Exploring the city alone

Quite a hot day today so shed my coat and thermals for a teeshirt and put some thinner jeans on. After a lovely cooked breakfast (thanks Melinda) I got the train back into the city. Lots to cram in on my penultimate day in Sydney!

I emerged from Central Quay to the usual sound of the didjeridoo . The harbour was as bright and bustling as ever. I wandered across to Macquarie Street towards the Botanical Gardens where I thought I would spend a leisurely morning.

I have to say it was a beautiful place so relaxing and laid back. People were happily jogging along the harbour wall or just relaxing in the sun. There was even a Japanese newly married couple being photographed on the rocks with the iconic backcloth.

We were told on the bridge climb that the Japanese come out to Sydney especially to get married and then fly out again. Apart from the many beautiful botanicals in the gardens,

there were some unusual birds and strangest of all were groups of huge bats hanging upside down in the treetops fanning themselves in the heat.

I think they may have been fruit bats. The highlight of my bird photography however so far was my first kookaburra. The birds are so tame in this country and this Kookaburra just sat there on a branch looking at me about two metres away.

As it was such a lovely warm day, I thought a trip over to Manly would be a good plan. I bought a ticket for the ferry and settled in a seat up in the bow to eat a snack lunch bought on board. This was a great way to view the whole harbour and get a different angle on the Opera House and Bridge.

The trip to Manly took about 25 minutes and what a great seaside town and a surfing beach on a par with Bondi (I read in the information brochure). I would have to give Bondi a miss as I was running out of time. As I arrived at Manly Wharf I could not resist a pick n mix candy stall. 100grams for $3.50. I thought I could keep this down to 100 grams…. Just a piece of Turkish delight, 4 liquorice allsorts, 3 chocolate disks covered in hundreds and thousands and a few chocolate covered peanuts. Trouble is they were all giant so they weighed twice as much and I made myself thoroughly sick, but happily so! I walked through the wide pedestrianized street, lined with holiday type shops, to the beach… a gorgeous strip of blue with soft yellow sand.

You’d ‘ve thought it was summer not just the end of winter. The beach was busy with surfers and sunbathers. I took of my shoes and rolled up my jeans wishing I’d brought swimming gear. The temperature was a comfortable 27 degrees and the water was warm and clear. I spent an hour or so relaxing on the beach before heading back to the wharf. The next ferry back wasn’t for half an hour so I took the opportunity to visit the Art Gallery nearby. Their current exhibition was swimwear over the years, which was very amusing, especially some of the bathing hats people used to wear. As well as this there was an exhibition by a group of artists from the Scottish Island, some of which I loved and others that didn’t really appeal.

On my return to Central Quay, I made my way up the hill to St Mary’s Cathedral. The organist was playing as I entered and it was wonderfully peaceful after the bustle of traffic outside.

I lingered for the first part of the evening service which of course was all in Latin but the acoustics from the cathedral choir in the cloisters were just amazing and it was nice just to sit awhile after the uphill walk.

As I set off for the train, I noticed how close I was to the Sydney Tower, one of the tallest structures in Sydney. The sun was just setting by this time and I thought the view from the top would be worth the $25. The lift took about a minute and my ears popped but the panoramic view stretching as far as the eye could see, including the Blue Mountains, was just stunning. My camera could not do it justice.

I was pleased to finally settle myself on the train passing through some wonderful Aussie named stations like Wahroonga, Turrumurra, to Waitara, which was my stop. I was somewhat surprised and delighted to see that my clever new mobile phone seemed to know the name of each station as we approached it. That was just so useful! Melinda insisted on meeting me at the station and I am grateful not to have to walk another step I am just so tired I will just fall into bed. However, Melinda had a lovely fish supper and a glass of wine waiting for me when we got back.