Bike Tour around Sydney

Our Study Abroad program signed us up for a Bike Tour with Bonza Bike Tours on Sunday, August 8th.

I would have to say that is one of the best tours I have ever been on! I learned a lot of great history about Sydney and that I can still ride a bike after 13+ years! My bike was called "Meatballs", probably because I'm Italian but the you don't get to choose the bike - the bike chooses you.

Here are some fun views at different angles of the Sydney Opera House, Darling Harbour, and the Darling Harbour Bridge! We actually crossed the bridge twice on the bikes which was pretty awesome! A little piece of history about the bridge - you can't see but there are tiny bolts that line and stabilize the entire bridge. These were nailed in by men holding onto the bridge for dear life while the bolts were still hot. Surprisingly, only two men died from constructing the actual bridge part. Unfortunately, 14 men died because of the machinery that was used to construct the towers on both sides that serve no structural purpose to the bridge.

When we walked through the Botanical Gardens we saw this huge tree. No one really knows how old this tree is because its actually not a tree at all! Its a vine! When the vine grows, the stems can grow into the ground and act as roots! It is gated off because the branches are actually hollow so they don't want anyone to climb on it (sorry Carly)!

This is St. Mary's Church at the North End of Hyde Park. This is actually where the Pope stayed when he came to Sydney. A funny story we heard was that before the Pope came, there was no bathroom in the church. They thought they would have to put him up in a hotel but then they had a hard time deciding which hotel would get to say that they put up the Pope! Long story short they decided to put plumbing in the church so that the Pope could stay where he wanted. They have no idea if the Pope used the bathroom but they destroyed the toilet because they wanted to make sure no one sold it on ebay! St. Mary's is now a Catholic Church with no bathroom once again!! I guess that's why there are so many Port-a-potties out on the side!

We saw so many things around the city all in four hours! I would definitely recommend this tour to anyone coming to visit. Carly, if you're reading this - I'm signing us up for a tour when you come to visit because I get a discount for my second ride (and I'm trying to get a job at the bike shop)!