Cat Tales: Miscellany and Mischief

Day 17: Sydney Harbour

30DBC December 17 Prompt: We're in Sydney today and staying at The Grace Hotel. Make sure you get some decent sleep, because we're getting a VIP tour of the Sydney Opera House at 7 am, for which we must arrive at 6:45 am! We'll grab some breakfast afterwards, then head to the Sydney Harbour Bridge, and for the adventurous souls out there, do the Bridge Climb. We'll spend the rest of the day at the Royal Botanical Gardens.
The rest of the day will be yours to spend as you wish.

Yay, we're in Sydney!

We check into the Grace Hotel after our flight, and I crash, barely getting my hair out of its mangled bun before my head hits the pillow and I'm off in Dreamland.

Someone's phone alarm wakes me at around 5:15, for which I am grateful--I need a good dunk under a warm shower, and then to my morning prayers and coffee.

We arrive at the Opera House just a couple minutes past 6:45--our tour guide doesn't seem too thrilled that we were late, but she soon cheers up as she takes us around the building. We walk out onto the deck under the 'sails' of the building, looking out at a beautiful sunrise across Sydney Harbour. It's a breathtaking view, and one that Lyn's a Witchy Woman has to drag me away from in order to see the rest of the opera house. We go behind the scenes, checking out the expansive backstage area and the gigantic auditorium. It's a gorgeous place.

After we end the tour, we hit up a nearby cafe for breakfast. I get a huge cinnamon roll and a couple boiled eggs to go with some fresh coffee. Then it's off to the Bridge!

I am NOT an adventurous soul, not when it comes to heights, anyway. I therefore watch with a few others as the rest climb to the very top of the bridge. The pictures they bring back are incredible, though even just looking at the sea in the background, and the very tiny/flimsy-looking metal rail that is the only thing separating them from solid platform and air...okay, I gotta stop. I'm getting a teensy bit nauseous.

After watching them defy death, we all head out to the Royal Botanical Gardens. It's a breathtaking nature park right near the harbour, and I admire the handiwork of the gardeners. The place reminds me of Alice in Wonderland, with its strange bridges and carefully-cut, colorful shrubs.

Then, after the gardens, I decide to go find a nice place to sit in the shade near the harbour. The water has got my imagination running wild, and I sketch a few pictures of fish and bubbly underwater habitats before launching into a fan-fiction. BlueMoon finds me occupied thus, and we decide to eat some dinner and check out some of the local shops. We come back to the hotel with our latest purchases and meet the others, some who are just coming in to the lobby, others who are chatting in the hallways. I go call my husband to pray our Rosary and catch up, and then I'm just about beat. My eyes are drooping as I say my evening prayers, and then I'm out like a light once again.

AlyCatAuthor