A couple of days in Sydney.

Hi Lovelies,

What a wonderful time we have had in Sydney.  Please note this post is very picture heavy, and pretty wordy as well. 

 Monday morning we left just after 9am to head into the city to visit my brother Michael. 

 

I will admit that I was a little nervous of the traffic, which is why we waited until after the rush hour to leave.  We did very well I think and the GPS keeps us on track.

I will admit that I was a little nervous of the traffic, which is why we waited until after the rush hour to leave.  We did very well I think and the GPS keeps us on track. 

It took just over an hour to get to the docks were Mike was and is was so lovely to see him. 

 

We pottered around and sat watching the river for a bit.  Had a spot of lunch and then set off to collect Seb (my nephew) from school.  

 

 School in inner Sydney suburbs is a bit of an eyeopener.  The schools are fenced and gates locked.  You cannot enter before the bell rings and children are not allowed to leave the covered area until the designated collector has arrived.  If you need to get into the school during the school day, then you need to use the intercom to speak to the office staff for entry.

We collected Seb and headed off to have an ice cream, and then back to the unit for a special concert of Seb playing his trumpet and the piano for us.  We then had a drawing challenge.  He did very well. 

Nikki (sister-in-law) then joined us and we wandered off to have a spot of dinner.  It was a lovely walk in Balmain, and we saw some amazing old style houses.  

I don’t think I could live in the area.  The houses and units all seem small (says she who currently lives in a caravan) 😊.

 

 

There were lots of these vertical gardens.

Nikki had a suggested a little Thai restaurant and we had the most spectacular meal.  Robbie’s rice was served in this little bamboo pot.

 The food was amazing and the company even better.

Rob and Seb had bonded over the ice-cream in the afternoon and decided for us that we would return to the ice-cream shop for what looked like a very decadent dessert.  I am glad it was a bit of a walk for us to get to it.  The walk also allowed us to see some more of the Balmain area.  

 I loved this cool glass house.

We found this fabulous antiques store which had a wonderful array of goodies on display.  Sorry about the reflections from the windows.

Helen, I think this would have been a very quick Mannequin class. 😉  She did look lovely.

 The two boys thoroughly enjoyed their dessert, but I am not sure where they put it after such a wonderful dinner.

Then it was back to the unit for Mike and his family and back to the van for us.  

Tuesday we had a bit of a later start and did not head into the city until nearly 10am.  This time the GPS took us through a long tunnel, under many toll points and across the Sydney Harbour Bridge.  We managed a couple of shots, but I was very engrossed in watching the GPS to know what lane we were supposed to be in.

Robbie did an amazing job navigating through traffic to my instructions.  It was a bit of a calmer trip then the day before, but still very scary.  

We parked at the marina again and this time took the light rail into Darling Harbour where we began our days wanderings.

 We wandered around the outside exhibits at the Australian National Maritime Museum.

Then around Darling Harbour where we caught a ManlyFastFerry to Circular Quay.  This was a wonderful trip, and we when we return to Sydney later in the year we will take the 1 hour scenic tour.  The boat has a wonderful commentary while you cruise. 

We waved to the walkers on top of the bridge before heading under it and around into Circular Quay, where we were greeted by an enormous cruise ship.  Made our ferry seem a little small.

From there we found a spot outside the opera house to have lunch and then meandered through the botanical gardens that are between Circular Quay and Farm Cove. 

An interesting plant display.

We saw where they were setting up for West Side Story and while we sat for a while on a bench we were able to hear them practicing. 

We continued wandering around the gardens and found Government House.  This was such a cool building.  We were struck with how they seemed to use different coloured sandstone when they built it.  

 

The building itself was not open so we just had a bit of a wander around outside.  The trees in this area are huge.

Getting on in the afternoon we then headed to the Rocks where we picked up some dessert as our contribution to dinner with Mike, Seb and the crew onboard the boat.  

It was then a walk back to the light rail to catch the train back to Rozelle.  I will say that our GPS has been fairly good with getting around, though I think that this time it let us down a little.  We ended up walking all the way back to Darling Harbour.  Being nearly 6pm the train was packed with commuters and a little squashy.

We arrived back at the boat, where we enjoyed some more time with Michael and Seb, before heading back to the van again.

On our 4 trips (2 in and 2 out) the GPS took us on 4 different routes.  We are not sure why, but it was interesting to see different bits.  

 
We are a bit nervous of receiving our eTag statement this month 😊.

This morning we made had planned to do a Paddle Steamer lunch and morning tea cruise. (web site photo).  We were advised yesterday that this would not happen.  I had suggested to my brother that as my cruise was cancelled perhaps he would like to take me for a cruise up the Hawksbury and provide the morning tea and lunch, and price match at $55 per person.  This brought much laughter from everyone, but no offer to fulfill my request.

We decided that we would just go into Windsor today for a bit of a look. 

There is a goregous walking track.

 Lots of old buidings

 

 
We managed to have a short walk around and had just entered the museum when we had to head back to the van to attend to some phone calls.

 I wonder what hand have dabbled with these paints.

It seems a beautiful town, and we were disappointed that we were not able to spend longer.  We will again return on our next visit to Sydney.

The last two days have been just wonderful, and I am sure this is due to seeing family for a bit.  A lot of walking, with 10km on Monday and 16km yesterday.  I will admit to feeling like my feet were going to fall off, especially as I wore shoes for nearly the entire time.  Oh the things I have to endure for the sake a retired life. 😊.

All for now lovelies.  Take care and keep enjoying life.

Love Us.