Ferry Boats and Finding Nemo

Day 1 (Monday Dec 27) - Brekkie in Darling Harbour, Sydney Aquarium, Sydney Tower, QVB

The first day mom and I arrived in Sydney, Adam and Melissa had already been there for three days.  We went to the apartment and I took a shower.  After that Dad, Adam, Melissa, and I went for a late breakfast in Darling Harbour.  The whole time we were there a lot of the shops weren't open because they close down for Christmas and New Years.  We went to the Lizard Lounge and got Brekkie.  Because Melissa and I were very hungry, we got eggs, bacon (more like ham), toast, and coffee.  Adam and Dad got toast and flat whites (coffee).  After brekkie we walked around Darling Harbour for a little bit before heading back to the apartment.  We picked up Mom and got our rain gear around since it was looking like it might rain. 

We then headed down to Circular Quay which is the main ferry station for Sydney.  We purchased transportation tickets and took a ferry back to Darling.  We were going to stop at the Aquarium first but there was a very long line to purchase tickets.  We headed up to the Sydney Tower instead.  Since the lines were shorter there we purchased our tourist passes and headed on up.  The Sydney Tower is the tallest building in Sydney and boasts the best views of the city.  We got to see 360 degree views of the entire city!  We also got to see the world's tallest working mailbox.

After the Sydney Tower we headed back to the Aquarium.  The lines were shorter since we now had our passes.  We went to see the famous Shark Tunnel they have.  You walk in a tunnel and the sharks swim all around you.  We also got to see Nemo and Dori!  We touched shark eggs which look a lot like pine cones.  They also have lots of Lego figurines all around the aquarium.

After the aquarium we went to the Queen Victoria Building (QVB).  They have lots of high end shopping in there.  They had a large four story Christmas tree.  The tree was covered in Swarovski crystals!  It was very pretty.  After walking around the QVB we headed home but not before making our first of many stops at Cole's (local grocery store).  It was quite a culture shock seeing this small underground grocery store in the middle of the city.  We picked up stuff for dinner (bruchetta, ravioli, and wine) and some other necessities that we would need for the week before heading home.  After a long day it was nice to relax with a home cooked meal and get to bed early!