The Earth Exchange

Day 5
When in Australia there are a couple of must do things that come to mind, one being the Sydney Bridge Climb. Today I headed down to the bridge to do one of the morning 3 and a half hour climbs. The building that you get all geared up in has an industrial feel to it and is directly attached to the bridge through a small tunnel. You get a gray jumpsuit (you had to take your clothes off to put it on, I knew this beforehand so I decided to wear a bathing suit) to put on and a harness which attaches you to the bridge during your climb. I would say the beginning is the scariest part, it is really narrow and in order to get to the top part of the bridge, you have to climb a series of skinny ladders. Once on the top portion it was really thick so I wasn’t worried at all and the views were well worth it. We were given headphones so that the guide could tell us about the history of the bridge, which was really interesting. Our guide was amazing, she was outgoing, knowledgeable and really made everyone feel confident and at ease through the whole climb. The weather was perfect, not smokey or cloudy and there was a nice breeze that kept me cool while on the bridge. The view at the very top was so incredible. I stood there for a moment and was overwhelmed with emotions. I felt so grateful that I had the opportunity to experience something so incredible but also felt sad knowing that there are so many people who won’t ever be able to. I will never forget how amazing it was and it was definitely worth every penny. I paid a little extra to get the picture package for the memories because you are not allowed to bring anything on the climb. Once we got changed and returned our gear, I headed to a brewery that my Dad frequented called Lord Nelson Brewery Hotel (the oldest hotel in Australia) for a couple beers and a snack. Since it was such a beautiful day I then met up with Alix and we grabbed the ferry over to Manly Beach for 2 hours of tanning on the beach. I headed to Darling Harbor around 9pm to a bar called Cargo to grab a drink with a girl I met at Scary Canary who is working as an au pair in Sydney. I am not usually a city person but wow I have really been loving Sydney!

Day 6
Weekends in Sydney are booming with markets, they have several throughout the city some focus more on food while others on local crafts and clothes. I met up with Gaby’s friend Kim, who she met and became close with when she studied abroad. We headed to The Rocks Market and spent some time walking around and looking at the local crafts. They had jewelry, soaps, fudge, painted tiles, skin product, clothes, leather goods and more. It was a cooler day out and after all the humid ones everyone was out and about really enjoying the weather. We facetimed with Gaby for about 45 mins and had worked up an appetite. We went and had lunch at a rooftop restaurant with amazing views of the harbor called The Glenmore. It was a Saturday and the place was packed with brunch goers and family parties. We shared a jug of alcohol, salt and pepper prawns and a chicken parmigiana schnitzel (there is a huge debate in Australia on whether it is a parmi or parma for short). After lunch we headed over to see the campus of the University of Notre Dame (where Kim and Gaby studied) and she walked me by the apartment Gaby used to live in. It was nice to spend the day with someone who is Australian since all the people I had met until this point were fellow travelers, mostly from the UK. I went back to the hostel to begin packing my bags since it was my last night in Sydney. Alix and I hung out in our room drinking goon and talking about our future travel plans. Traveling alone is such a unique experience that allows you to open yourself up to meeting so many new people. The con to it is that you are constantly having to make new friends and say goodbye to some really cool down to earth people.Read more