Australia Trip 2015 Recap

We had a super duper fun time in Australia, and we have been taking the past week to slowly adjust back to a regular routine. Before we get into sharing about our travels, we want to give a huge shoutout to Stephen, Kristi, and Aiden for being the best hosts ever! They let us invade their space for more than a week while we were in Sydney.

Below is a simple recap of our 16-day trip. Like our other trips, we love to enjoy great meals and try new foods wherever we go, so we have included some places where we ate or had takeaway (aka takeout). If no meal is indicated, we probably had a meal of “regular” food from the grocery store, McDonald’s (although they do have a different menu than the states), airplane/port food, or complimentary breakfast at our hotel. :p

Day 1 – Thursday, February 19, 2015
Hawaiian Airlines – OAK to HLN (Oahu) – 5ish hours
Hilton Hawaiian Village
Late Lunch: Pronto Pickle Grab & Go and Lanikai Juice Hawaii
Lagoon
Dinner: Wailana Coffee House

Day 2 – Friday, February 20, 2015/Saturday, February 21, 2015
(crossed the international date line)
Breakfast: McDonald’s
Hawaiian Airlines – HLN to SYD (Sydney) – 10ish hours

Day 3 – Sunday, February 22, 2015
St. Philip’s Anglican Church
Lunch: Museum of Contemporary Art Cafe

Day 4 – Monday, February 23, 2015
Taranga Zoo (by ferry)
Lunch: The Fish Stop (at zoo)
Dinner: Goshu Ramen Tei

Day 5 – Tuesday, February 24, 2015
Sydney Opera House
Lunch: Opera Kitchen (3-tiered tasting plate)
High Tea: The Tea Salon at Westfield Sydney
Dinner: The Terrace (Beet Burger), Pie Face (Mini Meat Pies)

Day 6 – Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Lunch: 183 Kent Street Cafe (Chicken Laksa, Spicy Fried Rice)
Trinity Avenue Playground
Snack: Royal Copenhagen Ice Cream Stand at Circular Quay
Sydney Library at Customs House

Day 7 – Thursday, February 26, 2015
Manly Beach (by ferry)
Lunch: Fishmongers Manly
Dinner: Crust Pizza

Day 8 – Friday, February 27, 2015
Lunch: Din Tai Fung Dumpling Bar at Westfield Sydney
US Consulate
Darling Harbor Park

Day 9 – Saturday, February 28, 2015
Bondi Beach (by train and bus)
Breakfast: Cava
Lunch: Pompei’s Ristorante Pizzeria Gelateria

Day 10 – Sunday, March 1, 2015
Hillsong Church
Dinner: Samosorn Thai at Westfield Sydney

Day 11 – Monday, March 2, 2015
Customs House Library
Lunch: The Australian Hotel
Dinner: Hudson’s Coffee (at airport)
Virgin Australia – SYD to CNS (Cairns) – 3.5ish hours
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotels Cairns

Day 12 – Tuesday, March 3, 2015
Great Barrier Reef (by catamaran)
Lunch: Tour-provided buffet
Dinner: La Pizza Trattoria Bar Cafe

Day 13 – Wednesday, March 4, 2015
Kuranda rainforest (by train and gondola lift)
Lunch: Frogs Restaurant
Dinner: Sushi Japanese Stall at Night Market

Day 14 – Thursday, March 5, 2015
Virgin Australia – CNS to SYD – 3.5ish hours

Day 15 – Friday, March 6, 2015
Sydney Harbor Bridge Pylon Lookout
Snack: Cava
Lunch: Splendid Sandwiches
Dinner: Made in Italy Pizza

Day 16 – Saturday, March 7, 2015
Featherdale Wildlife Park
Hawaiian Airlines – SYD to HNL to OAK

Whew! We will definitely never win The Amazing Race Family Edition, but we love visiting new place, trying new foods, and learning about the world. We will add links to this post as we do reviews on the restaurants and daily recaps. Have you traveled lately? Where have you been?