Sydney

THE WINNERS ARE...

Eastern Time zone  Paul Lamontagne (from Ottawa)
Atlantic Time zone Donna Gallant (from Nursing at UNB)

The question was What is Brisbane's Clem 7?  The answer is a Tunnel.

We have been posting every several days so you may have missed Melbourne and Tasmania, so check the archive.

April 30


Syndey is one of the best cities in the world to just stroll in. For some reason the size of the boardwalks along the harbours make you slow down and just enjoy it and that is what we did for most of the day. We started off at Circular Quay again (every time we are down there with the Opera House, amazing architecture, wharf side, high end restaurants, the ferries, buskers, and the Harbour Bridge, it is always surreal). Then we just strolled around looking at shops and the views. We then headed towards Darling Harbour area. This is another inlet as part of the Sydney harbour front that is perfect for tourist and locals alike. There is so SO much to do and see in this area. It is quite a big area too and it took us most of the afternoon to check out. Regardless of the number of times we are at Circular Quay, we see something new but you are quaranteed to hear an aboriginal play the most famous Australian didgeridoo. (a long wooden tube you play by blowing into it and vibrating your lips... Sounds difficult? It is.)

May 1

We put on our sneakers today and decided to walk from where we are staying in Woolloomooloo area down to the waterfront. It took about an hour but again we are "strolling":) The first area we come to when we get down to the water front is the Woolloomooloo Bay area. We read in one of our tourist guides that many locals come down here to have a traditional Aussie meat pie at a chip truck type food vendor. This place is called Harry's and they really do have some great pies ( plain beef and chicken, or curried beef and chicken, etc). The meat pies are served with "mushed" peas, mashed potatoes and gravy. Talk about GOOD! MMmmmmmm . They don't have any sitting area so we just sit with the locals on the wharf side overlooking the navy ships. I was very lucky things were not ruined, since a gull almost got me and my plate.

Afterwards we began to walk along the boardwalk along the coast towards Circular Quay which takes us through the Royal Botanic Gardens and Mrs. Macquarie's Chair ( a point that over looks the harbour). This time we come by the Opera House from a whole different direction. Since it is Saturday we keep going past the Opera House, the Harbour Ferries/train station at Circular Quay and on to The Rocks area. The Rocks were Sydney's earliest settlement. In the 1800s it was more of a slum which was controlled by a gang. It is now a tranquil place, full of interesting shops, restaurants and people. On Saturday they have a real nice market area where one can buy many handmade crafts and taste some foods from many stalls.

After the market it was time to head back to clean up, have some dinner and then head off back on the trains to the Opera House. We saw a wonderful concert called "Scotland the Brave". It was an amazing concert featuring Gregory Moore (tenor), Suzanne Kompass, (a Canadian Opera singer), a pipe band, individual pipers, scottish dancers, Symphony Choir and the Orchestra. We even had a chance to take part in a Scottish Sing-A-Long, which we did know some of the songs. The whole evening went by so fast and was extremely enjoyable. On the way out, Greg commented on the only thing missing from the concert was a Boys Choir. What a road trip that would be with his choir.

Just being in the Opera House to experience a concert was a thrill in itself. The large concert hall has over 2000 seats, excellent acoustics and high above the stage at the back of it, was an enormous pipe organ. Greg wishes someone had played it just to hear what it sounded like in the hall.

May 2

Sunday mornings are meant for relaxing and we did for a bit. We had a small breakfast since we were having brunch with a friend of a colleague of Francis' (Barbara). Max and his friend Eric picked us up around 1:00 with a welcome gift to Sydney (our favourite Aussie treat, Tim Tams) and we headed out to the beach areas. We had a great brunch and chat getting to know each other. Then we went for a nice walk along the beach front toward Bondi Beach, the most famous of all Sydney beaches. The temperture and sunshine was perfect as we walked along beaches and boardwalks overlooking cliffs. After our walk we ended up at a cafe for a cool drink and more chat. Another day zoomed on by as they all seem to be doing as our trip draws to an end.



