Sydney - Part I - Hop on, Hop off

Sydney Part I – Hop on, Hop off

After dropping our rental car off at Sydney Airport under cloudy skies we caught the Shuttle to our hotel in Potts Point.  On the journey there the storm clouds began to gather, then first a flash of lightening, then another, then a rumble of thunder then the deluge.  We arrived outside our hotel and the rain was torrential.  By the time we had unloaded our luggage, in a very small street during rush hour with horns blaring, we arrived inside the foyer soaked to the skin.  What to do????  We were meeting our friends Peter & Stephanie for dinner.  Luckily they couldn’t make it until 7pm so that gave us time to get ready.  We had a nice meal in “The Gazebo”, a trendy place, not too far away from our hotel and a good catch up since Queenstown.

Saturday was our first day in Sydney and when I opened the blinds I was greeted by a “Sulphur Crested Cockatoo” in the tree outside.  With the weather still a little inclement we left the camera behind and walked from our hotel down to the wharf.  Many of the old wharves have been converted into apartments, with slips for their boats.  How nice to sail right up to your front door.  $$$$$.   We carried on past the Botanical Gardens and on to Circular Quay for our first glimpse of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House.  We spent the rest of the day mooching around with map in hand.  Back at our hotel we had an evening in and a nice fresh salad with Giant Tiger Prawns from Harris Farms market shop across the road.

On Sunday we purchased a 48 hour Hop on Hop Off bus pass to get a general overview of the entire city and the most important things to go back to visit.  The weather was better, sunny with some clouds but still on the cool side.  We did half of the first loop then changed buses at Central Station for the secondary loop to Bondi Beach.  It was an experience to go to famous Bondi.  Very busy, very commercialized, but great for surfers.  We finished that loop with some beautiful vistas of the ocean, from high in the hills around Sydney then changed back on to the first bus again at Central Station.  We got off the bus near Sydney Harbour Bridge and walked across it and back again.  We wanted to do the bridge climb but you cannot take a camera so we just did the pedestrian walk on the road level and saved some money.  We also went to the outdoor market at “The Rocks”, a great experience in all those old streets and interesting vendors, especially the fellow who sold the Didgeridoos, a full blown Aborigini from ITALY, but very interesting.

Monday we ventured forth for the bus again to see some more of Sydney’s sights.  Our bus stop was in Kings Cross, not the most salubrious part of town and although interesting it was very sad to see so many wasted lives.   Once on board we passed by the Famous Harry’s Cafe de Wheels where we couldn’t resist going back for a curry pie another day.

We alighted this time at Darling Harbour close to the Maritime Museum.  We stopped for a coffee at a nice café overlooking the harbour before walking through the water features to China Town.  Outside the Chinese Gardens we saw Ibis and Eastern Water Dragons.  Walking back towards The Rocks and another trip through the market, we stopped for dinner at a wonderful Italian restaurant called Apetito’s.  After our scrumptious meal we took a slow walk back to our hotel watching the city change colour as the sun began to disappear leaving a wonderful glow in its wake…………………

Sulphur Crested Cockatoo

Bondi 

Barbara at Bondi Beach

Bondi Beach - Surfboards

Jim waiting for the bus in Bondi

Barbara on Sydney Harbour Bridge

St. Mary's Cathedral - evening glow

Sydney Opera House with ferry in foreground

Harry's Cafe de Wheels

St Mary's Cathedral - from the bus

Anzac Bridge

Circular Quay from Sydney Harbour Bridge

Outdoor Poster for Darling Harbour

Barbara at Darling Harbour

Jim by the water features

Ibis outside the Chinese Gardens

Eastern Water Dragon outside Chinese Gardens

Street Art - Crushed car by a boulder

The Mirror - Living Art - the Sky constantly changes

Tall Ship in the Harbour

Revolving Ad

Central Station - Railway

Water Lilies in water feature

Pope John Paul the Great outside St. Mary's

Bronze Pig outside Sydney Hospital

Hop on Hop off Bus

N.B. The bronze pig sits outside the hospital and you put a donation in the box and rub his nose for good luck.  As you can see his nose is well rubbed.