Walkabout in Sydney

After seven hours of traipsing around seeing the sights of Sydney, we have to admit that it has to be one of the prettiest cities we’ve ever visited.

Our friends gave us the grand tour by shanks pony which proved to be a great way to see a lot.

Firstly, we anchored in the little bay of Rozelle which is right beside the Sydney Fish Market and only a 10 minute walk from the city through tree-lined streets.  The market itself was quite an experience as we’d not seen such an array of seafood ever before.  The selection was beyond amazing.  Not only do they sell all the fish fresh but there are umpteen dozen eateries servings every seafood dish imaginable and, by the number of people sitting consuming this lot, it appeared to be a very popular stop to do so.

 

Our walking tour took us to Paddy’s Market , a huge covered bazaar that was shades of the markets in Bangkok selling a host of Chinese rubbish and local souvenirs but a great atmosphere and fun to browse around.  After this, we stopped for lunch in Chinatown where all the signs are Chinese, everything Chinese is available and one can get a huge plate of food for very reasonable prices.

 

After lunch, we wandered along and through Darling Harbour which is chock-a-block with every type of restaurant one can imagine from absolutely everywhere in the world.  It’s a continuous hive of activity with music, buskers, a busy waterway, hundreds of tourists and an enormous convention centre.  From there we went on past the beautiful Chinese Gardens and into the city centre.

 

The centre was clean vibrant, tree-lined, full of every name brand shop and a thousand more with a host of shoppers to keep it humming.  There are some gorgeous old buildings that have been maintained beautifully and a lovely wide walking street full of buskers which all added to the ambiance and atmosphere.

 

Once we left this, we found our way down to an area called The Rocks which lies at the base of the Sydney Bridge, the old original section of the city filled with beautifully restored old buildings circa 1870.  This overlooks the point where the Opera House is situated so gives a lovely view of that spectacular building too.

By this stage, it was evening and these poor old legs were beginning to feel that they needed a break so we headed back, stopping at an old pub with pressed steel ceilings for some ‘light’ refreshments.

 PHOTO GALLERY:

Oh, how I love oysters

And these......

And..

Them's mighty big mangoes

The Chinese Gardens

Around Darling Harbour

Darling Harbour

Entrance to Chinatown

Fun at Paddy's Market

Inside the old Victoria Building

A chocoholic's dream come true

 

The old & the new

An Aborigine with didgeridoo

Old buildings at The Rocks

Paul & Terry with the Opera House from The Rocks

North Sydney with Luna Park in the foreground

Scene by The Rocks

On the side of a bus

Street entertainment

Looking across one of the many waterways