Dick and I have been in this fantastic city for neatly 24
hours now. What an amazing place! I managed to pick a great boutique-y hotel
just a 5 minutes walk from Darling Harbour, an area restored in the 1980s at
the cost of a billion dollars.
It is so pretty and has about 60 restaurants to choose from
on the water. After having brunch outside (winter in Sydney and it is in the
mid 60s and sunny – such a great change!!), …
Time for Brunch!
Mr. Photogenic
…we crossed the pedestrian bridge over to the central city
and walked up George’s Street to the central harbor where we got our first
glimpse of the Sydney Opera House. Though I’m sad I won’t get to dive the Great
Barrier Reef (this time, anyway J),
I am so excited to be going to Rigoletto at the famous opera house, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, on Friday!
Opera House in the background
A Gem in Sydney
Captain Cook himself!
Sydney Harbour Bridge
After resting a bit, we headed towards the Sydney Botanic
Gardens. Dick didn’t sleep much the night before, so he took a snooze on a
bench there while I went exploring. I enjoyed the trees, ferns, and plants with
gigantic leaves (I could have fit nearly 20 of my hands on a single leaf.)
Guardian of the Gardens
Don't know, but cool, don't you think?
Such varied trunks!
Beautiful water lily
Pyramid in the Gardens
And the birds! Such a symphony. And beauty – many coloured
birds, perhaps some parakeets. Went I got back to Dick, two varieties were in the
grass near him, so I got some close-ups.
Magpie
I'm guessing some kind of stork
Whatever they are, they are so darned cute!
More beautiful than this photo shows
We headed back and got more great cityscapes in. It is a
beautiful city.
Famed building on George Street
By the Royal Botanic Gardens
Old and New
City from the Garden
When we got back, the staff had already brought our luggage
to our room. I love this place. It is quirky-chic, with the old brick wall as
the outer wall and a mix of ultra modern and giant old wooden beams . I chose
it for its reasonable price (about $100/night in Sydney is really great), but
they don’t scrimp on the extras. Best quality tea in the room, a rainfall
shower with granite walls and flooring, Skye TV and the Sports channel (I
finally got to see 2 World Cup games! Sadly, one was Belgium’s defeat of the
US).
In the room
Then we headed back to the harbor for night skyline and
lights on the water. We sat outside and had a delicious local whitefish (begins
with a B). Very romantic. The moon was a
bright crescent about the harbour buildings, and the water was filled with
colourful night reflections.
From our table at the restaurant
Darling Harbour by night
From the Pedestrian Bridge, Darling
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