Sydney, Australia

We wrapped up our trip in Sydney, which turns out to be all it's cracked up to be. We loved the funky charm of Circular Quay, the grandeur of the opera house, the beauty of Manly beach... well, we just loved Sydney.

Fabio surprised me by booking a suite with this view from the bedroom balcony.

What a surprise!

The Sydney Zoo is on a steep hill on the harbor, with a ferry stop right at the entrance. 

We rode the gondola to the top and walked down the hill back to the ferry, 

admiring all the animals on the way down. Jonathan was really excited to be at the Zoo.

We up-cycled a game my Mom played with me called "Rose Bud" to be more manly.

Now it's called "Blast Off," but it still involves Jonathan putting his head down and then looking up on cue (with an enormous grin, of course) as I pull his arms into the air.

Love him.

We rode the ferry to Manly Beach...

... where Jonathan and Fabio watched airplanes and clouds.

We couldn't get enough of the Opera House. It is stunning--at night, during the day, close up, from a distant window or ferry--just stunning.

And we went whale watching, checking something else off my bucket list.

Fabio is burning through this list pretty fast these days... I'm going to have to make a sequel.

Mommy and baby humpbacks swimming together... 
Like a giant version of Jonathan and I. 

As cliche as it is to say this, the whole trip seems like a dream now. And even though I found myself waking up the morning of our flight to Singapore thinking, "No! Just a few more days! It can't be over so soon," I couldn't have scripted a more perfect ending.

Going to Australia was really mind-opening for Fabio and I. Neither of us ever dreamed of going to Australia or yearned to see Sydney, like many people do. We both thought, "Sure, it would be cool," but neither of us intended to save our pennies for the trip with a magazine picture on the fridge. (We do have one or two of those, though...) But I'm so happy to took the opportunity to go! We loved Australia and I wouldn't hesitate to go back. Now we wonder what else is out that that we have no idea how much we'll love...

Whatever it is, if we love it as much as we did our time Down Under, I can't wait to discover it.