Sydney Sojourn

If you have been following us on Facebook you know that we are accompanied on our journey by a Fish who belongs to our grandson Syavash. He is taking the place of honour by introducing you to Sydney. We forgot to get him to pose on Sydney Harbour Bridge when we did our walk but here he is posing in front of a photo we took of the Opera House! It is as awesome a view as everyone says. You can never tire of the view of Sydney Harbour!

On our first day in Sydney we decided to walk across the Harbour Bridge just as we had walked across the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. We never realised how steep some of the streets are in Sydney but we took it slowly and enjoyed our first sights of the buildings and sculpture and pieces of art.

We took a lot of pictures of the Opera House! The roof is not as white as I expected. It is nice to see the cruise ships berthed just across from it. This is where our ship will be on Monday.

One interesting thing we found were some steps that had been built by convicts. We also found a jacaranda tree with a few blooms on it. And listened to an aboriginie playing his didgeridoo.

On our second day we walked to Hyde Park to see the Barracks and learn about the history of the first convicts who settled in Sydney.

En route we stopped at the Parliament House and as it was free Entry we decided to avoid the heat and have a peek at how Australians do government. There was a commemorative display honouring the dead of World War 1. There were a couple of amazing quilts that recorded the history of Australia and also one specially about the war. Here are my favourite close ups.

We were able to go into the Legislative chambers. They have an upper and lower chamber all elected members and use proportional representation in the upper chamber. We discovered that they behave very badly in debates just like our MPs do!

We also got to view the Jubilee room where the historical records are kept on all legislation.

Just up the road from the Parliament building was the Hyde Park Barracks. This was were convicts were housed when they first arrived. Later on it also housed women who were brought out to balance the population. It was a really good, interactive museum and we learnt a lot about what life was like for the convicts. They slept in hammocks, ate gruel and had to walk the treadmill as punishment. I found a Harvey who won his freedom.

Once we were able to drag ourselves away we decided to stop for a coffee and sandwich at The Mint which is the oldest building in Sydney. We were flagging a little in the heat so headed back to the air conditioned hotel to have a nap!

After a bite to eat back in our hotel we thought we’d take an evening stroll in the somewhat cooler weather. We walked down to Circular Quay and fought our way through the crowds to the steps of the Opera House and discovered they were rehearsing for the Australia Day show so we sat down on the steps and enjoyed a free preview. To say it was magical is not an exaggeration. Obviously it wasn’t the full monty but we got to see the water ballet, hear all the singers, listen to inspiring stories and feel the excitement of being in Sydney for this event.

At the end they sang the national anthem and we stood up with everyone else and sang with gusto! For one night only we were Australians!

We then had a stroll around the Opera House and enjoyed the colours and atmosphere. We finished off our evening with genuine Royal Copenhagen ice cream which melted almost before you could eat it!

On Saturday we headed back out and decided to visit the Justice and Police Museum. Another interactive and informative museum which we enjoyed so much. We saw actual photos from crime scenes, weapons used in crimes and read the stories of notorious criminals.

In the courtroom we recreated what it must have been like to be a criminal, judge or barrister!

Our plan was to make our way out towards the Royal Botanical Gardens to view the fireworks from there but then when we saw the crowds decided to watch the show on telly! We could hear the fireworks from our hotel balcony so reckon that counts! When the National Anthem came on we stood up and made a video of us singing along for our grandson Syavash who had requested it! Luckily for you I can’t figure out how to upload videos so you won’t be subjected to our singing! 😂

Sunday was our last day in Sydney and we had been instructed by our friends Bill and Carolyn to take a ferry ride so we walked down to Darling Harbour and boarded the ferry to Watson’s Bay. We had fantastic seats in the shade on the city side. This ferry made several stops en route and it was great to sail under the Harbour Bridge, having walked it on our first day.

The Opera House was glowing in the sunshine but it was so humid that the air looked misty and that kind of spoiled the pictures. At Rose Bay a young boy piped us in on his bagpipes playing Waltzing Matilda. We enjoyed seeing the homes along the shore and would have stayed longer in Watson’s Bay but it was heaving with people and we chose to take the next ferry back to the city. I have to say that the public transport is fantastic. We bought an Opal card for $10 and the trip to and back only cost $2.70 because on Sunday they only charge you for the first journey! No chance to use the rest of the card so we gave them to the staff who looked after us in the business lounge!

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Later in the afternoon we strolled over to the Opera House for a short concert of Opera Hits. Five singers did a variety of arias, some of which we recognised and the last one we got to sing along on the chorus which means we have sung at the Opera House. Almost as good as singing at the Grand Old Opry! Apologies to Opera fans but I think it must be an acquired taste. The hour and a half was plenty long enough for me! I didn’t understand the words, the stories seemed to be all about failed love affairs, but we appreciated the skill involved. Nuff said.

And so we bid farewell to Sydney.