Mom and Dad's trip - Part 1

I said a somewhat tearful goodbye to my parents this morning, as they got in a taxi to head to the airport. I can't believe their time here visiting me is already over, but I am so incredibly thankful that they made the big journey and took the time (and money) to come visit me here. It really is an amazing place here and I was so happy to be able to show some of my loved ones all around! We had lots of adventures, took many pictures and made memories that will last a lifetime...and now, it will take me a few blog posts to recount all of our adventures!

As you know from previous blog posts, we walked around my area on the first day so that they could see where I live and of course, we had our amazing NYE night! On NYE day, we got up pretty early and headed out on a ferry to Taronga Zoo. I hadn't been to the zoo yet, so wasn't sure quite what to expect. The zoo is out on a point, just a few bays away from the city and the Opera House/Harbour Bridge. The whole thing is set in this gorgeous vegetation that goes uphill from sea level. When the ferry pulled up, we saw this 'sky safari' that takes the ferry riders to the top of the zoo and the main entrance. It was a gorgeous ride up and a perfect way to do it because then we got to work our way down through the zoo to take the ferry back at the end.

It was a hot and sunny day, but we had such a wonderful time there and the surroundings were just beautiful. Here are a few pics of the koalas, Mom and Dad by some beautiful flowers, the elephant show that we watched (they have a few baby elephants!) and the stunning view from the seal show (we didn't see much of the show, but I thought the view from their area was amazing)...

After our amazing NYE night, we slept in a bit and then walked across the bridge to The Rocks area. It was another really hot day and we were all still a bit jetlagged and tired from the night before, but it is always fun to see the harbour from walking across the bridge.

We went to breakfast at Pancakes at the Rocks...where they serve ice cream on the pancakes! I think Mom and Dad were a little skeptical of ice cream on pancakes...but they loved them!! (We even made a return trip there later in their visit!) I was really disappointed because The Rocks Market was not happening because of the holiday weekend. That is one of my favorite things to do here, so I was sad to not be able to show them what it was like during the Markets. We were still able to walk around The Rocks some and did a little shopping in some of the actual stores that are there.

We headed back across the bridge mid-afternoon to relax for a while and clean up before heading out to a fancy dinner. I thought it would be fun to have our fanciest dinner on New Years night, as that is still a fun time to celebrate. We went to Cafe Sydney, which is on the top level of the Customs House, a building right down in Circular Quay (the main ferry terminal and right by The Rocks and the Opera House). We sat out on the terrace, where it felt wonderful with the sun behind some buildings. We each loved our meals and had great drinks and a beautiful view!

We got back to my apartment in time to see a beautiful sunset over the harbour. Mom and Dad just loved my balcony and spent a ton of time out there. They would go out at all times of day and night to check on the weather, watch the action in the harbour, feed the rainbow lorikeets, see 'the diamonds sparkling on the water' in the afternoon sunshine and just to relax and read. They have renewed my love for the balcony too and I plan to spend as much time as possible out here in my last 7 weeks here (in fact, I am writing this blog post out on my balcony)! Here they are with the pretty sunset...

Stay tuned, more to come. Next up...our day in the Blue Mountains!