Yet another day in Sydney

Friday 5th February 2010

Hi Bloggers,

I want to rattle this off fairly quickly as it is early in the morning and we have a fair amont to report.

Chris took us down to Manly Wharf after breakfast with a view to going into Sydney and then heading for Toronga Park Zoo. When we arrived at Circular Quay, the weather was threatening yet again and so we decided to go back to Darling Harbour where we went yesterday and visit the places we didn't do.

We got off the ferry at Darling Harbour and waited by the Aquarium until it stopped raining before making our way towards the Chinese Gardens where it rained again. We sheltered with others under a pagoda at the garden entrance until it stopped. We then walked around, sightseeing, until lunchtime. I don't know why, but we went to a McDonalds, probably because Kath likes their coffee. I cannot eat burgers but have tried their chicken sandwiches in the past and don't like those either. I must have forgotten how awful they are as I went ahead and bought one.........they are still disgusting but the chips were nice!

Whilst resting on a bench in the harbour, a lady approached upon seeing the the sticker on the side of the wheelchair that announces to the world that it is 'On Loan From The British Red Cross'. It turned out that she used to be in charge of loaning wheelchairs from the Red Cross in North Yorkshire and wanted to know where we had got it from. Small world yet again. She and her husband were staying with their daughter in Sydney and had been out since November, now I like that idea.

The sun was beating down us as we walked around but there were some threatening clouds around. The forecast had said thunderstorms at around 5pm. They came a little early and so we made our way back to Circular Quay with a view to going back to Manly. It was pouring down by the time we arrived at Circular Quay. We quickly headed for an outdoor cafe on the opposite side of the road for a coffee. There were canopies over the tables and we sat and watched as people hurried through the lashing rain to catch a ferry home. The raindrops were bouncing back up off the stainless steel table at the side of us, it was that heavy. After coffee we dashed across to the Quay and went through the ticket barrier to get on the boat when I spotted some blue sky over the harbour bridege. The flags on top suggested the fine weather was heading our way so, as people boarded the boat, we tagged onto the crowd of people that had just arrived and went back outside. We watched from under another canopy as the black clouds slowly drifted away and were repalced by clear skies. It stopped raining and off we went again, around the right hand side of the quay to the Sydney Opera House. We marvelled at the sight as I trudged my way around the outside of the building whilst Kath complained that she needed the loo! We took many pics from different angles and I went up the steps at the front to explore a little further.

Situated at the side of the Opera House are the Royal Botanical Gardens. The sun was shining and the pavements quickly dried, within a few minutes there was no sign that it had been raining. Off we went again, around the superb gardens with trees from all parts of the world. Unlike the UK where they usually tell us to keep off the grass, here, they encourage you to go on the grass and touch and feel the tress. I took what seemed like another million photo's, some of them with the unreal background of the city's tall buildings towering over the edge of the park. We were probably in there a couple of hours, walking around and taking in the views. Just before we left, we spotted hundreds of Flying Foxes that were coming back into the trees to roost for the night. They are like huge bats and after fighting with their nearest neighbour upon landing, they cling to the branch and swing upside down and sleep for the night. There were hundreds in each tree but just in a small area of the park. Eventually, we found the exit near the Opera House and I sat to rest my aching knees. We then walked around the many cafes and bars underneath the Opera House where crowds had gathered, some in black tie attire, for a show and there were we in shorts and t-shirts.

We caught the ferry back to Manly and went for some dinner and a drink in one of the Beachside bars before ringing Chris to let him know where we were. He had said earlier that he would join us for a beer with it being Friday evening. Cheryl came with him and we sat in a hotel bar on the front until around 11.30pm when we made our way home.

Another lovely day that could have been spoiled by the weather but we made the good decision to not go back to Manly early as I would have hated to have missed the rest of the afternoon.

We made contact on the internet with Lucy and told her to call us at the apartment which she did, so we had half an hour taking and catching with things at home. I spoke to Steve, the tiler and although there have been a couple of issues, everything seems to be going OK.