Die Libelle

After a whirlwind trip to Tasmania and Sydney, we returned to Melbourne to wrap up our time down under and say aufwiedersehen to wonderful friends. We spent our last day at Brighton Beach, floating in salt water and soaking up as much sun as possible before returning to winter. We walked the beach and enjoyed the 80+ colorful beach houses (really sheds) lining the shoreline before packing up our summer gear and heading to the airport. It was a long flight home (successfully via Dubai this time, where it was raining!) and then via NYC all the way to snowy wintery Vermont!

Brighton Beach, Melbourne Australia

View of Vermont from the Airplane

Home Sweet Home, under many feet of snow

For the rest of the photos from the trip view the albums on the Featured Photo Album list.

We flew from Hobart to Sydney, getting beautiful views of the city from the plane. Our plans were tossed in the air and so we hopped on a train into the city and went with the flow. We arrived at Circular Quay with no idea of where to go so with our newly purchased transit passes, we hopped on a Darling Harbor Ferry and were treated to gorgeous night time views of the Sydney Harbor. From the Ferry deck, we saw the Circular Quay, the Opera House, the Harbor Bridge, Luna Park, Darling Harbor and everything else in between, including some fireworks over the Opera House.

View of Sydney from the Airplane

View from the Ferry of the Opera House lit at night

Harbor Bridge with surprise fireworks over the Opera House

Having enjoyed our Darling Harbor Ferry ride so much, we decided to try out another ferry to Cockatoo Island, an old industrial and prison island, that was hosting the Bienniale Festival for Contemporary Art Installations. While we weren't thoroughly excited by the art work, the old warehouses and machinery on the island were lots of fun to see. We then headed back into the city, explored the botanical gardens and then met up with Sara and Ed for a lovely evening walking around the harbor, which included watching the Carnival Spirit Cruise Ship leave the Sydney Harbor and some yummy food at a tiny restaurant on the Nurses Walk alley in The Rocks.

On the way to Cockatoo Island

The Carnival Spirit, leaving Sydney Harbor

The following day, we enjoyed more of the Sydney downtown including The Rocks Market, the Contemporary Art Museum, and the Customs House, which featured samples from the crocheted coral reef exhibit decorating the floor space with a scaled model of the city below. We then hopped the Manly Ferry across the Sydney Harbor to Manly, seeing some spectacular sailing competitions. We made our way to the famed Manly Beach and enjoyed a lovely afternoon on the beach, which had strong undertow warnings, before heading back to the city with more beautiful views from the ferry.

Sydney Harbor

Inside the Customs House, Crocheted Coral

Sailing Competitions in Sydney Harbor

Manly Beach

Views of Sydney from the Manly Ferry

Spectacular Sydney Skies

Our last day in Sydney, we strolled through Hyde Park and checked out St. Mary's Cathedral before heading to the Art Gallery of New South Wales to check out their impressive collection, most notably an impressive exhibit of artwork done by Australian high school students. We then meandered through the Royal Botanical Gardens, enjoying the Rose Gardens and a grass garden. I met up with Carolyn, a friend of mine from Hopkins, who I hadn't seen since graduation, and we explored more of the Botanical Gardens. Mom and I then headed to the Harbor Bridge to walk across it (on the free street level). We saw different (yet still beautiful) views of Sydney from the bridge but decided we enjoyed the view from the ferry more so for our last evening in Sydney, we hopped the Darling Harbor Ferry, saw the sites from the water and enjoyed a yummy meal on the waterfront.

Hyde Park with a view of St. Mary's Cathedral