Day 12 (July 24, 2016): Sydney has it all!

Originally we were supposed to arrive in Sydney on Sunday evening and fly home Monday morning. But we enjoyed Sydney so much in the past that we decided to shave a day off Uluru and have a full day in Sydney. We are so pleased we did. 

We set out at 8:30am to find the train home our hotel near the airport to the Central Business District. It was quite a cold morning, with a meagre 11 Celsius under overcast skies. But our excitement kept us warm!

Sydney Harbour is "vibrancy on steroids". The sights, the multicultural element, the myriad of boats and ferries -- it all makes for one of the most enjoyable cities we have ever explored. Add the Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge, and you have something very special indeed. 

If one came to Sydney and only viewed the Sydney Opera House, one would leave feeling the trip had been worth it. Built by a Danish architect, it is meant to reflect yacht sails. We ate breakfast at the Opera House on this visit. Nothing of interest was being performed today or tonight, so we didn't get to go inside this time. But we had viewed a concert there in 2000, so we were okay with not taking one in this time.

The 'white sail' roof is made of thousands of small white tiles. 

A little anecdote at this point: when we arrived in Sydney in 2000, we checked into our hotel, dropped our bags and headed directly to the Opera House. As soon as we arrived there, we bumped into one of our professors from Memorial University on the steps! Talk about a small world. 

On the perimeter of the Opera House, seals were hanging out. Maybe they are opera lovers?

The eastern edge of the Central Business District is flanked for a couple of kilometres by the Royal Botanical Gardens and Hyde Park. Here, Pam had this entire section of the Royal Botanical Gardens to herself!

Government House is home to the Governor of New South Wales. We were fortunate to stumble upon a tour of the House which was about to start;  it provided an excellent basis for understanding the history of Sydney. 

Government House gardens

The former stables of Government House now house the Royal Conservatorium of Music.

Parliament House clearly has the influence of a ranch in the Aussie Outback.

The Mint is the oldest public building m Sydney. 

Given Sydney's history as a destination to which convicts were sent en masse from England in the 19th century, we decided to invest some time in learning about this dark chapter of its past by visiting the Hyde Park Barracks Museum.  The facility housed over 50,000 men and boys convicted of crimes and sent from England between 1819 and 1848. Conditions were brutal. At one point around 1820, 1/3 of all Sydney residents were convicts!

Hyde Park Barracks Museum

Hammocks in the convict barracks

Sydney is filled with place names that reflect London. For example, it has its own King's Cross. Hyde Park is another example.  We spent some time exploring in and around the Hyde Park area. 

Hyde Park is home to the ANZAC war memorial

The massive St Mary's Catholic Cathedral is adjacent to Hyde Park

Here's another view of Hyde Park and St Mary's Cathedral, as seen from the Sydney Tower Eye. 

St. James Anglican Church flanks another side of Hyde Park. It appears the archbishop was conducting service today; we passed by as the benediction was being given outside. 

Queen Victoria sternly watches over Hyde Park. Makes one realize the uniting aspect of the Monarchy throughout all the British Commonwealth countries.

We like to "collect" viewing opportunities at towers around the world. On our last visit, we didn't do the Sydney Tower Eye, hence we decided to go up this time. The Tower provides an excellent bird's eye view of Sydney at 268 metres above street level.

The Sydney Tower Eye

View from the Sydney Tower Eye towards Mrs. Macqueries Point, where the wife of Governor Macqueries waaaay back ordered a seat to be carved into the rock so she could sit and view the harbour activity.

View of Darling Harbour (a newish hotel, marina, restaurant, entertainment hub in central Sydney) from the Sydney Tower Eye.

To visit Sydney one must experience the ferries. We decided to randomly pick a ferry to one of the islands in the harbour and to go eat lunch there. As we arrived back at Circular Quay, a ferry was about to depart for Cockatoo Island, which was where the worst of the convicts were sent. Today it's a quiet park where you can rent a tent and "glamp" for a night or two. While we didn't "glamp", we did enjoy a pleasant lunch at a cafe. 

Leaving Cicular Quay -- the ferry hub and the centre of all the action for Sydney Harbour. 

The difference a blue sky can make! By the time we took our afternoon ferry, the lighting effect on the Opera House was completely different. 

Opened in 1932, Sydney Harbour Bridge connects the Central Business District with the north side. The brave can walk the top of the frame. We chose not to. 

Rent-a-tent "glamping" on Cockatoo Island

Upon returning to Circular Quay from Cockatoo Island, we jumped a train to explore Chinatown and to find a place to eat supper. 

Town Hall at dusk, near Chinatown. 

Around 5pm, we popped into St Andrews Anglican Cathedral, while enroute to Chinatown, and listened to a few minutes of the Rector's sermon. He was quite good! I'd have liked to stay and hear more, if time had permitted. 

The entrance to Chinatown. 

Chinatown should actually be called Asia Town, as every Asian ethnicity is present -- Japanese, Malaysian, Chinese, Thai, and on it goes. Of the hordes of people walking and eating, we were probably in a 5% minority as non-Asians. Lonely Planet recommended a Malaysian place called Mamak, which serves amazing roti and satay sticks. Somehow we found it amidst the maze of Chinatown. The line-up to get in attested to the Lonely Planet's recommendation and the good food, and we thoroughly enjoyed our meal.

Our roti appetizer at Mamak Malaysian. 

Sydney's train network is uber modern, clean, quiet, comfortable. And cheap! We bought an "Opal" transit card and, whether it was a computer error or not, rode around on the trains and ferries all day for -- get this -- $2.50!

Sydney's amazing trains. 

We have had a vacation of "keeping to the left", whether walking or driving! It just goes to show the British influence on Australia and New Zealand. 

It was 7:30pm when we arrived back at our hotel. An 11-hour day of exploring Sydney under our belts! We will miss this wonderful city. And our day only scratched the service. Alas, all good things come to an end. It's another early rise n the morning to start the journey home. Good night from Sydney!