Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Minding the Gap

During our 4 months of traveling we had gotten used to answering "where are you from" with "the United States". End of conversation. But while checking into our hotel in Sydney the person at the front desk just blankly looked at us and said, "yes, I know, where in the United States - I'm from Ohio". That made us realize we did not meet many Americans during our trip. Europeans, yes. Australians, yes. And many many other Asians, but not many from the United States. We decided to take this as a stroke of luck and picked his brain about places to see in Sydney and boy did he give us a recommendation. He suggested we take a ferry up to the Gap Park in Watson Bay and take in the views from the top. But not just of the Sydney skyline, but the five other bays that make up Sydney's unique harbor, as well as the wild Tasman Sea! Lucky for us the day we decided to go turned out to be a gloriously beautiful sunny day!Remember in grade school drawing a turkey by outlining your hand? Well if you were to outline your right hand like you were drawing a picture of a turkey, the gap between your thumb and index finger would be Clarke Quay where all the ferries and the Opera House are. And the gaps in between each finger would be a bay and the tip of your pinky is where The Gap Park is situated. The gap between your ring finger and your pinky is Watson Bay. The ferry ride was pure joy for so many reasons. There was the water's view of the city the whole way.
Incredible views of the Opera House.And a relaxing day on the water.
The first stop was in Elizabeth Bay. The homes terracing the bay hillside made us dream one day of having a view half as beautiful as these homes have. Next we cruised around the peninsula to Double Bay with boats anchored in front of glass condos and dreamy beachside estates.We cruised pass islands in the harbor up to Rose Bay which highlighted the rolling hills of homes crammed on each peninsula.
We arrived at Watson Bay and disembarked.
One of the attractions to Watson Bay is a set of fish and chips restaurants along the water, but we were here for the view.But it was the view of the Tasman Sea from The Gap Park, situated at the top of Watson Bay's peninsula, that truly awed us.The park trail looped around the peninsula and had incredible views of Sydney's skyline and sailboats dotting bay on one side and the wild open Tasman Sea on the other. It was amazing.Boats could be seen everywhere. They were systematically docked at each bay.
There were lots of sailboats out on the harbor that day.
As well of other means of being on the water.
People in Sydney truly love being in, near and around water. All the buildings face the water and life seems to stem from the proximity to water, which made us love Sydney even more.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I just wanted you to know that I STILL check your blog! Miss you guys! Just think. A year ago I had started an adventure of a lifetime with you guys!

Miss you both. Love Robyn