Time for a Cool Change - On the Harbour Bridge!

By now, I'm starting to feel a little more confident about the public transportation and the limits of Google Maps.  I decided instead of just heading to Circular Quay, I would take the bus to a random subway station.  Since all stations seem to have a train to Circular Quay, I could catch one from whatever subway station I was at.  I was meeting friends for lunch and then walking across the Harbour Bridge today.  Nothing rushed and giving myself plenty of time to rest while crossing the bridge.  As it had been super hot yesterday, I dressed accordingly, sleeveless.

I took the bus to Town Hall Station.  There, I found the Town Hall, Queen's Square, the Queen Victorian Building, and a fully functional Woolworth's - complete with lunch counter.  I knew that guided tours were required for Town Hall because it is a functioning government building, and I didn't make arrangements or have time before lunch for that, so I didn't go in.  It is a marvelous building, and I would like to arrange a tour of the insides at some point.

Queen's Square is a little patch of ground in front of the Queen Victoria Building on which there is a statue of - guess who - Queen Victoria!

The Queen Victoria Building, like many of the period buildings, was a beautiful piece of architecture.  All I knew about the QVB was that it was a mall with shops and eateries.   I had seen malls everywhere and had no interest in seeing another one, so I didn't go in.  I have since learned the error of my ways, but since I learned too late, I don't have any pictures of the interior of this amazing building.  Looks like the Town Hall area will be on my list for further exploration on my next trip to Sydney (along with the Maritime Museum and Vic's Meats, so far)!

The other two corners had modern buildings on them, but in one of them was a Woolworth's.  Woolworth's has been out of business in the US for decades, but I still remember going into the Woolworth's in Cynthiana, KY, with my grandmother, often getting shakes at the lunch counter (and sometimes actually getting lunch).  When my sister and I went to movies in town while we were very young, we would sometimes wait for one of our parents to pick us up at Woolworth's, since is was just a block over from Mr. Jack's movie theater.  Not to mention the historical significance of the Woolworth's lunch counter during the civil rights movement.  So, even though it looked like just a normal grocer and sundry store (kind of like Walmart, and definitely priced higher than a "five and dime"), I had to go check it out.

I took the train from Town Hall Station to Circular Quay, where I was meeting my friends.  We had a nice, long visit, and they warned me that a Cool Change was coming.  Having only heard the phrase in the old Christopher Cross song, they explained that this was the wind changing from a southerly wind blowing warm air from the north to a northerly wind blowing the cold air from Antarctica, which is not so far away.

After our visit, I boarded the ferry for Milson's Point and Luna Park so I could walk the bridge going toward downtown Sydney instead of away.  When I got there, I had to try a few selfies again.  I think I'm getting better at them.

The walk to North Sydney and the stairs to the bridge were uphill again.  But after getting acquainted with several benches and a couple of hits from the inhaler (so glad I switched out for a new one before leaving), I finally made it to the steps up to the bridge.  I had to take another break when I got to the top, but there were no benches to sit on once I got on the bridge.

When I got to the top, I did learn, however, that had I just walked a few more steps, I would have found the elevator!

The view of the iconic bridge from the top of the stairs followed by views from various vantage points.  The views were phenomenal!  When I started across, the sun was beating down, the winds were calm, and I had broken a sweat (several times, in fact).  Soon after starting to cross, the winds picked up, clouds blew in, and I was really wishing I had brought a jacket!  It didn't keep me from stopping for the incredible views and exhilaration of being on this bridge and able to cross it, if not climb it.

I took oodles of pix of the Opera House from the bridge.  These are the ones I liked best.  I just love the green and tan ferry boats!

These are the bridge climbers getting ready to make their ascent up the bridge stairs.  It was enough for me to just get across the bridge.  Climbing was not on my list!

When I got to The Rocks side, they had another elevator, so I used that one, only finding the stairs once I was already at the bottom.  I also was able to get some daylight shots of the sights from the convict tour, so I grabbed a few of those shots on my way back down the hill.

This is one of the "oldest" bars in Sydney.  During an international football tournament (I'm unclear if it was soccer or rugby), Australia and England played in the final against each other.  The owner of this bar and one in England made a bet that whoever won would take over the other's bar.  England won, and this bar became The Englander (instead of The Australian) for a period of time, complete with a banner covering the name, and English decor.

The Suez Canal

Having completely exhausted all of my stamina for the day, I grabbed a cab from The Rocks to my Airbnb, turning in early for the day.

Touring Sydney

I woke bright and early the next morning for a bus tour of Sydney.  It was given by freetourssydney.com.au.  It did cost $18 Australian, which is supposed to be the cost of operating the bus.  The tour met at Archibald Fountain in Hyde Park, so after some toast and orange juice, I headed to the city bus stop for the trip to Hyde Park.  The bus dropped me off what I thought was across the street, but was actually in the middle of the park.  The park was beautiful in the early-ish morning light.

I was confused with this sign, though.  Apparently, they have several killer trees in Sydney.  This was the first, but not the last time I saw similar signs!

The Archibald Fountain was lovely!  

