Melbourne

 Our big plans for the day started with our walking tour which began at 1030.

We had started walking to the meet location with plenty of time which turned out to be a good idea as the weather forecast did not state we were going to get rain……so naturally it starting pouring!. After the rain shower had let up we went back to the hotel and picked up our umbrellas.

The tour was great as always and we picked up pointers for a few more locations to potentially visit.

It turns out Melbourne was hugely rich in the late 1800’s. The Australian gold rush was bigger than the Klondike, the Alaskan and California gold rushes combined. WOW!

The ending of our tour was not so far from the Australian Open tennis tournament courts so we went over to see if it was worth going in for the one hour that we felt we could spare. The answer was “no” so we walked back to the CBD (central business district-the tour fellow stated that Aussies don’t use the term “Downtown”) and then went for a special Australian treat (at least for me). A kangaroo burger! Not cheap at all, especially with the beer and vodka cooler! After that we had gelato. Yummy

A pano shot of the buildings along the river here.

We then took the #35 tram for a big circle route around the CBD. We got out of it exactly what we paid for it (it was free). Not that more informative as we had really heard most of information on our walking tour.

I came back to the hotel while Caro went shopping at a nearby mall (actually right at the train station). I booked a day trip for Friday.

Caro had a craving for cheetos so she picked up a bag

She feels so bad she paid $C $12.50 for it. It is pretty hard for me to do anything but laugh when the kangaroo burger cost $C33. LOL

We went back to the restaurant we were at last night but this time we shared one plate of food instead of a plate each.

Caro tells me we walked about 28 km again!

Melbourne

 On the train

We were up about 0545 and out the door before 0630. 

The train station (Central) was one metro stop away so it didn’t take long to get there. 

Once in the station we wound our way over and around the myriad of platforms used by the various different transportation systems in this central hub and found our train platform . A short while later we decided to get on board and settle into our seats to wait for our 0740 departure time.

We left Sydney into a sort of forest area but it wasn’t long before we were out of that and into magnificent rolling hills, dotted with trees. The eleven hour train ride was  mostly ranch land with sheep,but some cattle. There was a few areas where fields were planted. Towns were few and far between (and we did whistle stops at most of them)

The landscape and vegetation was varied and is constantly captivating. I am sure the locals on the train with us were just reading or playing games on their iPhones however I really enjoyed it the views. 

We have been lucky with weather on this trip. The original forecast for Sydney was overcast and rainy however everything was great for us. As we travelled today the sky was blue. 

I spent many hours watching for wild life. At different times both Caro and I spotted kangaroos in the distance that morphed into cows as the train went by and angles of vision changed.LOL

Vegetation became much denser and the landscape became much more rolling as we approached Melbourne 

Just as we were arriving at the outlying suburbs of the city I “finally “ saw some kangaroos. There were about six bouncing along. Unfortunately it was such a brief sighting that when Caro looked up  she didn’t see them.  

We checked into our hotel across the street from the train station. The room is okay   

We found a good restaurant a few blocks away and enjoyed chicken snitzel. The portions were so big we brought some back for breakfast. 

This city is known for its concentration of sky scrapers. Here is a view of some of them. 

 Last day in Sydney

I had a terrible night, constantly waking up GRRRR

We left the hotel shortly before 0900 and started walking to the Aquarium. We stopped at the same McDonalds as yesterday because it was so convenient. 

At 0940 we were at the Aquarium. This location was where we watched the fireworks on Saturday night. It was a great visit. We saw some really cool animals

After that we walked back into the heart of the city and went up the Sydney Eye tower. The older I get the more I hate going up these towers. I seem to be getting vertigo as I age. We weren’t up there all that long. 

Our touring continued with a visit to Hyde Park Barracks. Built in the early 1800’s by convicts under supervision of British overlords;it told the story of the convicts,free settlers and destruction of the aboriginal peoples and cultures. 

This museum was a fantastic experience and really well done. 

It was time for a late lunch now so we headed to a nearby mall (Gucci,Prada etc) and had Singapore food. It was very tasty.

Next stop was Saint Mary’s Cathedral. It is massive and very beautiful

From there we ventured a short walk to the Australian National museum. It had some very nice things in it but not enough to keep us enthralled for any length of time. 

It wasn’t long before we started walking to our next objective, Mrs Macquaries Chair which was a look out spot with a great view of the Opera House and Harbour bridge. Also on that little peninsula is an open air theatre where the screen is located over the water however when there is an event ( which tonight there was) the screen is repositioned vertical and people can watch the show and see the sunset over the Opera House and Harbour bridge. 

