March 31 – Exploring Sydney Australia

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Hello from Sydney Australia. Last night we heard thunder during the night, but did not notice any rain and saw no problems around town during the day. However we understand that a lot of rain fell in Western Sydney and up in the mountains, but we dodged any weather problems. As far as today went, there were some very slight showers while we were trying to walk around in the mid-afternoon, but that passed quickly. The high temp today was 27 (about 81 in Fahrenheit). The same is expected again tomorrow.



We had a tour today (booked through Viator but actually provided by Grayline) which included a pickup from our hotel, but at 7:10 AM. So we set the alarm for 5:45 and dressed quickly. The hotel dining room does not open until 7:00, so David had already planned to run out for a couple of breakfast biscuits from the place where we got the meat pies for yesterday’s lunch. Anyway, he brought them back and we ate in the room. It wasn’t up to the standards of our cruise brekkies (as the Aussies say it) but it was large, warm, and filling.



We were planning to go down to the lobby at 7:00 but the desk called at 6:50 saying the bus was already here, so we hurried on down. Luckily we were already ready so we got a quick start to the day. The second pickup was a couple who will also be on our tour on Wednesday, and then they start a 6-week cruise across the Pacific. The driver went to half a dozen other hotels for complementary pickups and then we all arrived at their central station. Part of our decision in selecting The Menzies Hotel was based on this free pickup service. We moved to the bus for the City Tour and we were all set for our excursion.



The driver took us around the city and we saw a lot of places. It is evident that the Sydney is a heavily developed city. There are some places under construction (for example they are de-constructing their convention center which is only about 25 years old) and will build a whole new Convention Center soon afterwards. We saw a major apartment complex (called “Barangaroo”) being built down near the harbor waterfront. But mostly this is a big city which extends well away from the Central Business District and away from the harbor. They have certainly built houses/apartments anywhere they can that maximizes their view of the water. Everything looked well-tended (both buildings and vegetation) as we drove around the city. Our drive said that property prices are out of sight, even with the downturn a couple of years ago. It’s hard to even guess what some of the rally fancy places would cost of they have a good view.



We drove past a Coca Cola sign which the driver says has been designated as a National Heritage historical landmark (we don’t know why) which means it cannot be changed or taken down. It sits at the top of a hill in a prominent position on a busy street, so Coke gets free advertising forever. It is a landmark which can be seen from a long way away.



We drove past a Catholic Girls High School. It is very old but happens to be located with an incredible view over the bay, looking down on the city, the Opera House, and the bridge. Apparently graduates are entitled to have their weddings in the school chapel and apparently it is very popular. We saw just a sliver of the view as we drove past, so we do believe it must be incredible.



We had a three photo stops during the tour. David took pictures at each and we will try to get some of them included in the blog.



The first stop was on a peninsula inside the Royal Botanical Garden, outside of Darling Harbor. We had a great view of the Opera House and the Harbor Bridge, along with a panoramic view of some of the city skyline. This is a park which is very pleasant and includes a large amphitheater where they are currently presenting Madame Butterfly. Unfortunately the bulk of that area was fenced off to keep people from watching for free, but our overall impression of the gardens is still quite high.



The second stop was on another overlook at the mouth of Harbor where ships enter from the Tasman Sea. It is called Gap Park and provides a panoramic view. Apparently it is a popular place for people to commit suicide by jumping off the headland into the sea below, so there is a lot of fencing and with warning signs along the edge. David got a few pictures here too (without falling into the sea).



The final stop was at Bondi Beach. Janet is not fond of walking on a beach, so she stayed at the pavilion along the seawall and had a cup of tea. David walked out onto the beach and along the waterfront for a ways. The beach has very soft and clean sand, and the beach is roughly 100 yards in depth (from water to seawall). The beach appears to also be close to a mile long, so there is lots of room on the beach. We were there from 10:30-11:00 so it was before prime time for the beach, but there were people sunbathing on the sand, quite a few swimming in the water, and about a dozen trying to surf in the small waves as they came ashore. Bondi Beach has a reputation as one of the premier beaches around here and it’s not hard to imagine it being much more crowded in the peak of their season.



