back downtown to the Aquarium. We spent the afternoon looking at seahorses, many fish, adorable penguins, and some amazing sharks! This only made us more excited for us to head North at the end of our year to go diving in the Great Barrier Reef and see the marine life without the glass in front of us. We enjoyed our time in Sydney, but are off once again for a few days to visit Chris and Emma (before the head to New Zealand) in the Blue Mountains, two hours by train inland. The next few days will be filled with lots of trekking and enjoying the beautiful nature that Australia has to offer. We have loved every minute of Sydney and think that it may be our new home for the next few months.