Sydney/Bondi Beach

Last weekend we jumped on a plane and headed to Sydney - best known, of course, for the Sydney Opera House. Little did I know as we approached that on Saturday morning, I would conquer one of the biggest goals I had for this trip - to hold a Koala!!!!!!!!! (OK...maybe I didn't hold her, but we got awfully close!)

We arrived in Bondi Beach on Friday, and enjoyed the scenic and trendy beach town. While we opted to stay in Bondi, we ended up spending a lot of time in the city proper (not far from Bondi at all) - and I must say, I am in love! Sydney is a place that I could get used to.... picture Manhattan, but much cleaner, much more picturesque - and on the water.

We took a ferry from Circular Quay (pronounced 'key') to the Taronga Zoo - this is where we got some of the most amazing pictures of the Sydney Opera House, and the Harbour Bridge. At the zoo itself, the backdrop of Darling Harbor and the city made for some interesting vistas (such as the one pictured here of the Giraffes).

We rounded out the weekend with some time at The Rocks, a big outdoor market with homemade crafts and local foods, and spent some time in Darling Harbor - an area of town that sealed the deal for me - I LOVE Sydney. We plan on ending our trip there in May.

The highlight of the entire weekend for me was, by far, my new friend Carla. Koalas have always intrigued me, and when I realized that I was able to get up close to the Koalas, I was like a little girl! Jumping around, yelping, the whole lot. When you take a look at the pictures - you will see that my antics were not in vain:

Though we couldn't get as close to her, Florence was nearby too - Florence had a joey (baby) in her pouch that was the size of a jelly bean!

Here's the full set of pics from the weekend - my usual warning - many many pics! :)