What fun we had! Weather good. Accommodation good. Food good, Company good and some adventure.
I will share with you over two blogs, Day ONE and Day TWO.
It IS long, but so many photos to share. Hope you enjoy.
I flew up to Sydney with Qantas and saw this wonderful photo in their inflight magazine.
Couldn't have done it better!
After settling in at our accommodation, we walked to the Sydney Tower at which I had booked for us to do the Skywalk at the Sydney Tower Eye. See the tall building in the middle - that's Sydney's tallest building, completed in 1981 at a cost of $26 million. Here is some official information for you, mainly for the benefit of my overseas readers.
Stabilized by 56 cables, long enough to stretch from Sydney to Alice Springs or from Sydney to New Zealand, the tower also features a 162,000 litre water tank. This is the primary damping system which also acts as a stabilizer for the entire building.
Looking out over Sydney, all the way to the Blue Mountains or Tasman Sea, the Sydney Tower's 420 windows are cleaned by "Charlie" a semi-automatic window cleaning machine.
Now, I KNOW that the Sky Tower in Auckland NZ is a tiny wee bit higher (and I have been up that too), but this experience was something I'll never forget and the views were by far the most exciting you could imagine.
Can you see the word "Westfield" in red? We had to jump up to touch that. I am only short, plus not as agile as I used to be, so I had FOUR attempts before I made it, with the other 13 people with us applauding when I finally made it.
See that little ledge on the right hand side? We had to walk out on that; has a glass floor, THEN the mechanism starts and it extends out further - all of us left hanging in mid-air.
Had a photo taken with Leonardo Dicaprio just for some courage.
Had to view a "what to expect" 4D Experience Movie.
Sharelle and I with 4D Glasses. The floor grumbled like an earthquake, we got sprayed with water, we flew over all of Sydney and we experienced some amazing situations.
Professional photo before we go up on the whole scary adventure.
Some kind person took a photo so as we could ALL be in it, though the reflection of the glass behind us was a photographer's annoyance.
It was as windy as a hurricane AND I mean WINDY.
We had the BBC Camera Crew ahead of us filming, so we had to wait more than 15 mins outside in the wind, hanging on for grim death. We do have full neck-to-ankle outfits on with a harness around our waist, hooked onto a rail with what they called a dog leash. I WAS TERRIFIED with the wind we had to endure so I was VERY pleased to be harnessed to the building. The girls were laughing at me!
Of course, NONE of them were one teensy little bit scared!
That's a GLASS floor we are standing on. Then the whole thing moved out further so as we were "hanging".
Here are some of the views from the Eye.
WHAT AN ADVENTURE
I URGE YOU TO VISIT THE SKY TOWER EYE
even if you don't do the Skywalk.
Came down to a reasonable level, several floors lower and enjoyed afternoon tea.
Wandered around Sydney enjoying the sights, the buskers, the street entertainment and people-watching.
Jasmine purchased a CD from the "WESTBOURNE" musical group who I must admit were really great to listen to, performing in the Pitt Street Mall.
She insisted I take a photo for her!
Then we strolled down to Darling Harbour to see more entertainment.
Particularly liked the acrobatic group called "Beat the Street".
The main guy coming from the Bronx in New York, but two of the group were talented Aussies.
Great entertainment. Sorry, didn't get a snap.
Happily put money into their buckets as they deserved it for a fantastic performance.
Finished the afternoon with a Toblerone Cocktail, then ate in the Hotel Room watching a great movie.
DID WE HAVE FUN?
DO YOU NEED TO ASK?
Tomorrow - DAY TWO - a Tall Ships Cruise on the Sydney Harbour!
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Fab views. What a great cocktail. You must have strong nerves. TFS.
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