Nuevo Nomads

Australia is a country located in the Southern Pacific Ocean, it is a large island and also the smallest continent. Most Australians live along its coasts and much of the interior consists of flat arid and uninhabitable lands. The island is famous for its wines,beaches, food, impressive harbors and surfing. 

Sydney

Located in New South Wales, it is the most populous city in Australia.

The Sydney Opera house with its impressive sails is a skyline gem. It was designated a world heritage site in 2007. Designed by Danish architect Jorn Utzon, it’s construction was fraught with delays and costs overrun.

Despite this, the structure has become so iconic and is a source of great pride for Sidney and Australia. We attended a modern interpretation performance of Mozart’s Magic Flute and we were speechless inside the opera house. Like the outside, the impressively high beams and interior architecture was a continuous surprise and joy to us. 

Royal Botanical Gardens : is located in the heart of Sydney. Botanical gardens are a main attraction for us whenever we are in a city, and we enjoyed immensely exploring the one in Sydney. It is located near the water with several views of the opera house, the Harbor Bridge, and the surrounding harbor and is well worth a visit.

Beaches are a mainstay in and around Sydney. We took time to visit the famous Bondi Beach and took a ferry to Manly beach. These two are huge beaches, with boutique shops, restaurants, and cafes. You can easily sit back and enjoy the energy of this eclectic city or don your bathing suit for a dip in the water. Be aware that the surf on both beaches can be strong and unpredictable. Stay vigilant and mindful of guidance from the lifeguards and sound systems broadcasts and warnings!

Fish Market: we walked from our hotel along the sea walk, the maritime museum and across Darling harbor to the Sydney fish market. I would say it is not only for buying seafood but also a cultural landmark in this city. The market has two main sections—-one for seafood and another for fruits and vegetables. In the former, we witnessed the heart and soul of the fishing industry. There was every imaginable type of fresh seafoods from the popular stone crabs to lobsters, mussels, oysters, scallops and much more. We were allowed to chose our meal, get photos holding it and wait about 45mins for it to be cooked. We sat in the lovely summer sun on the patio of the market to enjoy our meal as the birds fed on the scraps and leftovers from diners.

Melbourne

 Located in Victoria and the second largest city in Australia, on the banks of the Yarra River and popular for its architecture, finance, fashion and culture.

Wine tour: we rented a car and set out on a wine tour in the famous Yarra Valley. We had lunch and a tasting at Yering Station winery then drove another 10 minutes to a small family winery. We saw two rolling clouds that brought rain and lightning.

Our city tour of Melbourne was brief but we enjoyed the Thai food we had along the Yarra river walk. We mostly indulged in the towering structures of bridges and buildings with the unusual and interesting architecture. One thing that made a huge impression on us were the vertical plaques across one of the bridges that gave a good introduction to the various immigrants that came to Australia and how they brough their unique skills to build upon what they encountered. I encourage you to visit this place as it highlights the variety of peoples who make up Australia and emphasize that they all brought skills and talent that contributes to the building of the current society.