“Oh My Gaah!”
In the words of Karen Walker: “What is it poodle?”
In the words of Mandy & Zeus: “We climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge and it was BAD ASS!”

1,437 steps… we climbed the bridge and this is the email my friend Jamie has waited for…

Today was a glorious day… the Sydney sunshine finally came out and we were so excited. I was particularly excited b/c I was convinced I was developing a bit of S.A.D. (Seasonal Affective Disorder) and was on the verge of killing someone b/c I hadn’t seen the sun since last Saturday! (Remember, I skipped Sunday entirely b/c I was on a plane sleeping and it had been raining ever since I arrived in Sydney. I think Zeus was starting to fear for his life.)

Moving along, we took our time getting motivated this morning. We called “home” a.k.a. Jensen Beach and Jacksonville to have a “proper” conversation with our parental units and to check in on the “kids.” Don’t worry, they’re fine and I’m thoroughly convinced that they won’t want to be returned to their parents b/c they’ve been spending their days on the couch, having walks or swimming in the pool.

Anyway, back to today. We went to the Rocks Market today, which is like Fiesta in the Park at Lake Eola or an outdoor market that NYC has on occasion. It was lovely. With the sun shinning down, we kicked off the morning with chocolate covered strawberries and bananas…well, Zeus did, I had a water. From there we proceeded to make our way up one side of the market and down the other buying some interesting gifts for our family back home.

I need to interject re: UGG drama. I’m over it. They’re all fakes here. I’m moving on.

After a couple of hours at the market, we had lunch at an Italian place and I must say the Australians redeemed themselves slightly thanks to this restaurant. However, since the food was semi-flavorful, I have to assume it’s run by true Italians, not Australians. (Cubans- if you came out here and opened a restaurant, you could make a killin! And for good measure- you can decorate the ceiling with an explosion of black beans [shout out to Tia Nina!]).

After lunch, we regrouped at the hotel and headed for the bridge climb. Now here’s the conversation I had with my parents this morning.
Mom & Dad: So what are you doing today?
Zesu & Mandy: Well, since it’s pretty we’re going to see if we can do the Bridge Climb.
M & D: Oh that sounds nice. Dress warmly.
Z & M: Well, I think they give you a suit to wear, b/c they hook you to the bridge.
M & D: What?! (Slight concern in their voices).
Z & M: Yeah, you get hooked to the bridge. We’re not walking across it, we’re literally walking over it! You know, it would be like climbing the steel of the Matthews bridge.
M & D: Well, be careful. And if you don’t write an email tonight, we’ll think something went wrong.
Z & M: Ok… I’ll be sure to do the email tonight.

So here I am, telling you about the amazing bridge climb…but if you don’t believe me, check out the photos for yourself. Upon arriving, you of course have to sign a waiver, indicating that they are not at fault if you fall off the bridge into the water… totally kidding…I actually don’t’ know what the waiver said, i just signed it. Next, you get suited up in a super sexy one piece jumpsuit reminiscent of school custodians. You have to lock up your valuables, camera, watch and anything else that could potentially fall off and end up hitting a car below. You then get your climbing gear. You strap on your belt, completed with the ramekin that hooks you to the steel cable on the bridge, a fleece jacket, a sunglasses neck strap, a beany, a head lamp, and your radio. We each added an additional 20 pounds to our body weight!

Following, you take a quick climb on the “bridge simulator” and then you’re ready to climb.

So Sophie (kidd you not mom) our guide, lead us onto the bridge to start making our way up. On our way, we walked pass the Park Hyatt, where rooms are an average of $600 a night b/c of their location at the point of the Harbour, and started to make the gradual climb up with the Opera House on the right and the rest of the city and Blue Mountains off in the distance on our left.

We did the twilight climb, which meant we went up just before sun set, watched the sun set, and climbed down as the city came to life with lights! On our way up, you see the majestic Opera House, it was an amazing view and one you can only get while climbing. We stopped at one point for the perfect photo opp with the House in the background.

I need to tell you at this point, that we nicknamed each other “Spiderman” and “Sexy Bitch” b/c of the fantastic suits we were in and the fact that we were scaling the bridge… and you guessed right folks…Zeus was “Sexy Bitch!” Totally, kidding he was “Spiderman” and our guide called him that the entire trip. At one point, I just gave up and said “Mr. & Mrs. Spiderman here for our photo.” (This was about the third photo opp and I also asked for the hair and make up artist but they never arrived).

Moving along, when we reached the top, they took another photo at “the Summit” with the sunset in the background…again I refer you to the photos of “Sexy Bitch” and “Spiderman”… try not to be jealous b/c we look so PHAT (Pretty Hot And Tempting) in our suits!

Last but not least, we took a group photo (we have a print out, not on the disc where we uploaded the images) and then we took one with the city behind us…after watching the sun set behind the Blue Mountains! It was phenomenal! It was just such a surreal experience. I mean, here we are in this foreign city, freezing our tails off at the top of this bridge, watching the sunset.  It was a completely different experience than watching the sunset over an ocean, as we often see on the Florida coast.

The climb down was illuminated by the city lights! It was wonderful. It was like no other excursion we’ve ever done. Completely different than the mountains in Vegas or the Hoover Dam. Completely different than the off-road adventure in Aruba. It was a calming thrill. It wasn’t scary or nerve racking. There were no feelings of nauseousness. No feelings of vertigo or dizziness, just a calm, exhilaration, which, yes…there is such a thing.

And by the way, we climbed 1,437 stairs. My legs are like J-E-LL-O!

When you look at the photos, there are four that were complimentary b/c we bought more than 4 photos; they’re the sunset, fog/flag photo, and two other that we aren’t in.

After a spectacular afternoon/evening, we finished at the Lowenbrau, a German restaurant. We had 1/2 liters of beer and Zeus had schnitzel and I had fish and chips…while bland, it seems to be pretty safe at most places. We topped off our dinner and celebrated our climb with beer battered apples! YUMMY!

Who knows what tomorrow will bring. I’m thinking the Royal Botanical Gardens, the Rocks Walking Tour and an evening Habour tour by ferry…but we’ll see.

Have a great Saturday States!
M & Z

Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb

Michael Buble Concert Montage from Jesus Salgueiro on Vimeo.

Tags: Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb

This entry was posted on Saturday, June 7th, 2008 at 8:11 am and is filed under Friends & Family, Vacation & Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.