Slightly delayed because of bad weather we arrived safely in Sydney. After some difficulties to find our Uber driver, we had a fun ride and the driver (originally from Fiji - how can you leave such a paradise??) told us interesting stories about the city life.

As we were overwhelmed in Melbourne by so many people in the city after weeks of seeing almost nobody, it was not that bad in Sydney actually. Not crowded at all, probably all will just come in for the big New Years firework.

Starving we made our way to an Asian restaurant and headed then for a Schlummi to the push - a very cool piano bar, the guy at the piano was rocking and people in their ugly christmas pullovers were dancing. In general it is a very cool area around the Rocks with lots of bars and restaurant. We didn't make it to the bar next to which is actually the oldest pub in sydney but it was supercrowded (the fortune of war).  Anyways it was so much fun but we were tired as well and slept like angels in the YHA the Rocks - by far the best hostel we have been in Australia. Cool location (there are archeological excavations on the ground) and many sightseeing and shopping spots were in walking distance.

After a morning stroll though The Rocks Christmas Market (have you ever been in flipflops and shorts at a Christmas Market??) and a yum breakfast we took the ferry to Manly and on the way we got perfect postcard weather with a view to the Opera House and the Bridge although it was forecasted to have some Thunderstorms. Manly was a perfect spot to do some Christmas Shopping (I will worry about my bag later), watching surfers catching the waves, enjoying a yum latte and just made it back to Sydney when the forecast became reality and we headed back to the Hostel and decided to go to Darling Harbour for Dinner. As soon we arrived, Thunderstorm 2 was ON. Jeesus it was pouring down that was incredible! Luckily we found some space in a nice Italian restaurant, have seen some fireworks and made it back without any rain.

As sun was shining again the next day, we decided to go to Bondi Beach. There are more stunning beaches close to Sydney, but when you're there, it's worth to see, especially as a fan of Bondi Rescue :) We stopped at Speedos Café first for a late yum breakfast and my first Cronut ever - yay! It  was a monster, but very delicious too :) 

Water was too cold for me and waves too high, we just watched the busy life at Bondi before we got picked up by Tiffany - we met her on our first tour where we discovered the Secrets of Esperance. She's living in Sydney and offered to show us around. We headed to the gap view point and Watsons Bay which is known for its famous fish & chips and we couldn't resist and a perfect snack for my next appointment - I signed up for the BridgeClimb in Sydney whoop!

When signing up, you can choose between different options, I decided to do the "night climb". They state sunset is the best as you get both, sunset and night, but obviously you have to pay more. When you get there, you can see all the famous celebs who did the bridgeclimb before, and soon you get first instructions, have to do an alcohol test (there is 0.00 tolerance) and gather equipment before you start. The climb itself was very cool, the guide told interesting stories about how the bridge got built and some myths and legends about it including some photo stops. It was a really cool experience knowing that Prince Harry did the same just some weeks ago :). If you're not afraid of height, I definitively recommend it. It's another if-you-can-afford-it-do-it thing and I am happy I signed up for it.

On the last full day we had in Sydney, we decided to go a bit out of city and Tiff picked us up again for a day trip to the blue mountains and started with going to Scenic World where you can do different walks and using different cablecars - even going down by a cliffhanger option which was fun :) You can discover some dinosaurs too - was really cool and we did some hiking to the famous three sisters as well.

It was a lovely day trip and I can't thank Tiffany enough for these amazing days and hospitality, really cool to have met such great people here. 

For our last evening in Australia we got Tickets for the Cinderella Ballet in the Opera House - it was a perfect end of an unforgettable trip.

Then it was time to say goodbye :( First to Elly, who had a very early morning flight back home. I had at least another morning in Sydney and went for a walk to the Botanical Garden as well as to the Pylon, which is kind of a museum where you can read all about the bridge and go up for a great view over Sydney Harbour and the Opera House. Very cool for people who are not doing the bridge climb, it was also cool for me and anyways included in the bridge climb ticket :)
But nothing helps, I had say goodbye then to Australia and Sydney which provided us a perfect end.

It was not only saying goodbye to Australia, it meant goodbye to sun, great weather, amazing trips, cool people and animals and just to a incredible fun time. After being away for such a long time, I was also looking forward to seeing my family and friends back home again.

This is it in regards of travels in 2018 - looking forward what 2019 has in place for me, preparations for new adventures are in progress....stay tuned... :-)