Sydney: Day 5

Tuesday was our last day in Sydney. We had a 5pm flight, so we had plenty of time to catch a few sights before we headed home. So we headed to the Chinese Garden of Friendship in Darling Harbour. These gardens were designed by architects in Guangzhou, China, which is Sydney's sister city. In the Dragon Wall (see picture), one dragon signifies Guangdong province; and the other, New South Wales. There is a pearl in the center that symbolizes prosperity. Complete with waterfalls, a lake, and pavilions, this garden proved to be a bit of peace in a busy tourist area of the city.

We met a friend of mine from high school, Scott, who now resides in Wollongong (just south of Sydney) for a boozy lunch at the only microbrewery in Sydney, the Lord Nelson. On his recommendation, I tried the fish and chips and Matt, the pie floater. The floater is a meat pie sitting on a bed of mashed potatoes topped with pureed green peas swimming in gravy. A truly Ozzie dish!

After spending a few hours eating, drinking and comparing all things Ozzie an American might find odd, we parted ways. Scott went back to work and we headed back to our hotel to pick up our bags via the Royal Botanic Gardens. The Gardens sit on the harbour's edge on Farm Cove and their motto is "Please walk on the grass. We also invite you to smell the roses, hug the trees, talk to the birds and picnic on the lawns." So we took a meandering path around the water's edge enjoying the gardens and getting one last look at the Opera House and Harbour Bridge before heading home.

Sydney: Day 4

Today we journeyed to the Blue Mountains. The mountains are located approximately 2 hours (by train) east of Sydney. They get their name from light reflecting on the oil that is released from the eucalyptus trees that primarily make up the forest. The mountains form a canyon with a tree-filled valley. We took the train to Katoomba and arrived to some chilly weather. So, our first stop was to get some hot soup for lunch and put on the extra clothes that we brought with us for the higher elevation.

Re-fueled and warmer we headed out to the 2K walk that led to the canyon rim. Once we arrived there we took a short path down to the rim trail where we could get a better appreciation for the canyon. We spent the afternoon hiking along the trail toward the next town over, Leura, where we would catch our train home. One of the most famous features of the canyon, Three Sisters, was on our way. Aboriginal legend holds that these sister were turned to stone by their witch-doctor father to protect them from an evil bunyip (which Ronnie, the trainer who I work with, describes equivalent to our Big Foot, but with fewer sightings).

We continued on passing numerous waterfalls and cascades that you could see from various viewpoints along the way. Just the breadth and depth of the canyon was beautiful in itself. It reminded us of our own Grand Canyon but filled with trees. As we got closer to Leura, the gentle rain started, which then turned less gentle rain and more full on downpour. Needless to say we decided to head for town.

Fortunately, we weren't that far from Leura at this point and since the towns were pretty small there weren't too many roads to get lost on, so we followed the traffic which took us to the town center. Matt checked the train schedule and discovered we had about an hour to kill, so we found a coffee shop to get something to warm us and wait.

While Katoomba is described as being more bohemian, Leura is more stylish in a Victorian sort of way. The town center is lined with posh restaurants and stores enticing to the tourist, especially on a rainy day. The first coffee shop we found had seating in the rear that overlooked the mountains. A perfect spot to spend some time. We opted for hot cocoas (I have forgotten to mention all of the hot cocoas here are served with large marshmallows, yum!) Matt couldn't resist a snack of apple rhubarb cobbler with raspberry sauce and cream. It disappeared so quickly that it was the first time we have ever considered ordering seconds on a dessert! Although later that night at dinner, back in Sydney's Surry Hills district, we almost had a second serving of panna cotta, which Matt had been craving all week.

Sydney: Day 3

Today we were late risers due to the festivities of the night before. So, once we were up we decided to head to the Sydney Fish Market for lunch. It looked to be not too far from the map and it was overcast, so we headed over on foot. We didn't count for the humidity and by the time we got there we were a bit warm. Anyways, once we arrived we entered the market that was swarming with people. Since it was Sunday, the trading side was closed, but unless you have special permission a tourist can't enter there anyways. The market not only housed a number of seafood retailers and restaurants, but a bakery, a cheese shop and a wine store as well. Due to the numbers and the types of seafood, it is said that this is the most diverse fish market after Tokyo. We perused the different vendors and came up with a game plan: I would get the fish fillet grilled and some chips (french fries) and Matt would get the sashimi and oysters (famous Sydney Harbour Rock Oysters). Whomever was done first would get the wine! Thirty minutes later we had a picnic on the water. Everything tasted delicious...if we were living in Sydney we would be eating here every weekend!

With full and happy bellies, we headed to our destination for the day: Manly Beach. To get to Manly you have to take a ferry which is also a great way to see Sydney Harbour. The ferry terminal was across town, so we passed through Darling Harbour on our way there. Sydney's Chinese New Year celebration was still going on and today's featured event was the dragon boat races in the harbour. We took the pedestrian bridge over the water, which turned out to be an excellent viewpoint for the races, so we stopped to watch for a while.

We arrived at the ferry terminal in time to catch the next ferry to Manly, we purchased our tickets and found seats in the stern. The ferry ride took about 30 minutes passing by the Opera House, Fort Denison and a number of beaches and islands along the way. Once we arrived in Manly we strolled down towards the beach. There were a bunch of stores along the way and I proceeded to do a little shopping. The waves were looking good to Matt, so he rented a surf board. He caught one really good wave, but this was not witnessed. I opted to do some reading under the cover of some trees, as it had started to rain.

Ironically enough, the rain stopped just after Matt returned his surf board. We were both a bit chilled, so we found a coffee shop where we lingered waiting for the next ferry home over tea and hot cocoa.