May 3

Today was our day to "go high"now don't mistake that for getting high. By mid morning we were in the main business district with towering highrises all around us. Our destination was the Centrepoint Sydney Tower which is the highest building in the city at just over 300 metres. After a very quick "lift"/elevator ride up, we were at the 3600 observation deck overlooking this beautiful city. This wasn't the final location! We and 4 others put on our suits that looked like we were about to parachute off the side and got all hooked into our harnesses for our walk out on the edge. After a bit of a talk on what to expect and how to hook ourselves on, we were outside looking over the edge to the 260 metre street below. What an amazing thrill and view. As we walked around the tower the guide would explain what we were looking at. Oh we even found out that the area we are staying in is also the red light district. I guess one misses a lot when one is in bed by 11:00 :)

As we move around the tower we walk over a few glass floors. The first one was a little freaky to walk out on but you get over it pretty fast. Well most of us did! There was an Indian lady who couldn't look. The way we are all hooked in means that you can't go ahead until the person in front of you has moved. So the 2 guys behind her couldn't move until she did. At this spot they also wanted to take some pictures of us, since we are not allowed to take anything on the deck that could be dropped to the street below. As part of the photo shoot they wanted everyone to jump. It was a bit freaky to land and feel the glass floor move. I think the Indian lady almost died (she didn't jump). The last glass floor was real small and as we all arrived on it the floor began to move under our feet and we were all moving outwards over the edge even more. It was amazing "for most of us".

After the tower walk the next part of our "high"day was to see a movie, Ironman 2, on the largest IMax theatre in the world at Darling Harbour. It was a nice way to relax in the early afternoon.

Then it was time to explore a different part of the city as we headed back from Darling Harbour area to The Rocks area for our next "high" location. We tried to follow the water as much as possible but had to head up on some streets as we got closer to the rocks. Before we knew it we were walking up many steps to get onto the Sydney Harbour Bridge. We walked over to the first pillar before we turned around. The bridge is a lot higher when you are on it. But it did have a great view of the Circular Quay area. We also watched the sunset from the bridge. We walked back to the trains at Circular Quay and took it to Town Hall station where we transferred to our train to come back to where we are staying. However, there is one stop. We found Tim Tams on sale at Woolworths and needed to stock up to take some back home to Canada.



May 4

Today we just wanted to take it easy and let the views go by us... so right after a quick lunch in The Rocks area we hopped on a transit ferry from Circular Quay and ended up on the river route to the site of the 2000 Olympics. It took about an hour one way but it was a great way to see a different part of the city.

For our last night we decided to walk to a near by street for dinner and then get back and pack. The time has come to pack one last time!

After 26 different take offs and landings and almost 3 months on the road, tomorrow is the beginning of our flights back home. The first one takes us on to San Francisco and then on to Vancouver for a night. Then we are off to Halifax for a night before arriving in Fredericton at 9:30 a.m on Friday morning. It has been for sure a trip of a life time (until our next big trip). We recently read this quote in a travel magazine. "After all, the point of travel is coming home a different person from the one who left or at the very least a little more grateful for what you have!"

That pretty much sums it up. We are looking forward to seeing you all again and getting back into our "real"life. Plus it will be nice to get rid of the suit cases.

Thank you very much for spending your winter (your really really good winter) with us following our blog and our travels! We hoped it entertained you.

The final clue.

Sydney's first explorer, Captain Cook, arrived in the area in 1770 followed by 1400 convicts 18 years later. The first settlers arrived in 1793 but by 1925 the population hit 1 million. 1932 the Harbour Bridge opened and it was many years later, 1973, before the other Sydney icon, The Opera House opened.

Take this clue and add them to the 2 letters we gave you awhile back.

Now send us the question and the answer to win! The first one who send it to us will be the winner.

Here is what it should look like. Remember you may have to move a word around to make it make sense.

_ _ _ _    _ _    _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _-_    _ _ _ _    _ ?    a  _ _ _ _ _ _
 
 

Francis, Max, Eric and Greg

 

Centrepoint Tower (our high walk)

This is for Andreas in Germany (I'm just holding the beer)

A panoramic of Darling Harbour

The view from the top