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Sydney 2005 (with side trip to the Blue Mountains)

After the fourteen-and-a-half-hour flight from Los Angeles, which began at 12:50 p.m.  on Thursday, November 10, and ended at 10:20 p.m. the next day Sydney time,  the hosts of the Ardmore House B&B picked us up at the airport and took us to the Sydney suburb of Newtown, an easy-enough commuter-train ride into the city. Although most of our story revolves around the pictures I made, it is worth mentioning that the proprietors of the Ardmore House, Peter and Declan, were one of those unexpected delights that make travel worthwhile. If it weren't for such surprises, one might as well stay home and watch travelogues on TV.

Unknown to us when we made reservations at what merely seemed like well-recommended affordable accommodations, Peter was a retired opera singer, and Declan an excellent cook more than happy to pamper us with breakfasts tailor-made to our tastes. As is the case with many B&Bs, we were treated like actual guests, not merely called "guests"  in the manner of a hotel. 

From this comfortable base, we made our excursions into Sydney. (Click on thumbnails below to see the real pictures.)

November 12, 13, & 15: Sydney

Harbor Bridge, deep dusk.jpg (85317 bytes)

Chinese Garden 4.jpg (122736 bytes)

Hyde Park Barracks Museum.JPG (134109 bytes)

Aquarium - coral reef.JPG (148708 bytes)     

Aquarium 1.JPG (197404 bytes)

First we did the most touristy thing--the walk across the Harbor Bridge. No, not the scary one across the top, only the pedestrian walkway beside the roadway. Although we did it during the day, this nighttime view is more interesting.

After Saturday's overview, we set out on Sunday for more in-depth sightseeing, including first the Chinese Garden.

Although Australia's affinity  is now strongly towards the Asian Pacific, its beginnings were as a penal colony for England. The Hyde Park Barracks recall that heritage.

For a preview of our visit to the Great Barrier Reef we went to the Sydney Aquarium.

 

Battalion of bats - Royal Botanical Gardens.jpg (153849 bytes)

Jacaranda.JPG (161768 bytes)

  Fountain 2.jpg (186530 bytes)  

Pond in the City.jpg (187028 bytes)

 Seen in the Botanical Gardens was this battalion of bats--fruit bats, who eat the nectar from the eucalyptus trees and help in cross pollination.

The picture on the left of this group  shows the ubiquitous Jacaranda tree. Although we first noticed it in Australia, we later learned that it also grows in California. Other city scenes included the fountain and pond..

 

Big Beach Art.JPG (148628 bytes)

Night falls on the beach.JPG (125345 bytes)

Harbor Bridge, deep dusk.jpg (85317 bytes)  

Opera House in Front of Harbor Bridge, dusk.jpg (97206 bytes)

    Opera House, late dusk, with bridge.jpg (109243 bytes) Bustling night at the Opera House.jpg (138837 bytes)
This beach had some big art going on.

The harbor bridge was an irresistible photo subject.

We attended two performances at the Opera House, one by the Australian Ballet, and the other by the Australian Chamber Orchestra.

November 14: Blue Mountain Tour

carved wilderness.JPG (156472 bytes)

   cockatooJPG.jpg (198832 bytes)    Joey.JPG (242779 bytes) Ron & Kuala.JPG (168484 bytes)

Chinese Garden Avian Visitor 2.jpg (110446 bytes)

The Blue Mountains provide a respite from the steel and concrete of nearby Sydney.

Euroka Clearing gave us a sampling of Australia's animal life. As there happens to be room here at the end of this page, I am also including a picture of a typically weird looking Australian creature, the fowl that showed up in the Chinese Garden in Sydney the day before.
 

If you want to follow us to the Southern Ocean, click here.