Good Times: Day 2 in Sydney (continued)

After seeing the Sydney Opera House, Double Bay, Rose Bay and Don Ritchie Grove, my family and I continued on the bus trip. We saw MacQuarie Lighthouse, the first lighthouse in Australia which began operating in 1818.

The white lighthouse looked so beautiful against the blue sky.

We drove past Bondi Beach, and whilst everyone was taking photos through the bus windows, I was snapping some pictures of these cute pastel coloured buildings, as I couldn't get a good look at the beach. 

Luckily, the bus driver stopped and we had 25 minutes to wander around. 

Bondi Beach

The bus tour ended near St. Mary's Cathedral. I'd definitely go on a bus tour again, it was so much fun seeing everything and learning about some of the history of Sydney.

My mum and I love looking at old churches. This is St. Mary's Cathedral - it's huge! 

I bought some Italian-made pendants that had a cute heart symbol. I was intrigued by the other side of the pendant which said 'Infant of Prague'. I asked the elderly lady behind the counter about it. She explained that a Spanish princess in the 1500s received an intricately-made statue of baby Jesus and it was passed down to her daughter as a wedding present and later to her granddaughter. Somewhere along the line, it was thought to be lost during World War II but was later found. The lady even hinted that the infant of Prague is also seen as a symbol of protection against money troubles. Once my mum heard that, she wanted one for herself and my sister too! Anyway, I just think it's a cute little souvenir of Sydney.

With my dad.

Later, we had lunch at a Spanish restaurant called Casa Austriana. My mum loves paellas so she was in her element. We shared a chicken paella dish and prawn tapas - it was delicious! Later, we stopped in a cooking shop and I bought my mum a paella pan, she promptly cooked one when we got back home to Melbourne on Monday!

On the walk home, I bought Guitar Man, an Elvis LP from a vintage shop - another souveneir of Sydney. I'm quite sentimental and really wanted to find a few small things to remember this fun trip. There were surprisingly few op-shops or vintage shops in the city of Sydney. I only went into one vintage shop the whole time we were there.

I also captured a photo of this massive Coca Cola billboard between Kings Cross St and Darlinghurst St. It was made in 1974 and is the biggest billboard in the southern hemisphere. As a landmark, it is used as a point of reference when finding your way around the area.

We went back to the apartment for a bit of a rest before going out in the evening for a light dinner. We went to The Bourbon and I loved the sweet potato chips there. 

The view from our room. I'm not too fond of city views but for some reason, I really liked this one.

I went to bed with a big smile on my face after such a fun day. It haven't felt this happy in a long time. And the feeling of content continued into Day 3 of Sydney.

See you tomorrow!

Title: Good Times by INXS and Jimmy Barnes.