I asked Jacob to recap our day today. He said we walked a lot and we went to the Opera House.

We clocked in about 9 miles and we are both feeling it. Today was really hot and muggy. Even though we packed along water bottles we could have used more water. Today it really hit me how odd it is to see Christmas decorations and yet it is a summer day.

The title for today’s blog comes from the Royal Botanic Gardens. They have an exhibit featuring plants that bite. And to advertise this they shaped hedges into the phrase “bite me,” which faces straight out to the harbor and can be seen from the Opera House. I found this rather entertaining.

We had a bit of a lazy start to the day. Having gone to sleep just after 9 p.m., we were both up and ready to start our day just before 6 a.m. We got up, made some breakfast, got some laundry going and Jacob turned on some good old fashioned American football on the tv.

Around 9 a.m. we headed out the door and to the train station. We hopped off at Milson’s Point which is just before the Sydney Harbor Bridge. We walked the length of the bridge and followed a trail to the Opera House to arrive about 30 minutes early for our tour. We checked my bag and then walked around for a bit. The Opera House was incredibly crowded and it made it hard to get around. Part of the tight spaces were caused by the New Years Eve celebration setup. The Opera House has a huge party with thousands of people in attendance for the New Years fireworks display.

Prior to the tour, we weren’t sure where to go so I asked one of the staff at the Opera House. She asked when our tour was and I replied, “noon.” She said, “What time?” I said, “noon.” She said “What time?” and I said, “12.” Apparently noon isn’t a thing here? Or maybe she just couldn’t hear me.

At noon, I mean 12, we gathered with the rest of the people in our tour group and then they forced all of us to take a photo which they later wanted to charge us $50 for. We decided to pass on that. To help you hear during the tour they handed out headsets and then we were on our way. The tour guide explained that there were over a thousand rooms in the Opera House. The first room we saw was called the Playhouse. This theater is used for small productions and kids plays. From there we went to the main stage area. We were not permitted to take any photos for security reasons since they are setting up for New Years, but it was really awe-inspiring to be in that room. The architecture is amazing. During the tour we learned a lot about how the Opera House was built and why, along with some controversies surrounding its construction. It was only supposed to take 3 years to build, but it took 16.

Once the tour concluded, I was starving and ready for some lunch. We walked along the pier and ended up at a restaurant called Buckley’s. We decided to split a smoked pepperoni pizza and boy was it delicious!

After lunch we ventured to the Royal Botanic Gardens. This 74 acre botanical garden opened in 1816 and is the oldest scientific institution in Australia. This park was amazing, there was so much to see and do. We saw a bunch of interesting native birds and some beautiful plants. We walked out to Macquarie Point and checked out the views of the Opera House. You could spend days walking around there and not even see all of it.

After the gardens it was time for us to start making our way back to the hotel. We walked by the Parliament building and the state library. Then we walked through Hyde Park and viewed the Anzac War Memorial.

From there it was just a short walk back to the train. We stopped at the grocery store on our way back to the hotel and then ordered some delivery for dinner. Jacob watched the Seahawks on his phone and cursed at them.

Tomorrow is the big day! There is a bit of a petition going around asking the city to cancel the fireworks due to fire risk. The city has said the fireworks will happen. We will see! Tomorrow we will scope out some spots for the New Years celebration and fireworks.

Until then…