Seeing the sights in Sydney

Monday November 1^st

Started the day with a little abseiling – NOT, but we woke up to the sight of what appeared to be workmen lowering themselves down the building opposite. They didn’t appear to be doing anything – just examining the face of the structure.

Our first port of call after breakfast was the Opera House which is only a 5minute walk away. We had open tickets for the Opera House tour and decided to go for the 11 a.m. To pass the time, we asked about theatre tickets and ended up booking for “The Pirates of Penzance” tomorrow night.

The tour is fascinating, as you learn all about the design and construction of the building, the financial and political problems and how use of the Opera House has changed over the years.

We think that the high rise buildings really spoil the harbour area, but if it wasn’t for them, the money to finish the project would never have materialised.

Inside we had the chance to visit one of the smaller theatres, the Concert Hall and the Opera Theatre, but weren’t allowed to take photos in any of them due to copyright laws.

It was an excellent tour.

Afterwards we walked around the headland, through the Royal Botanic Gardens.

Unlike the gardens in Perth, these are more formally landscaped gardens but are beautiful in a different way.

It wasn’t a quiet walk though. It must have been Manic Monday because every second man and woman was jogging/running. Some even managed to look as though it was doing them some good. Others . . .!

The end of the headland is called Mrs Macquaries Point, named after her by the governor because she was the one who originally planned the road to it. Her “chair” is a carved stone ledge. 

We made our way back to the quay to get on a cruise (! ! !) around the harbour. It took us to the point where the Pacific meets the mouth of the harbour and although it was now raining quite heavily, we stayed out on deck and enjoyed the views.

On the return journey, we sailed under the Harbour Bridge to Darling Harbour before making our way back to Circular Quay.

It seemed like a good idea to head for the (reputedly) oldest pub in Sydney – Fortune of War (est 1828) – for a glass of wine and a beer. It was built along the lines of the Cheers bar, but without the cheer! When we asked if there was any white wine other than Chardonnay or Sauvignon, we were told “We don’t do flashy stuff here” !!

One very quick beer later we made our way back to our lovely hotel, stopping on the way to buy two bottles of flashy wine.

Incidentally, it's cold and wet here - so no more jokes about fleeces!