We were expecting rain on our second day in Sydney, and boy did we ever get it. A storm front moved into the area today and we got a steady supply of rain throughout the day. Even though it was quite wet, we didn’t let the weather ruin our day and we got out early to start exploring some more of this amazing city.

Our first stop of the day was a local restaurant place that we were excited to try. Yesterday we were able to visit a popular tourist spot called The Grounds in the suburb of Alexandria. It is a homestyle food and coffee shop with a large collection of gardens that have become quite popular with tourists looking to snap trendy Instagram photos. Today we found out that The Grounds also has a restaurant in downtown Sydney, not far from our hotel.

Our breakfast was absolutely phenomenal. I had the deconstructed hot chocolate to start, and then the Brioche French Toast. Not only was the hot chocolate delicious, but it was a lot of fun to mix together as I reconstructed my drink. This is definitely a restaurant that I would recommend if you are ever in Sydney. In addition to having amazing food, the atmosphere in the restaurant was a lot of fun as well.

After breakfast we headed to Darling Harbor to do some more exploration in that area. Because it was raining, we wanted to find something fun to do that was inside and out of the rain. When we asked, a number of people recommended that we check out the Sydney Aquarium and the Australian Animal Adventure and Wildlife Zoo by Sydney Harbor. It was a lot of fun and a great way to escape the miserable weather.

In the aquarium, we were able to see penguins, which we will hopefully see in the wild when we are in the Melbourne area, as well as a wide variety of sharks and fish that are local to the Sydney area as well as other parts of Australia. We were especially excited to see some of the fish and shark species that we will see when we explore the Great Barrier Reef later this week.

After exploring the aquarium and wildlife zoo we grabbed a quick lunch by our hotel and then geared up for the Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb that we signed up for months ago. We were half-expecting them to cancel the climb because of the weather, but they said they do the climbs rain or shine, unless there is lightening.

I would by lying if I told you that climbing the bridge in the cold rain wasn’t somewhat of a miserable experience, but it was a unique experience. And we completed the climb despite the cold, the rain, and the (what seemed like) gale-force winds. However, the pictures that they take of you while doing the hike were absolutely horrible because of the weather. It really isn’t their fault as there isn’t much you can do in those conditions. All-in-all it was a fun experience and something that I would definitely recommend, when they weather is nice.

After the bridge climb we headed to the other side of the harbor for our final stop of the day. Because of the weather, we decided to treat ourselves to a show at the Sydney Opera House. We both wanted to experience that and after a grueling climb of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, we were looking forward to sitting in a warm theatre and enjoying a good show.

To our luck, West Side Story happened to be playing at the opera house and we were able to snag some pretty good tickets for a reasonable rate. We brought a dry change of clothes with us to the bridge climb and we were able to walk right to the opera house after the climb, grab a drink, and get settled into our seats for the show.

The show was fantastic and the opera house did not disappoint. One thing we both noticed was how much smaller the Sydney Opera House looks on the inside compared to how big it appears from the outside. It was definitely an experience that we will always remember and I am so glad we took the opportunity to see a show at this iconic venue.

That’s it for today’s update. Tomorrow, we expect some more rain, but it isn’t supposed to be nearly as bad as it was today. It is our last full day in Sydney, so we are going to make the most of the day and do some more exploring.

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