Sights of Sydney....

It was bright and sunny the next day we landed. Circular Quay, the main ferry, train and bus terminus would be our starting destination to anywhere in Sydney for the next 7 days. One can imagine how busy this place would be on anyday!

Watson's bay was our first stop. It takes about 20mts by ferry. Around the bay is the beach, the famous "Doyle's" restaurant and some trail walks along the bay. We went on the trail walk that led us to a lighthouse known as the 'Hornsby Lighthouse'. It was a good walk all the way up and had good views of the southern suburbs of Sydney. After a good afternoon at Watson's bay, we decided to go to Manly in the evening.

Manly is a popular suburb of Sydney and is well known for its surf-able beaches and its eclectic shops. The beach is clean and has a paved path running along the beach -perfect for an evening jog. Opera house would be our final destination for the day. It is an excellent idea to sit around the Opera Bar and people watch. I would recommend it to anyone!

Sydney is well connected by public transport. Buses are the best within the city and the suburbs are well connected by ferries and trains. Just walking the streets of Sydney is a good way to spend time in the city. George street is the favorite among tourists and locals alike. The city ceases to sleep around this area.

Unlike New York, Sydney is not popular for its museums. Nevethless we visited the 'Australian Museum' in our eagerness to learn more about this continent so far away from anywhere in the world and yet ranks among the top 10 economies of the world. Much to our surprise there was no material on how Australia's histroy but most of it was devoted to exhibits of dinosaurs and animals found in Australia. It felt like they could've done better on that front!

We also visited the Royal Botanical Garden. Australians are very true about their allegiance to the Queen, and the word 'Royal' is a common prefix to their universities, and public buildings. The garden was not 'royal' in anyway but was a good one for an evening stroll.

The harbor city is all about its water. Its wharfs are plenty and they are flooded with businesses hoping to make most use of views. One of them is the Cockle Bay Wharf. It hosts some of the cities elite seafood restaurants, steakhouses and bars. It is beautiful around here and perfect for an special evening on town!

Taronga Zoo is the perfect place to be on a perfectly sunny day. It is a 10 mt ferry ride from downtown. The zoo is located on a hill opposite the Sydney skyline only separated by water. A cable car takes you from one side of the zoo to the other and is a fun way to watch the animals. The zoo's attractions are the marsupials ONLY found in Australia. We spotted koala's hugging trees, kangaroos holding its joey in its pouch, wombats that looks like a big sized mongoose and sleeps in a hole that it digs 2/3rds of its life, echidnas, platypus and the Tasmanian devil, known for its devlish red ears! The bird show was one of the highlights of the zoo trip. I never thought you could train a bird to fly the way you want it to and get back when you wanted to and make noises when you asked them to. Australia is home to so many unique birds that can only be found "down under". You can also find baby penguins in Australia. That's when you know you're in a place that's closer to Antartica than any other continent!

We were visiting in the middle of the 'Ashes' series and Australians take cricket seriously. You especially know it when there every test match is screened in front of a lawn on a big screen in the middle of the city! Being cricket deprived here in the US, we took to the lawn many afternoons for a break from our touristy explorations.

There are so many walks in Sydney, and one of them that tops the list is the walk along the Sydney harbor with the botanical gardens to one side and water on the other. This park is huge and is a great place for an evening run. A great spot to watch the setting sun and wind down for the day.

Think beach in Sydney and the first thing that comes to mind is Bondi beach! It appeals to most tourists because of it 'family friendly' feel. The walk from here to Bronte beach is exceptional. It is a paved foreshore walk for about 3 miles. Bronte is the less crowded and smaller of the two. Bondi is about 15 mts from the city centre. Wouldn't it be fun to go to the beach for a lunch or an evening on a weekday?

A day out of Syndey would take you to the Blue Mountains! It is a comfortable 2 hr train ride from the Sydney Central. The blue color of the mountains is from the oil from the eucalyptus trees suspended in the air which gives it a blue hue! It is an incredibe sight catching the first glance of the mountains from the train. We got down at 'Katoomba' the closest city that aso offers day tours to and from the mountains. We hiked a good part to see the 3 peaks called 'three sisters' named after an aboriginal story. The trip to the moutains is a one day activity and is well worth it.

The entire week in Sydney has been a city vacation except for the trip to the moutains and we knew it was all going to be different from now on. Hobart was our next destination. The flight reached Hobart at 7:00 in the evening......................contd. in my next post.