Sydney 1 ~ That Bridge and limping about the CBD
We went to Sydney with Mike’s children to see out the old year and welcome in the new one. It was an excellent week though plans had to be revised when Mike’s back crapped out and I’m amazed that we were still able to do what we did. This post, the first of two, is a mishmash of our central city explorations and bridge fascination across the week.
This fabulous view was very close to home
Ditto
We were incredibly fortunate to be staying close to the northern end of the Harbour Bridge which made this beautiful city icon a daily fixture in our lives.
On our first afternoon we made the 1.15km walk across it
Luckily we did the walk then and not the next day when Mike would have only been able to tackle it in 20m bursts, if at all!
Sydney was somewhere we’d each been to before but not recently and with Mike having a few cousins there it seemed like a great place to go and use up a week of the school holidays. We left cringeingly early on Dec 27th which required me to make the nine-or-so hour drive home on Boxing Day after Christmas with my family.
Looking back to ‘our side’ of the bridge, Kirribilli
Part of the property where the Prime Minister lives
Walking the bridge is a family tradition of sorts for Mike, his grandfather being there on the bridge’s opening day in 1932
By the way – long time, no blog! Without an explicit intention to, since finishing the Poland write-ups I’ve had a break – I guess my blogging mojo fell away some. The adventures have kept coming though and I feel that it could be time now to start easing back into it.
Walking one of Sydney’s icons while looking over to more
Over the week we made a point of reading the ferry names as they chugged by – our favourite was ‘Friendship’ 🙂
A slightly noisier harbour vessel
We looked into the bridge climb which had appeal despite it not being the obvious choice for someone who’s a bit useless with heights, but the cost for four of us was eyewatering
Plenty of others were more liberal with their spending and over the course of the week there was a constant stream of human ant groups inching up and down the arches
And descending into The Rocks, an alternate pastime much closer to earth
There was some great stuff at The Rocks Market but we showed great restraint
In 1900 most of Sydney was paved in wooden blocks though were replaced within a few decades with the introduction of cars. Some of the original blocks remain, hidden underneath the asphalt
A cruise ship dominated the waterfront in Circular Quay
A ship we saw depart during the week, possibly this one, was in the news because of a gastro bug outbreak – ew
Naturally while in Circular Quay we had to go investigate the Opera House which the youngest had a particular fascination with
We went to the Queen Victoria Building, a combo of architectural awesomeness and shops, lots of shops
…Though it was early and the shops were a bit fancy so no shopping was done – but just LOOK at that place!
The Sydney CBD is dotted with architectural gems
Picnic lunch in Hyde Park with cathedral backdrop. I took Mike to the doctor during the week which confirmed the diagnosis of sciatica – and yielded some lightweight mostly useless painkillers
Ibis are everywhere and an obvious photography subject
Hyde Park flower gardens
Experiencing the shared accommodation at Hyde Park Barracks Museum. Actually pretty comfy (for the 10 minutes we were there)
The Sydney Cenotaph and a small visitor
The large and somber ANZAC Memorial in Hyde Park
Frieze on the ANZAC Memorial
Nearby is this memorial to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander service men and women
Light rail by Paddy’s Market. My first visit to Sydney was in the monorail era but that closed 2.5 years ago
Street art near the Powerhouse Museum
The Powerhouse Museum is located in an old power station building
It’s a brilliant place to take children and it should suck up a whole day though our visit was more fleeting
A blend of old and mostly new at Darling Harbour. The cranes in the background speak of the massive redevelopment happening around the precinct
I thought for SURE we’d make a visit to Luna Park given we had the boys and were staying close by – but nope!
Some final bridge awesomeness, just cos
Given our proximity to the bridge and harbour we thought we’d be in a prime position for New Years Eve fireworks. Not necessarily…
tall tales 
Lovely photos. I was in Sydney very recently, staying on the north shore & we walked over the bridge one evening. I love the colours of the harbour & the buildings around it.
Thanks! Are you still in Melbourne?
No, I’m back in welly now & really enjoying being home.
Great photos, Hayley. You’ve done something really good here, you’ve been able to put Sydney in to context with its surroundings for me. Normally I look at friends photos of Sydney and think ‘oh that’s nice/lovely/great but I can’t see anything more than the subject/object/building etc – You have given us a proper, all round view! Thanks for that xx
Thank you Lottie! Lovely feedback x
Wonderful Hayley the photos and blog are fantastic. You certainly showed in your photos the
great energy of Sydney. I love Sydney and have a special connection with my Dad’s family there.
I too would not have been able to walk those heights. EEK how do people do it! Poor Mike with his sciatica. And Mike’s boys have grown so much.
Thanks Hayley for yet another wonderful blog. xxxx
Thanks very much Janice. We’ve been contemplating going back there again after Xmas this year, sans children this time, except no airfare deals have yet appeared like they did last year. Now I think I’d prioritise going to Melbourne instead, being somewhere I’ve seen very little of. In any case we’ll probably now stay put, maybe head down south. x
Melbourne and Adelaide are reportedly excellent but going south in NZ is always a nice choice too in one’s own country. They all sound great options. x