Left the condo at 9:30 a.m. and headed for Hyde Park and the first thing we saw was the Anzac War Memorial which was a very powerful and moving experience.

From there we walked down through the Park to the Royal Botanical Gardens. The lady at the

Wooloomooloo Gate
(a Friends of the Gardens volunteer) was surprised to see anyone on such a cool, wet day but we told her we didn’t find it cold and the rain is just a drizzle, not heavy like on Vancouver Island. What a beautiful place – I’m sure we missed quite a few areas, the trails wander and branch off constantly. We saw a

Kookaburra and a

Golden Orb-weaving spider while we were walking but the most surprising things were these:

Grey-headed Flying Foxes. There were also Sulphur-crested Cockatoos who were hopping on (and biting) an unsuspecting couple who had paused in their midst. We gave them a wide berth *g*

We walked along the seawall to Mrs. Mcquarie’s Chair and got our first sight of the Sydney Opera House.

Opera House
It really is as impressive as it looks in pictures *s*. We walked back through the park and exited beside the Opera House. Wed been walking quite a few hours by then, and the sight of the stairs leading up to the Opera House was intimidating but we made it *g*

 

Wandered back through Darling Harbour again and stopped for a coffee at Starbucks (yes Erik, I know we don’t go to Starbucks but we were having caffeine withdrawal). Just around the corner was the Chinese Gardens. It was raining again, so we decided to visit the gardens (hoping for a little shelter). They were beautiful – very serene in the midst of the city.

Once we finished at the Gardens, we actually looked at our watches and found that it was 3:30 p.m. already – don’t know where the day went. *s* We wandered back to the condo through Chinatown and John found the Minnesota-Colorado game on tv (well, a condensed version of it). At about 9:30 we were falling asleep, so we called it an evening.

Today, off to explore some of the suburbs, I think.

Temperature yesterday: 19 C with rain showers

 

Well, we went out exploring yesterday after posting. We walked down to

Darling Harbour, through

Tumbalong Park and then along the

waterfront – our destination was the Sydney Opera House but we discovered that the walking path was blocked by construction so we backtracked a little and crossed the harbour by way of the

Pyrmont Bridge (a walking and monorail bridge)

Once on the other side of the harbour, the rain started. We took shelter for a while during the worst of the storm and then decided to walk through town. That was interesting – it was lunch time and everyone was rushing (so no photo ops). Add to that umbrellas everywhere and it was a challenge just to manouevre through the crowds. My first impression of people in Sydney – they’re friendly but always in a hurry. After a while, we decided to head to the grocery store which the receptionist had recommended. What she forgot to mention was that it was down an escalator (and the only advertising for it was part way down the escalator). We finally found it after John asked someone in a wine lounge and she sent us in the right direction. Food seems to cost a little more than at home (however, since we were in the middle of the city, that might be the location). We found some fantastic large prawns and salad makings and headed back to the condo, with the thought that we would go out again after eating.

Once we got back, we crashed – I set the alarm clock to wake us up in an hour and a half and then made dinner. As soon as dinner was over, we sat down to find the weather on tv and that was the last we knew until 9:30 p.m. when we woke up again and decided it must be bedtime. To my surprise, I slept through until 6:30 a.m. and am now ready to explore again (and to find real coffee – there’s only instant here at the condo and no coffee maker).

More photos are in the photo category (on the right side bar) under Australia.

Temperature yesterday: 18 C with rain showers

We made it – left home at 6:30 on Saturday morning (April 12 in Canada) and arrived at Los Angeles Airport at 4:00 p.m. – then we got to wait in a tiny portion of the terminal with very little to see or do. We walked and people watched and walked some more but finally it was time to board the plane to Sydney.

What an awesome experience – they provided all kinds of little extras – and yes, I did get my special fruit plate meals (and they were scrumptious – lots of melon and fresh pineapples and grapes.) John had a salmon dinner with baby potatoes and snow peas and raisin bran for breakfast. Worked out well for both of us.

After dinner was served, about 2 hours into the flight, the lights were turned out so that we could try to get some sleep. We kind of napped but actual sleeping was a little difficult. Too many people moving around but we did rest. The flight attendants gave everyone a “snack bag” so that when we woke up, we could have bottled water, dried fruit, M & M’s *g*, and a cookie. There was also a courtesy bag which contained an eye mask, some socks, and a Qantas lanyard.

We got into Sydney Airport a little early (about 6 a.m.) – even though we had to veer off the flight path a little because of a spectacular lightning storm near the Brisbane area.

Immigration and Customs weren’t too bad – they were a little concerned about the new tripod – a Gorrillapod for those of you who don’t know. When they saw it, they were impressed by it though.

We caught a shuttle bus to the condo – John kept saying that he hoped it would make it as far as our drop off point as the u-joint was making some very loud noises. We were the second stop, and when we got to the reception desk, they actually had a room ready for us – what a beautiful start to the day. John had a nap and a shower and I just showered – it felt wonderful to finally change clothes *lol*

Something we haven’t seen before – to work the lights in the apartment, you need to leave your key card (the one that opens the door and works the elevator) in a slot. Certainly reminds you not to waste electricity *s*

There is internet access in the room but it’s not exactly cheap. Oh well, it’s the lifeline home, right? I’m going to pay it here for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday but maybe not everywhere. When we have a car, we’ll be able to find internet cafes or wireless (fingers crossed) a little easier.

Well, that’s not much of a post but we’re ready to go out and walkabout. Here are a few photos of the condo: