With a round the world ticket, it would have seemed unkind if we went all the way to New Zealand and didn’t stop by Sydney for a long weekend to visit family and friends on the way to Japan. Also, with no available direct flights from New Zealand, it didn’t really hurt our flight path either!

Funnily enough, as we had landed in NZ and been told that it was the “worst summer in 20 years”, we were hoping for warmer weather in Sydney, but as it poured cats and dogs during our landing, my cousin texted me, “Welcome to summertime in England.” Womp womp.The weather wasn’t all bad on the tail end of their summer in March, but it wasn’t excessively warm either. Still, we loved being back in the city and visiting with everyone. It really made us sad that we can’t move here! It’s one of my favorite cities in the world!We ended up going to Luna Park for the first time for a friend’s birthday party and then we took the ferry to Manly for the first time as well and got to enjoy the amazing views of the bridge and opera house from the water.Sydney always seems like a bit of a magical place, with the friendliest, down to earth vibe that really resonates with Kay and me.Thankfully the weather turned around a bit as well and we managed to squeeze in a day at Bondi beach, where Kay tried out a surfing lesson.After too little time with our friends and family, it was time to head on for a pit stop in Seoul before Japan!