Manly: My Favorite Beach in Sydney

After living in Australia for almost 2 years, guess which beach is my favorite? If you would have guessed Bondi…you’re wrong! Manly Beach is my absolute favorite beach in Sydney (and actually, Manly is just my favorite place as well)! Not that I need to prove it, but here’s why; Manly has all of the things that make a beach great: stunning water, coves, wormholes, art, nature, incredible views, walking treks…Oh, the things that Manly offers. Let’s get started!

Manly Beach view from the Wormhole
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Day Trip to Kiama and Bombo

Living in Sydney is such a great experience. I love being able to get in and out of the city and northern beaches easily. Even more so, I love being able to explore other parts of New South Wales with ease. A day trip to Kiama and Bombo is the perfect getaway that isn’t too far to travel round trip  from Sydney. It’s easy to get to Kiama from Central station, you only have to take one train! I decided to head to the farthest destination first, then hit Bombo on the way back home since it’s just a stop before Kiama.

Kiama

Kiama is a small town known to home one of the largest blowholes in the world with sprays up to 82 feet in the air! When visiting the blowhole it’s best at high tide, so be sure to lookup the times before you plan your trip around it. I visited a few hours before high tide so I could explore the area. There are plenty of sites to view around the headland, so you’ll have things to do while you wait. Continue reading Day Trip to Kiama and Bombo

Blue Mountains Day Trip

There are so many things to do in Sydney. If you’re only here for a week, exploring the city and surrounding beaches is a good idea. For those lucky others that have more than a week in this beautiful city, I suggest going on day trips from Sydney to see more of Australia. One day trip I highly recommend is a trip to the Blue Mountains. I went to the Blue Mountains on a day tour and had an excellent experience.

Trip Up to the Blue Mountains

The tour left early in the morning, around 7:00, to give us the entire day in the mountains. During the trip up, our guide told us the history of the Blue Mountains as well as where the name originated. The Blue Mountains are known as ‘blue’ because they give off blue haze due to the oil from the Eucalyptus trees in the area. When the sun hit the oil, it gives off a blue color.

Blue Mountains

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Palm Beach Day Trip

A path leading down to  Palm Beach

Sydney is full of beautiful beaches and coves to explore, but every now and then it’s nice to get out of the city and find something new. One Sunday I had the urge to get out of Sydney, so I planned to go to Morisset Park after church. I was excited about my plans for the day, but as I left the church someone in the congregation asked me about my plans for the day. I told her I was going to Morisset Park. She told me that going alone there wasn’t a good idea and suggested that if I wanted to go on a day trip I should go to Palm Beach.

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Vivid Sydney 2017

Vivid Sydney Festival 2017

Jellyfish light art display on the sails of the Opera House

There were a lot of things I was excited to see in Australia when I was planning my move and Vivid Sydney was at the top of my list! I had high expectations for Vivid Sydney 2017 and I am happy to say that I was not disappointed, Vivid Sydney was amazing! Sydney has so many places to go to enjoy the light displays, so I loved that I could stroll through the streets and see artwork. There were so many little displays and interactive ones as well. I didn’t get to see everything, but next year I know to plan more time for the festival. Here are a few of my favorite Vivid Sydney 2017 displays. Enjoy!

Taronga Zoo

Anteater display at the Lights for the Wild

Seeing the Vivid display at Taronga Zoo is an absolute must! I wasn’t sure if I would be able to fit this experience into my schedule, but thankfully I didn’t put it off until next year. The Vivid Light show at Taronga zoo is the Lights for the Wild walk and it was my favorite Vivid display. The displays were so ornate and fun, I loved them all!

Taronga Zoo Entrance Light Display

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GPSmyCity Announcement

GPSmyCity Article Announcement

Things to do in Orlando (besides theme parks)!

Hey guys, I have some exciting news! Two of my posts will be added to GPSmyCity as travel articles! The first article that will be released this week is: “Things to Do in Orlando (Besides the Theme Parks)!”

For those of you who don’t know what GPSmyCity is, you’re in for a treat. GPSmyCity takes travel articles and turns them into maps for the readers. So the next time you’re in a new city, you don’t have to keep looking online for places to visit, or figure out where the good restaurants in the area to eat are. You’ll have all of the information at your fingertips with GPSmyCity!

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My First Week in Sydney

I have been in the Land Down Under for two weeks now and I absolutely love it! In fact, I’ve loved it so much that I’m a week late on my blog post for my first week in Sydney! So here it is, better late than never.

The Plane Ride

My first sunrise in Australia!

My total flight time from Birmingham to Sydney was 24 hours. I had three different connections, but overall the flight wasn’t too bad! My longest leg (from LAX to Sydney) was supposed to be almost 15 hours, but we ended up landing an hour early! Thankfully, I didn’t feel too bad getting off the plane since I slept in intervals of about 30 minutes (totaling to 3 or 4 hours) and I even got my row to myself (yay, yay!). Continue reading My First Week in Sydney

Florida Top 10 Places to Visit

Heading to Florida for an extended trip and want to make the most of your stay? Here are my Florida top 10 places to visit, you should add these adventures to your list! From theme parks, to art, to becoming one with nature, Florida offers a variety of experiences for each type of person. I tend to be more nature oriented, so I must say my list is a little biased towards the outdoors. Even if you’re not an outdoors person, while you’re in Florida, you should experience natural Florida while you have the chance! Since I recently moved away from Orlando, this will be my last post on Florida. I decided a good way to go out is to list my top ten ‘not to miss’ places in Florida. Enjoy:

Dry Tortugas National Park

Fort Jefferson at Dry Tortugas National Park

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5 Springs in Florida to Visit

Florida has an abundance of springs. They are all beautiful in their own way, but I have a list of my favorites that I’d like to share. Below are the 5 springs in Florida that I recommend to visit:

Blue Spring State Park

Manatees swimming in Blue Spring State Park

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Exploring Dry Tortugas National Park

There’s a hidden treasure near Key West that not many people venture out to see, Dry Tortugas National Park. My whole trip to Key West revolved around Dry Tortugas. Key West was beautiful! The atmosphere was fun, the food was amazing, the water was beautiful, but the highlight of my trip was visiting Dry Tortugas. I highly recommend adding this destination to your Key West list!

Dry Tortugas National Park in the Keys, Florida

Dry Tortugas National Park

Brick hallways in Fort Jefferson, Dry Tortugas National Park

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A Life of Adventures