Everyone says you have this moment when you first lay eyes on the Opera House – it finally hits you that you’re on the other side of the world. That moment came for me this weekend when my taxi pulled up to the Sydney Harbour last Friday. There was something breathtaking about finding myself standing in front of this Australian icon I’ve seen a million times in pictures and on TV. This time it was up close and personal, surreal. For the first time, I felt incredibly far from home.

Tea and the Opera House

I arrived in Sydney with my host family the night before, and the short drive through the city from the airport to our hotel in Chinatown made me feel like I’d been thrown into any old city that could have been anywhere in the world. But there was much more to Sydney than the average bustling city streets. The weekend was jam packed full of fun and sightseeing. In our first day alone, I saw so much. After walking around the Sydney Harbour and Opera House, Christian and I set off for our own adventure – to climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

It takes a lot of guts to climb almost 1400 stairs, 134 meters high above the city while trains and cars rattle the bridge you’re connected to by a skimpy harness. Honestly, I could not have been more thrilled. After dressing in our bridge-climbing-onesies with walkie talkies and all sorts of gear around our waists, Christian and I ran straight to the front of our tour group to get harnessed in. And then we started climbing. We climbed stairs and ladders, stopped to take several pictures along the way, and made it to the top to see the most beautiful view of the city.

Christian and I on top of the world

After the Bridge Climb, we met the rest of my host family and jumped on a ferry to Luna Park. Luna Park is a carnival in Sydney, really similar to Coney Island in New York, filled with rides, games, and food stands for chips (fries) and fairy floss (cotton candy). We acted like big silly kids, taking Tea and Christian on the ferris wheel, merry-go-round, bumper cars and roller coasters until dark.

View of the city from Luna Park at night

The next couple of days in Sydney were much more relaxed. I wandered around the city on my own a bit during a much-needed break from the kids. I walked over and sat in the sunshine in Hyde Park, which my host mom Suzanne compared to Central Park, but was maybe a one-hundredth of the size. I wandered over to Darling Harbour to walk by the water and the boats, and made my way back to the Queen Victoria building. Later on, I joined the family for a trip to the Taronga Zoo where we saw giraffes and elephants and got to pet pigs and chooks. On our last day, we drove around to Sydney’s beautiful beaches.

Darling Harbour

Aboriginal friends

Giraffes in the city 

Bondi Beach

Sydney beaches

I had a wonderful time exploring Sydney. I'm so lucky to be with a family who is so incredibly happy to tour me around the country with them. It was a hectic weekend, and lots of fun, but I sure am glad to be back home in Brissy!