Sunday in Sydney!

Sunday in Sydney! - October 21

The view of Sydney from near the Cathedral

After two weeks without being able for find a mass, we were especially anxious to find the Cathedral. We walked the ten blocks to St Mary's Cathedral for 9 AM mass

Following the mass, we walked to the nearby Art Museum . .

. . . to meet Robyn. Bob had "met" Robyn on Tripadvisor.com and had corresponded with her over the months leading up to our trip. She had been a font of knowledge. She had suggested to Bob that we meet for coffee after mass.

The view from the Art Museum is the former Royal Navy Yard where the buildings have been remodeled to act as upscale condos and flats. We were told that Nichole Kidman and Russell Crowe have units there.

When we finished coffee, Robyn suggested we do a bit of a walkabout

We walked along the Royal Botanical Garden

With some great views of Sydney Harbor

We walked to Mrs Macquaries chair

and of course had to all get photos!

Looking back from Mrs Macquaries Chair is a great view of the remaining Royal Navy Base with some very handsome ships in port. There is also a shipyard there that we later learned would host the Holland American MS Oosterdam in a two week yard period to repair a proplusion pod.

As we walked along the Farm Cove (just next to the Circular Quay), we paused for numerous photos.

As well as seeing some animals along the way

Note the tags on this bird!

The walk is along between the shoreline and the botanical gardens . . .

. . . with some beautiful statuary!

The Sydney Opera House

This small fort protected Sydney and then was used as a prison

As we walked, we noted some "bridge climbers" who walk the archway to the very top!

On top of everything, they actually pay $200 to do it! And the climbers have to empty their pockets - nothing, not even a wrist watch - and wear a jumpsuit with which they are tethered to the bridge.

All that to stand at the top and get your photo taken - which of course you can purchase prints when you get back down.

Robyn suggested the ferry to Manly.

The trip took us across Sydney Harbor and gave us a great view of some lovely neighborhoods lining the harbor

The 30 minute ferry ride costs about $5 each - what a bargain

The landing is inauspicious - Robyn says some tourists step off the ferry, look around, see the tiny beach next to the ferry and say "That's Manly Beach?" and get back on the ferry to Sydney.

Well that's not Manly Beach - you have to walk about six blocks through a charming set of shops and pubs to get to the beach.

Robyn suggested we grab a bite at a pub. We walked through this pub, saw nothing. Robyn went off to see what else might be available when this window table came open and Peggy grabbed it!

The window opens onto the beach, so we had a fabulous view of the beach

After a fabulous lunch, we strolled down the beach. Bob's knee was acting up, so he sat and waited for the group to return. (He alos grabbed 40 winks)

On the return, the ferry came down the harbor . . .

. . . into Circular Quay and the Opera House

We took the subway back to the hotel. We learned the system pretty well - it was awkward to get to Circular Quay from our hotel with a transfer at Town Hall being required, but it worked well.

We had bought tickets on-line for Madame Butterfly at teh Sydney Opera and went on Monday evening.

The staging was very minimalistic and unusual but it worked well.

The singers were fabulous and Pinkerton is still a jerk and Butterfly still kills herself!

The view from the opera house snapped at the "interval"

As we walked back to the train station we paused to see this view of the opera house at night

The walk around Circular Quay is known as the "Writer's Walk" because

they have these plaques periodically to relate the observations by noted authors.

On Monday, we decided to walk half way across the bridge on the traffic level - not the sky walk!

We paused at Cadman's Cottage and recalled the school children we'd seen when Spirit docked the previous week who were visiting the historic cottage.

These steps were part of the path to ascend to the bridge walkway

This view is actually taken earlier from the Train Station - too much hassle to move it!

As we reached the walkway level, we began to walk across the bridge - we walked with the (25mph) wind - not realizing that until we turned for "home!" Fortunately, we had heavy jackets with us!

When we reached the middle of the bridge, we were rewarded with a fantastic view of the harbor.

This Royal Australian Navy ship was hosting some sort of special event and was anchored in the center of the harbor

You can see a very large platform on which their guests arrived

Tuesday, we headed back to Circular Quay to catch a ferry to Cockatoo Island - a trip Robyn had suggested.

The views at first were familiar

But as we passed under the bridge, gave way to views we had not seen before

This local ferry was much smaller and we passed by many small islands and peninsulas on the shore.

We saw many house with very nice small boat houses

Small ferry landings were the order of the day

We finally arrived at Cockatoo Island - the sixth ferry stop I think!

The gate reflects the basic military nature of this former shipyard

Robyn had spoken of the tunnels, so we headed there first.

These sandstone tunnels were used to provide safe haven in case of air attack

The pair of large dry docks will host ships as large as cruisers

On the upper level of the island, we encounter the area used at one time as a prison - this is the exercise yard and mess hall

The prison supervisor lived here with their family

Just down the way from the prison compound is the shipyard management quarters

From the upper level, we could see the area once used by the shipyard, now used for overnight youth camping. You can also see the staging being set up for a film festival that they hope to grow to compete with Cannes.

More management houses . . .

. . . with very nice vintage furnishings . . .

. . . and a great view of downtown Sydney

Back down on the lower level, we look back at the upper level where the management houses are. All of these houses are available for hiring (rental) for holiday (vacation)

and past an excavated grainery used during prison days and hand carved by prisoners

On the way down, we had to walk through an area with a warning sign for "Aggressive Seagulls"

One of several large cranes aboard  the shipyard. This one was a precision crane used during a submarine refit effort

Visible from Cockatoo Island some high class places . . . and a few less attractive islands!

Finally, back on the ferry dock, ready to head back to Sydney

Theresa caught some good photos of the schools of jelly fish surrounding the island and concentrated at the dock.

The view from Cockatoo Island dock of Sydney

Back on Circular Quay we chuckled at the carrot cake - a running joke on Spirit in the Dining Room

We also saw some Aborigines playing their didgeridoo and other instruments

We rode the free city bus that circles the central business district - a great opportunity to see the CBD without walking miles!

We got off at Hyde Park with the intent of going to the top of the Sydney Tower. Turns out it is quite pricey to go up and the old ploy of saying you're just goin up to the restaurant for coffee is foiled by a $20/head guaranteed expenditure secured by credit card! So we decided to not go up but instead do a walkabout in Hyde Park

The Archibald fountain provides great photo ops

The Sydney Tower from Hyde Park

Hyde Park

We walked across town to Town Hall (which is where we changed trains when returning from Circular Quay) to catch a train back to Kings Cross & our hotel. We were all still recovering from our colds, so we didn't have any late nights in Sydney

We decided on fish and chips from the market as our last dinner in Sydney prior to boarding the MS Oosterdam. We learned that when we ordered previously as "Meal #1" it was the $9.50 fish & chips plus a $3 diet coke! So we passed on the diet coke, bought a fish & chips with an extra piece of fish - $15.50 all told for the both of us! And it tasted great

 Tomorrow - We embark on MS Oosterdam