Upon arrival, I picked up a sandwich for later and took a taxi to my Airbnb. It was rush hour, so it cost about double what it normally would have, what with increased toll charges and traffic delays. But it was a nice overview of the city, and I've paid more for less distance! My hostess was very sweet. She had an Opal (subway) card she passed from guest to guest for using the public transportation (which is really awesome in Sydney). She also had a handful of brochures for different free or cheap tours of things in the area, and gives her guests a package of Tim Tams. It was a very nice room with a large bathroom and a really comfortable bed! I did a load of laundry, since I was out of clothes and settled in for the evening. I learned to use the Opal card and I learned that Google Maps will walk you, step by step, through using public transportation in different cities! All this time, I thought Chrissy was just magic at reading the public transport boards in all different languages! Now, I know her secret! After a nice, hot shower, I slept better that night than I had since leaving home, knowing there was nothing scheduled that I had to wake up at a certain time for. Most everything in Sydney was to be done at my leisure!
Even though I didn't set my alarm, I woke relatively early, well rested, and ready to get started. I decided to start by taking the bus to the furthest destination in the city that I was planning to see - the fish market. Wouldn't be the first time I had fish for breakfast! Chrissy and I had breakfast at the Tokyo Fish Market when we went to Japan a few years ago. Besides, I have breakfast for dinner a lot. Why not dinner for breakfast?
Across from the bus stop closest to my Airbnb was a Navy yard with a ship in dock. There is a fence around it and a guard shack at the entrance, but it was definitely interesting seeing an active military installation that wasn't highly fortified!
The Sydney Fish Market is the third largest fish market in the world and the largest in the Southern Hemisphere, in terms of volume. In terms of variety of seafood sold, it is the second largest fish market in the world. It's on Blackwattel Bay in Pyrmont.
Around the parking lot, there were multiple restaurants, including this one that was off to itself, a little out of place. Vic's sold kangaroo, emu, and many other exotic meats. They had a butcher shop and a restaurant, side by side, but they were closed that early.
These two guys were going around talking to people. "Could you help a brother out, please?"
Once inside, the variety was easy to see!
And this doesn't count the prepared foods!
Or the deserts!
This guy did some serious oyster shucking!
I wasn't the only one having fish for breakfast.
I settled on a combo platter with a few things I had never tasted before. The Oyster Kilpatrick was my favorite!
It was all delicious, but instead of eating inside like so many others, of course I had to eat by the water.
I had tried to get a tour of the auction floor, but they were booked for the time I was there, and unless you're escorted, the auction floor is supposedly off limits. After breakfast, I needed to use the bathroom, so I asked where it was. The lady directed me behind the plastic strip doors, where I encountered none other than the auction floor. There were several signs prohibiting pictures, and there were some people coming in and out, so I didn't take much time getting these shots off. Sorry they're so blurry!
After this, I headed out for Darling Harbour.
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