Exploring Australia#1 Sydney

So it's been two weeks I am in Sydney and I'm loving it. It was a long-awaited dream and it is finally coming true, my firsts texts to family and friends were like 'omg I am in Australia' and 'yes it exists'! Eventually, is does and it so exciting to be here.

A couple of things that impressed me most:
I've started off with a free guided city tour and it was such a good way to explore the city on the first day. Our amazing guide Michel walked us through the main city spots, talked us through the brief history part and gave a bunch of advice on the best spots to visit, nice places to eat, drink and look for the best ice cream in the city! If you are in Sydney - I would highly recommend it. It is a tip based tour - in the end, you give as much money as you want, and it took three hours of walking.

Royal Botanic Gardens are must visit when you are here. Right there I found myself feeling like I am in Australia - parrots, palms, bamboo trees and other exotic plants. For those who know what the Eden Project is (UK) - it felt like I am in a tropical pavilion but it was real and parrots were peacefully feeding on the grass!

And of course walking down the seaside you'll find yourself looking at the Sydney Opera House yeeey!

Of course, I did a little bit of rockpooling there and have to say to all marine biologist out there, chitons are huge here comparing to the ones I saw in the UK!

Ocean! Amazing, inspiring and super powerful it is. This view and ocean smell (btw, this feature is due to the microalgal activity) took me back to my divemaster internship days. I am very sure this view will impress anyone. There is a great walk between Coogee beach and famous Bondi beach that passes through Tamarama beach. I've done the Tamarama-Bondi walk and can't recommend it more!

These birds, they are everywhere - so much cooler than regular pigeons huh?(those are present here as well). Story behind it is a bit sad though, these guys called White Ibis and came from less urbanistic parts of Australia because in Sydney they have more luck feeding on garbage on the streets:(

Sydney is a big city full of nice cafes and shops, so many authentic places to visit and good foods to try - but I'm gonna leave that to my next posts!
Any advice on cool things to see in Sydney and around from those who have been/lived/living there is welcome!

Cheers,
Anastasiia