It was the Queen's birthday weekend last week and Zoe flew in to Newcastle airport on Thursday for a five day visit, which is the longest period of time we have spent together in the past 18 months.
On Friday, Ian dropped us at the station to catch the 7.30am train to Sydney. We had decided to go on our own because Ian is not that bothered about having a touristy time in a city that was his home for many years. I have only visited Sydney a few times since our arrival and Zoe has not been there since 2005. Even though Ian and I stayed in the city for a few days when we first arrived, we were running around buying cars and camping gear so I didn't have much time for sightseeing.
We were in Sydney by 10am and started the day with Jaffles (toasted sandwiches) in a cafe in Circular Quay. Then it was off to book ourselves onto a Captain Cook's harbour cruise. Ian had told us to go on the Middle Harbour route so we managed to get booked for the 2.30pm trip.
We strolled off around Circular Quay and, after a few failed selfies in front of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House because of our lack of a selfie stick, a nice lady offered to take our picture for us. We watched the groups of people taking the Harbour Bridge walk, there are about six groups doing the walk at any one time and it is like that all day, but we knew that would never be for us, especially not for me.
Next was a stroll through the beautiful Botanic Gardens and a look at Government House then onto The Rocks which is the historic area next to Circular Quay. The Rocks Market was great and the whole neighbourhood really gives you an idea of what the area would have looked like when Sydney was first starting to develop.
The time had now come around for the highlight of the day, the Captain Cook Cruise. It was 2 hours long and an excellent way of getting the layout of the city a bit more sorted out in our heads, the commentary was informative too, all this came with tea, coffee and cakes, what more could we ask for?
We had noticed when we first arrived that Vivid Sydney was still on. This is a festival of light where the buildings are lit up with light shows and animations so we decided to stay and see a bit of it. The lights came on as soon as it got dark at 6pm and they were sensational, especially on the Opera House which is a perfect canvas for a light show.
The remainder of Zoe's visit passed quickly with days out in Newcastle, where we introduced her to Nobby's Beach and the Olive Tree Market and Nelson Bay where we encountered a shark on a bus (?).