We walked from the look out point around to the Opera House where we stopped for a drink at Circular Quay. Incidentally the Norwegian Sun ( our ship this coming Sunday) was in port. 

We took the metro the two stops back to “our” station and spend some time in our room before venturing out again tonight. The downtown is just hopping.

We walked back through Hyde Park (magnificent trees!), passed the Anzac Memorial, and soon into our hotel for the evening. 

Caro says her watch showed we walked almost 29 km today!

Sunday in Sydney

We both slept pretty good last night and were up about 0730.

We FaceTimed Dad and Vanessa and afterward tidied up the room as we want room cleaning service today

By 0930 we were sitting at our ferry wharf to go to the same harbour we went to last night. The Carnival Splendor is in port and as such there are a lot of people with suitcases down here. 

The ferry had us over to Darling Harbour in 30 minutes. After debarking we walked about a kilometre  to the Sydney fish market. Of wow, what a place!

She was going for thirds at this point!

The restaurants there serve the fish/seafood that is unloaded right at the site. 

We then ended up walking back to the Center of the city (maybe half an hour).

The barge in the middle was where the fireworks were set off last night  (and we were located on the far side of the bridge in the background of this photo).

Next was another metro line to Bondi  Junction. From there we caught a bus (along with dozens of our fellow beach loving friends) to the famous Bondi Beach. 

We walked the complete beach followed by navigating a rocky area which eventually became our turn back point. 

This was followed by a stop at a very busy outdoor restaurant where we had a drink , with nachos and guacamole. We really enjoyed this while accompanying breezes kept us cool. 

About 2:45 we decided to head back to City Centre, however this time we took the bus all the way back  rather than using the metro/bus combination we used to go out there. 

Back in CBD we got off near museum station (had no idea that our bus came near our hotel-Caro happened to see the Anzac Memorial)

We had time to visit the museum in the base of the memorial. It is very well done. 

We rested for about an hour and then went out to walk the area. We ended quite a ways towards the Center of this area ( actually very near the big tower). There were lots of people out tonight. The temperature is perfect. 

Caro purchased some sushi from a store on our walk and I just ordered a pizza from room service. It was really good and I think we might be ordering from room service tomorrow as well.

A fun,full day with my cell phone showing almost 19,000 steps.

A full day in Sydney

 We both slept pretty good last night until 0330, After being awake for a while we were both able to get some more sleep in.

By about 0800 we were up and showered and out the door to find some breakfast. We ended up at a McDonalds which was, well, McDonalds. It fills us up but I hesitate to say we will go back there.

After an hour long break back at the hotel we headed back out to pick up our walking tour. This was a great way to learn the city (the history and stories) and we thoroughly enjoyed the three and a half hour walk. Super informative and our guide was great so he got a nice payout from us (this tour was “pay what you think it was worth” style).

Hoping to get up this tower before we leave the city

An Ibis bird. Quite common in the parks here.

An anchor and cannon from the first group of ships bringing convicts from England. These were from one of the ship that shipwrecked and thus the items were preserved in the sand for over a century before being recovered and refurbished.

The Crown Princess was at dockside today picking up passengers and further out in the harbour was the Diamond Princess, however those people had to use a tender. I assume this city was an intermediate stop for those passengers.

Upon completion of the tour we were at circular quay which was perfect for us as we immediately caught the cross harbour ferry to the famous Manly Beach; a thirty minute boat ride to the north side of the harbour/bay.

We walked through the tourist zone and stopped at a recommended restaurant for a great light meal (which we shared).

After an hour of walking around the town and checking out the busy beach (Caro went walking along the beach and checking out the water temperature-brr) we headed back to the ferry and were soon on our way home. So efficient here!.

After a couple of hours or recuperating in our room we again headed to the metro, then catching a different ferry we went under the Harbour bridge and turned left. We wanted to go to the next bay over (to Darling Harbour).

We got off at a stop called Barangaroo. This place was AWESOME. It is Saturday night and the quay was jam picked with people enjoying the open air discos, loud (or quiet) restaurants . Most of the people there were younger and it appeared to us that the majority were young women out clubbing.

We shared a bowl of penne in an Italian restaurant. I had a local beer (pretty good).

Next on the agenda was a fireworks display which was very well done. They do them every Saturday night.

The ferry ride back was incredible as the buildings were all lit up. Stunning

We were soon back at Circular Quay and from there we caught our normal metro line back.