Beautiful Sydney Part Two

Manley Beach in one direction

And then another. Like many of the beaches in both
Australia and New Zealand it is bordered by parks
and several walkways.

We really loved The Pantry, located right on the
beach with wonderful food. We treated ourselves
to some wine as well. That's unusual for us now
at lunch.

The ferry ride over is so lovely and passes all the
iconic sights - here the Opera House.

 

Daytimes we explored the city by ferry, bus and lots of walking. First we took the Ferry over to Manley Beach and had lunch at The Pantry - a day recommended by the other new friends we met in Uluru, Eoin, Toni & Senan. Their other suggestion we also followed, over  to Bondi Beach, although not with great weather. Then we did the Hop On Hop Off buses - the town and the beach routes. And two museums - the Australia and the Maritime.

We only got off the Bus a few times, once here
at the Opera House for a day visit.

Darling Harbor where we visited the Maritime 
Museum.

And Bondi Beach. We had a good lunch at a cafe
but the weather wasn't attractive enough for the 
long walk we'd hoped for.

 

At the former we saw the Machu Picchu exhibit - lots of fun and interest for us as we spent two months in Peru years ago including hiking the Inca Trail into Machu Picchu. We also enjoyed the amazing artifacts displayed in the historic First Nations Gallery.  On the top floor there is a cafe with views over the city where we had lunch 

The entrance to the Machu Picchu exhibit was
very dramatic.

This beautiful bowl illustrated the history of 
the supernatural Inca hero, Ai Apaec. Many
of the pieces chosen for this show involved
his story.

I simply loved this piece.

There was a lot of fabulous gold and silver pieces

 

A view of the city from the rooftop cafe at the
Australian Museum.

The beautiful First Nations Gallery

At the latter we toured a variety of ships anchored there - first, the replica of the Duyfken, the Dutch trading vessel that in 1606 "discovered" Australia (for Europeans). This small crude ship had voyages that boggle the mind and the replica itself has been sailed as far as Amsterdam in this present day. It takes paying crew around the Pacific and it fact was leaving on a trip the following day. Our volunteer guide said, "We have room for two more if you'd like to join us!". No way - you sleep on the deck and I can't imagine how people lived for months on board, let along a week. Our next vessel was a big change, the submarine "Onslow". I'm more than a bit claustrophobic and it was a challenge for me to tour it. On our way down the steep ladder a man panicked below and we had to go up and let him get out. He looked white! I should have turned around. But I managed, although I had to be helped through the small round access passages between compartments. 

The Duyfken

One of the many small hatches between cabins
that Scott and I found very hard to manage.

I am horrified at the thought of living in these
tiny narrow rooms and this one was for 
officers!

The larger sturdier deck of the Endeavor

The last ship we visited was the replica of Captain James Cook's Endeavor, a much sturdier and bigger ship than the Duyfken and it too takes paying crew and passengers on voyages. Although vastly more comfortable than the earlier ship, you still sleep in hammocks (better than on the deck I guess) and for this (and working) you pay $3,000. And for most of the floor below the deck, Scott had to do on his knees and I had to bend over in half. But they have no problem getting volunteers!

Our room at the hotel

Our hotel, the Sydney Boulevard was great and centrally located. We were able to walk down to the harbor, and it was right on the bus line. They didn't have a restaurant but there were lots of them within blocks. We found our favorite breakfast cafe, Bohaus, and became (temporary) regulars. But our room was very comfortable, and the staff were very nice. 

But our stay in Sydney was over and the next morning we "boarded" our cruise ship. But more about that in my next post, which will be in Auckland.