By The Numbers: One Year Anniversary Edition

It’s official -- Single Gal In The City is one year old.

Much has happened since, at the prompting of my good friend Carla, I entered the blogosphere 365 days ago. From multiple first dates to old flame disappointments, from foot surgery to climbing Sydney’s majestic Harbor Bridge, I’ve covered a lot of ground. Along the way, I’ve fallen in love all over again with my beloved NYC, and with the joys of being single.

Sky high Smile: The view from Sydney’s Harbor Bridge, January 2009

Here are some of the highlights of SGITC’s first year -- By The Numbers:

Number of blog posts (including this one): 386

Number of men mentioned: 22

Number of dates with men met online: 8

Number of encounters with old flames: 3

Number of Opening The Vault posts with entries from old diaries: 40

Number of trips: 9

A travelgirl at heart, I’m excited about the journeys coming up -- including a trip to Chicago and, fingers crossed, my first-ever jaunt to California wine country if I make Murphy-Goode Winery’s Top 10.

And I’m looking forward to many more years of blogging about my adventures. Thanks to all of you out there for joining me in the fun!

Sydney Visit: Day Two

Sunday afternoon, I caught up with my dear friend and Sydney native Sue, her mother Annette and my gorgeous 6-year-old goddaughter Isabella.

Over a delightful lunch at Darling Harbor, we talked about everything from Madonna needing to act her age to our adventures 15 years ago on the Contiki tour around Europe that brought us together. Though it had been four years since Sue and I had seen each other (on my last trip Down Under), it felt like it had only been a day. As she said, that's how it is with good friends.

After parting company from my favorite Aussie girls, I hopped on the subway across Harbor Bridge to Luna Park, a historic amusement park overlooking the water. The park was closed (because of noise compaints from residents) during my five months as a Sydneysider back in' 02, so I was especially excited to visit.

As I enjoyed stunning after dark views from Luna Park's ferris wheel, I marveled all over again that I climbed Harbor Bridge. 1,437 steps -- talk about great exercise!

Next up...reuniting with another dear friend Down Under and surviving 14 hours in coach, in the middle seat.

A Soaring Return To Sydney

Yesterday, after a whirlwind week of island hopping around Queensland for a press trip, I made my long-awaited return to Sydney.

Breezy, beautiful weather greeted me in the city I was lucky to call home for five months back in ‘02. After a leisurely check-in at my hotel in the heart of Sydney’s CBD that led to a room upgrade and complimentary bottle of sparkling wine, I went for a stroll down George Street.

I was unable to suppress a smile from the joy of being back in one of my most favorite cities, a smile that grew even wider as I caught a glimpse of Sydney’s iconic Opera House and Harbor Bridge.

After a delightful seafood dinner in The Rocks, an artsy neighborhood right near the water, Barb (one of the press trip journalists) and I made our way to the bridge.

Ever since my first visit to Sydney, people have often asked me -- have you done the BridgeClimb? With this trip, I decided it was finally time to change the answer to that question.

Barb and I couldn’t have picked a better night to do the 3.5 hour activity. BridgeClimb is very popular with locals on weekends and sure enough, we were the only non-Aussies in our group of 11.

After getting suited up and prepped by our perky, knowledgeable climb leader Kelly, we began our ascent to the summit.

My heart leapt into my throat as we crossed the first catwalk well above street level, then climbed a couple of very steep ladders. Upon reaching the steps, though, my anxiety was quickly replaced with sheer awe at the view of Sydney before me.

Sydney’s Harbor Bridge: Seven years after my first visit to Australia, I can finally say -- I climbed it!

The summit is 1.5 football fields -- that’s 134 meters, or about 440 feet -- above sea level. Some other fun facts -- BridgeClimb staff members go through six weeks of training and do about 13 climbs per week, and the longest-running staffer has climbed the bridge a whopping 4,000 times.

One very friendly BridgeClimber, Mark (who helped me resist giving into my initial nerves and backing out), told us he's racked up 700 climbs over the course of two years and still loves doing it. He also shared some exciting news -- the company is hoping to launch a similar climb experience on New York’s Brooklyn Bridge.

Sign me up!