P. Sherman, 42 Wallaby Way, Sydney

There's nothing like the comforts of home in a foreign country.

After checking in to the hotel the Madeline, Liana, and I grabbed some coffee from Starbucks, and hit the city. We rode the monorail and had the chance to see the city much like how we saw Melbourne. It was nice to be off of our feet for a while. I feel like we haven’t stopped walking since I’ve arrived in Australia. Don’t get me wrong I love the exercise, but my feet are beginning to reject all this walking.

So it couldn’t have been a better day for us to climb the bridge, as in the Sydney Harbor Bridge. The girls and I were scheduled to climb at 4:15, so we had a lot of time to kill. Liana showed us around Sydney, and we actually got the chance to visit the Sydney Opera House. I couldn’t believe that there were actually multiple buildings; that’s right, they aren’t all connected. We also bummed around the harbor for a bit and checked out some local cruise ships. We tired to think of a full proof plan to sneak on the ships, but sadly we failed.

If you put all the buildings of the Sydney Opera House together
they form a perfect circle. 

I guess it was for the best, because we found a great café. They had amazing sandwiches, though we all wished we had ordered wheat bread. Still the food was great, and we were in a great spot to people watch. We spent a good hour at least just watching people pass us. After that we wandered around the city some more looking for jewelry shops where Madeline could find a pearl ring; apparently Australia is known for their pearls.  Our search ended in defeat, but it was finally time to make our way to the bridge climb.

We weren’t far from the bridge, which was a relief; I think all of us were beginning to get tired. But the girls and I were ready to climb the bridge. Well, kind of.  When we first got there we had to check in, and the guy helping me couldn’t find my reservation. As if I wasn’t freaked out enough about climbing the damn bridge, now I had to worry that I booked it at the wrong time/day. Thankfully, he found my reservation. All we had to do was wait now until it was our turn to climb.

Liana, Madeline, and I waiting to climb the bridge.

It wasn’t too bad; we only had to wait like 30 minutes. They also had this great video that would show us what to do. If you missed it the first time it ran on a seven-minute loop. (That was sarcasm for you who don’t understand Australian humor.) The video was awful, but I was too nervous/excited to climb the bridge I didn’t really notice.

It actually took them longer to train us for the climb than we had to wait. They take us through everything slowly so that nothing goes wrong. I didn’t mind it. If anything I think it helped to calm my nerves. First we had to sign some forms.

One of the few smiles I could force while walking on the bridge.

Then it was time for the suits. They were surprisingly comfortable, but add that with all the supplies we had to walk with... Let’s just say that it was pretty heavy. After you have the harness on they strap everything to you. Sunglass, hats, jackets, everything needs to be securely attached to you, so that it doesn’t come off and cause car accidents down below. After climbing the bridge I can understand why; it was super windy up there.

But that wasn’t what was bothering my the most.

To get on to the actual bridge you have to walk on this creepy walkway, and climb ladders to have cars zooming past you at 100 km/hour. It didn’t help that you could see directly below you. Now, I am terrified of heights, and so is Liana. You can imagine how this went. But seriously, I think both of us did a good job getting past that area.

The girls and me striking a pose on top of the Sydney Harbor Bridge.

Once we got on to the bridge I was amazed by the view. I completely forgot how high up I was. The walk wasn’t bad. We stopped four times to take pictures. However, my feet still hurt. After our climb we took a taxi back to the hotel.

It was already late and we were famished. The girls and I met up with Liana’s friends Emma and Erin. We went to China Town for dinner. We all decided that Nine Dragons would be a great place to eat. They had a cheap dinner deal that came with a lot of food. Well, thankfully it was a cheap place, because the service was awful. We got three napkins to share, our food came before our drinks, and the waiters ignored our requests. Thankfully tipping isn't required in Australia. 

After a day like that the three of us were exhausted. We watched two and episodes of Summer Heights High before we crashed.

Cheers, mate.