While I was waiting for the tour to start, I decided to take out my selfie stick and see if I could figure out how to use it!  After multiple tries, this was the best I could do!  Notice that Archibald is cut off right about the hips!

I also enjoyed stalking the ibis that were all over the park.  One of the grounds keepers said he hates them because they get into everything!

The tour was on a nice bus with a very knowledgeable guide, who took us all over the place and gave us a lot of information about the various places.  After passing the art gallery and entering the Royal Botanic Gardens, our first stop was Mrs. Macquarie's Point for some iconic shots of the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge and to have a sit in Mrs. Macquarie's Chair.   For just a bit of background, the British governors loved to name things after themselves and their family members.  Governor Lachlan Macquarie was apparently the most prolific at that, so if you don't know what to call something, just add Macquarie before whatever it is, and you've got a better than 75% chance of getting it right!

I tried some more selfies here, too.  I think it may be getting a little better.  Still have a long way to go, though.

We got back on the bus and passed through Woolloomooloo, past the Finger Wharf, the Garden Island Navy Base, my Airbnb (not mentioned on the tour), Potts Point, Kings Cross and the Al Alamein Fountain, Rushcutter's Bay, Double Bay, and Point Piper, the most expensive suburb in Sydney and and home of Wolseley Road, at one time the most expensive street in the world.  We stopped at the Rose Bay Marina, which accommodates quite a variety of vessels, for snacks and a bathroom break.

We went past the Kincoppal-Rose Bay girls' boarding school in Vaucluse (which kind of reminded me of Hogwart's),

the Macquarie Lighthouse (the oldest lighthouse in Sydney),

to Watson's Bay,

where we stopped at Gap Park.  Gap Park has high fences and multiple security cameras.  These aren't meant to keep people in or out or for random crime.  Rather, the cameras are monitored for potential suicide attempts.  There are also several kiosk-style dedicated phone booths where people can just pick up the phone and talk to a hotline counselor.  The Gap is also the site of a famous shipwreck, the Dunbar, in 1857, in which 121 people died and only one person survived.  Gap Park has beautiful views, but is very rocky.  I did not trust my ability to walk off of the paved area, and I really did not want to be another victim of The Gap.

From Watson's Bay, we headed to Bondi Beach, which as packed, since it was a school holiday and an incredibly hot day.

From there, we headed back to Hyde Park, where the tour ended in front of St. Mary's Cathedral.  Since this was on my list of places I wanted to see, this seemed like the perfect opportunity!

One may think that's enough for one day.  But wait, there's more!  The Rocks is the first settlement in Australia, and much of that convict history has been maintained.  There was an evening "convict" walking tour of The Rocks that piqued my interest.  So, I took a train to Circular Quay to eat, rest, and catch that tour.  Knowing there was going to be a lot of walking coming up, I grabbed a sandwich and sat on a bench in the quay, in front of the Museum of Contemporary Art.  I was up and down, mostly resting, but wanting to get up and see everything.  I practiced my selfies, charged my phone in the Customs House (I think I got a little nap in there at one point under the glorious air conditioning), but I was recharged in time to meet the tour in front of Cadman's Cottage.

The Customs House has a diorama of Sydney under the glass floor.  Here is the section with Bennelong Point and the Opera House along with part of the Royal Botanical Gardens and Government House.  I

The Convicts, Murders, and Hangings tour of The Rocks was very cool.  It started at dusk, but it quickly became dark, so pictures are a bit scarce.  The Harbour Bridge was lit with colors of the two final teams playing each other in the national football (rugby) finals later in the week.  You can just see it peeking through the trees with a little strip of red along the top arc.

The tour took us through The Rocks, telling tales of the early days of Sydney and how convict labor was conscripted from one of the bars by getting the patrons drunk and chaining them in the basement to be taken out to service.  There was also the Suez Canal, where sewage was dumped to travel downhill to the harbour, wearing a slick groove into the ground, which has been preserved.  There was also the Nurse's Walk that was a path traveled by nurses going to and from the hospital.  There were also alleys, including Suez Canal, that gangs hung out in.  They would lure people into, sometimes by use of female gang members who posed as prostitutes (and sometimes weren't necessarily posing), and the poor sot would be mugged, clocked, potentially killed in the alley.  They had some backlit sillhouettes of some of the more famous gang members on the sides of the buildings along Suez Canal.  There were 3 different bars that claim to be the oldest in Australia.  It was really an awesome tour, but I was barely able to make it.  I had to hit my inhaler a few times, and without Chrissy there to help keep me stable, I wasn't always sure I would stay upright on the old, uneven steps and ground.  Here are some pictures that I got during the tour.

The site of one of the first shops and apparently a very Insta-friendly location

An archeological dig site from the bubonic plague period

An art installation of a rock crushing a car.  This is actually in a traffic circle at the foot of a tall parking structure!

A couple of the "oldest" bars

Night pix of the Opera House from Observatory Hill

That's a close street light, not the moon.

When I got back to Circular Quay, I took a couple of parting night shots, then grabbed a cab home.

A shower, sandwich and Tim Tam for dinner, and I slept like a rock!