We drove past one pub which was built in 1843, called the Hero of Waterloo. It is a narrow little wedged shape building but it has fake windows because back when it was built there was a tax on glass. Ever since they have painted window frames on the outside of the building, but they aren’t real. We don’t know what it looks like inside.



We drove past the Catholic Cathedral called St Mary’s of something or other. The driver explained that the Pope (he said the previous one so we assume he meant Benedict) had come and prayed at her grave for an hour and then he made her the first Australian Saint. She was a local nun who set up a lot of schools for the poor. We will have to look up her name later.



Pictures whilst we rode in the bus were difficult because many of the places are right up close to the street (could not get back away from it to properly frame the picture). They also have a lot of trees and shrubs wherever there is space and many of these are large and obscure the lines of sign for pictures. But the overall impression to us is that everything looks very nice and scenic. It reminded us somewhat of Brisbane as both places seem to make as much use of the waterfronts as possible. Back in St Louis, they only use a little of it and not especially well.



We did discover there are a lot of Rhinoceroses roaming around the city. They are much more colorful than the standard gray you find in zoos. They are statues which have been painted to attract attention, with the purpose of drawing attention to the protection of endangered species (like the Rhino). Anyway, it is surprising to find one every so often around town.



After we had about a 4 hour city tour, the bus let us out at the King Street Piers. From there we joined the Majestic Cruise catamaran and we had a 2 hour harbor cruise. When we boarded, they had our name on the reservation list and had a table reserved for us. This gave us a different view of the city, being seen from the sea. The tour also included a good buffet lunch and we ate like we were back on a cruise ship (including multiple slices of dessert). David had a bottle of local lager, which was quite good – Janet had tea. There was a recorded commentary which gave us a lot of information about what we were seeing. This was much more comfortable than riding in a bus and we enjoyed it even more than the longer bus tour. David was able to go up on deck for photos whenever he wanted. But combined, the two trips gave us a good view of the city of Sydney.



There were several places, such as the Sydney residence for the Prime Minister, which we saw from the city side on the bus and the water side from the boat, which was interesting. For those of you who are wondering, the Prime Minister’s official residence is in Canberra which is the capital of Australia but he has a Sydney residence also. It is a large, majestic mansion, overlooking the entrance to the harbor, on the north side (just across the Harbor Bridge).



The city is holding an annual event called the Sydney Heritage Fleet. There were several “tall sail” ships moored in the harbor. They aren’t sailing around right now, but apparently when they all arrive then there will be some kind of sail-by. But that will be after we leave town.



They are also conducting the 19^th bi-annual Contemporary Art display. It is called the Biennale. We didn’t know what that word even meant, so David had to go to the info desk and find out. However that is not on our plan for our remaining time in Sydney.



After the boat cruise, we had the option of getting off at King Street or over at Circular Quay. Since the latter is quite a bit closer to our hotel, we then walked slowly back to the hotel - occasionally looking in some of the shop windows. Janet’s knee was getting stiff after the bus ride, so she may need one of the magic pills from the ship’s doctor this evening. Fortunately she saved several of them in case they would be needed before we got back to St Louis. We got back to our room about 3:30 and we were ready to collapse for a while. Janet did some work on her needle work and David started editing some of the pictures. Anyway we enjoyed today’s tour, and we have plans for the next 2 days here in Sydney.



Time slipped away from us and before long it was time to start thinking about something for dinner. Neither of us was especially hungry so David went to a nearby shop and got a couple of sandwiches and chips. We had some wine left in the fridge, so we had a simple dinner. The hotel has a nice looking restaurant, but we just aren’t hungry enough for a full meal. That about closes the activities for today, but stay tuned for tomorrow when we will be back to doing more stuff.

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