Gallivanting Grandma

Monday – November 26, 2018

Our two weeks in Sydney passed very quickly.  The weather was favorable and we had a wonderful time exploring this vibrant city. During our last week we visited the Museum of Contemporary Art along Circular Quay.  I love the way the name of the museum wraps around the entrance making it look like “temporary art.”

The artists whose works were exhibited were mainly from Australia, including several Aboriginal artists.

This was really a window, but I liked the concept of Sydney on exhibit.

I did a double-take on this sign:

The harbour side entrance to the CMA:

We visited Darling Harbour several times because there was so much to see there.  Besides the convention center and theaters, the Maritime Museum is on the harbor.

The River Cats are ferries that take commuters along the Parramatta River.  They were named after famous Australians.  The one in my photo was named the “Evonne Goolagong” for the famous Aboriginal tennis champion.

We didn’t go to the top of the Sydney Eye but could see it from everywhere:

Saint Mary’s Cathedral:

Artwork on the wall of a cafe in the city of Parramatta:

Entrance gate to Sydney’s “Chinatown”

Our last night in Sydney was spent walking along the harbor and around Dawes Point Park, under the Sydney Harbour Bridge.  It was a clear night and Sydney looked magnificent.

We’re both sorry that Sydney isn’t closer so we could come back and visit again soon.  Who knows when, or if, we will ever return to this part of the world….

Friday – November 23, 2018

Jeff and I rode public transportation and walked all over the city of Sydney during our two weeks here.  We obtained Opal cards and put some money on them to have access to all the buses, trains, ferries, and light-rail trams all over the city. The cost of transportation depended on the distance. Most ferry rides were about six Australian dollars. The trains and trams were just a couple of Aussie dollars. Great public transportation system!

The main commercial street down the center of Sydney is George Street.  Most of the street was closed to traffic because a light-rail tram system was being built.  I’d love to come back and see it in action.

Sydney is developed with modern high-rise office and apartment buildings.  A few original sand-stone buildings are still standing as a reminder of Sydney’s elegant Victorian British roots.  The Strand Arcade is one of those original buildings.  Today the Strand houses Australian high-end boutiques, tailors and dressmakers, a custom shoe manufacturer, a bridal salon, art gallery, jewelers, a chocolatier, and several restaurants.

At the other end of the commercial shopping spectrum was Market City.  This was a low-end marketplace with outlet stores, a supermarket, Paddy’s Market filled with inexpensive tourist souvenirs, and an Asian food-court.

Did I mention the Australian White Ibis?  They’re everywhere, like giant pigeons or our sparrows, picking up bits of food dropped by careless people.  Their heads, tails, and feet are black and their bodies are off-white or light gray, so I don’t know how they were named.

Buskers were at all the prime tourist locations.  The young man playing the didgeridoo in the photo below was near the train station on Circular Quay. He was very good!

Tuesday – November 20, 2018

We had read about “The Blue Mountains” which are located about two hours west of Sydney.  We left early in the morning and took the train from Central Station to the town of Katoomba.

The mountains get their blue hue from the droplets of oil in the air from the native eucalyptus trees.  We took a bus from Katoomba to a tourist area called Scenic World which offered multiple ways to view the mountains.  There was a cable car to go down into the valley to experience the Rainforest.

In the cablecar, we passed the rock formation called “The Three Sisters” and heard several different legends about the famous siblings.

We walked along the wooden walkways on the floor of the Rainforest.  Unfortunately, there’s been a longterm drought in the region and the forest wasn’t very moist.  I guess we were lucky it wasn’t raining.  There was a variety of rainforest trees which was very interesting.  Coal mining was the main commodity here about a century ago.

Scenic World reminded me of an amusement park with several “rides” to go over, under, in, and around the nearby mountains and valleys.  At the other end of the Rainforest walkway, we took the Scenic Railway back up to the top of the mountain.  It was like a short fast roller coaster ride.  But we went up backwards!  I imagine going down might be very scary!

Scenic World was crowded with multi-generational families.  Later, we rode across another deep gorge in a giant cablecar that held 75 people.  The floor of the car opened during its passage to reveal the tops of the trees below.

Later in the late afternoon, we caught a bus to take us to the train station to return to Sydney.  We decided to take the train from the nearby town of Leura on the same railroad line.  The Leura post office was decorated for Christmas, but with 70 degree temperatures, it doesn’t feel like Christmas!  It was a fun day and gave us a chance to see the region outside Sydney.

Sunday – November 18, 2018

We were very lucky to get tickets to an afternoon performance of the Australian Chamber Orchestra.  They played two of our favorite Beethoven pieces in the magnificent Concert Hall of the Sydney Opera House.

We attended a pre-concert lecture given by Francis Merson who was the former editor of an Australian classical music magazine. The lecture was held in the “North Foyer” overlooking beautiful Sydney Harbor.

It was an excellent talk about Beethoven’s life and Mr. Merson explained the story of the two pieces: Beethoven’s Violin Concerto and the beautiful 5th Symphony.  After the lecture, we had enough time to find our seats in the concert hall.

I was surprised that there were seat behind the orchestra and on both sides.  I don’t know what the sound would be like in those areas.  This is a photo I took from our seats facing the orchestra.  This is the largest concert hall at the SOH with more than 2,000 seats.

Another surprise was that the musicians of the Chamber Orchestra stood up during the entire performance (except the cellists).  The conductor was Richard Tognetti who played the violin while conducting.  It was an incredible performance!  And a real treat!

This is a view of the city of Sydney looking from the Opera House.  There was a different cruise ship in the harbor every other day.

The Opera House at night: