Travels with Irene

 I reached the mid-point of my Grand Adventure on our two-day stay in Sydney, Australia.  The night before our arrival, I took a few moments to reflect on how I was doing after more than two months away from home.   Every day is still exciting, and I wake up wondering what I’ll see, do, and learn whether on land or sea.  I hope at the end of this journey, I will be able to articulate the effects of this trip on me, my view of the world, and my life-journey. 

There are many ways to “see” a new port.  We decided we did not want to take a tour bus throughout the area, seeing city highlights with brief stops.  Instead, we decided to explore on our own, focusing on one small area and trying to experience it in-depth.  During two days, we walked 9.5 miles, climbed over 400 stair-steps, and took the Light Rail transit system, a shuttle, and Uber rides multiple times each.  And all this to get to know just two adjoining neighborhoods near the Sydney Harbor – Circular Quay and The Rocks.

Our ship arrived in Sydney Harbor at 6:00am Saturday March 7.  The bow on Deck 4 had been opened so we could watch the ship approach the Opera House and go under the Harbor Bridge with only feet to spare.  The crew provided coffee, juice, and “Sydney rolls” for us to enjoy as we watched the lighted skyline and traveled a few more miles to our docking spot.

A few hours later, we took the ship’s shuttle to its drop off-point near the center of the city just a block away from the famed QVB (Queen Victoria Building).  What a stately old building, a masterpiece of intricate Victorian architecture covering an entire city block!  Once the location of a famers’ market, this grand building was built in the late 1800s, and refurbished and restored in 1986 and 2009.  

We stepped inside, and looked upward into a dome of stained-glass windows.  Five stories of shops and restaurants surrounded a central courtyard highlighted by the Great Australian Clock. A choir of tourists, dressed in native costumes from some Asian country, serenaded us as we walked past the shops.

Since we had an afternoon appointment for an architectural tour of the famed Sydney Opera House, we started walking through Hyde Park.  We stopped to visit the Anzac Memorial with its Pool of Reflection which honors all Australian and New Zealand soldiers who have died in war.  Special commemorative ceremonies are held here each April 25 on Anzac Day (Australian New Zealand Army Corps).  

Due to heat, humidity, and tired legs, we decided to take the Light Rail the rest of the way to Circular Quay, the harbor neighborhood where the Opera House was located.  We really didn’t know what we were doing, but watched the others at the tracks waiting to get on.  All they did was tap a credit card onto a box fastened to a pole near the track.   One lady saw our hesitation and told us that’s all we had to do, but to make sure to tap our card again when we got off or we would be billed for the entire distance of the rail system!   

The car was packed, and our private space wasn’t very private as people jammed on!  One young man got up from his seat and motioned to me to take it!  What a relief!  Interestingly, when I got back to the ship that evening, I checked my credit card and the 10-minute ride cost just $.71 which is 1 Australian dollar! 

We got off at the Circular Quay stop and walked on the waterfront promenade, watching ferries going in and out of the harbor, seeing both the Harbor Bridge and the Opera House, and looking for a Fish ‘n Chips restaurant.  We found one! 

We headed towards the Opera House for the tour. As you can see, the roof of the Opera House looks like sails, 14 shells actually that form a design that has become a symbol of Sydney.  These shells are all parts of a sphere, and the architectural history of this building turned what seemed to be an impossible design to build into a safe, stunning building. 

The “sails” are covered with over a million cream and white tiles that are glazed so that they shed the rain water that flows over them.  What a natural cleaning system!   The building is cooled by sea water and has no gutters so the rain water goes back into the sea.   

The tour lasted 75 minutes, and we were told we had climbed up and gone down 300 stair-steps during that time.  My legs felt that!  So, to avoid unnecessary walking, we scheduled an Uber to take us back to the Volendam.

I thought our day of tourism was ended, but 30 minutes after our return, my niece suggested we go back to town to see the city at night on a cruise of the harbor!  I’m not a spontaneous person and I was really tired, but somehow that adventure appealed to me!  She found a 2-hour harbor cruise starting in just an hour.

The quickest way back to Circular Quay was another 20-minute Uber ride.  By the time we were dropped of as near to the dock as the driver could go, we barely had time to walk the few blocks, get our ticket and go onboard. 

And guess what?  That spontaneous adventure became one of the favorite memories of my trip.  The sight of the Opera House and Harbor Bridge all dressed in lights – the feel of the light rain on my face while we stood on the outside upper deck – the yummy charcuterie board “dinner” –  the sense of contentment and peace while looking over the harbor in the stillness of the night – the mad dash in the rain afterwards to find the Light Rail station – finding our way from the Light Rail exit to the ship’s shuttle bus a few blocks away – arriving home close to 11:00pm –-  I decided I liked this night of adventuresome spontaneity! 

We spent our second Sydney day in the neighborhood next to Circular Quay called The Rocks.  This section, close to the harbor, was named after the rocky, sand-stone terrain where the settlers, convicts, and sailors established their first colony.  And it is the area where the iconic Harbor Bridge connects Sydney’s central business district to North Sydney.

As we walked up a rather steep hill into the shopping area of this neighborhood, we found out that it was Sunday Market Day.  Both sides of the old, narrow streets were filled with vendor tents selling artisan jewelry, handmade clothing items, and art work.  We meandered along the streets, stopping to look and admire and shop a bit!  A small passageway between two buildings caught our attention, so we walked through it, and found one of the original rock walls of this area.      

My niece and I had decided that a really memorable thing to do in Sydney would be to walk across the Harbor Bridge, the world’s largest steel-arch bridge.  I had seen this bridge from various vantage points, and now I would be able to see it up close and personal!

At first, I was rather intimidated by this goal, but I decided to give it a try.  First, we had to find the entrance to the pedestrian walkway that would be next to the lanes of traffic and the railroad line crossing the bridge.  Using the phone GPS, asking questions of some locals, and climbing lots of stairs, we finally got to an elevator that would take us to the pedestrian entrance.

As I began my trek across the approach span of the bridge, I was so excited that I was attempting this challenge.  When I got to the actual beginning of the bridge, I kept looking up at the enormous structure, the steel beams and the arch. What a marvel of engineering! 

There were eight lanes for cars, a railway track, a bicycle path on the west side, and the pedestrian path along the east side.  The pedestrian sidewalk was protected from the traffic by concrete barriers and metal mesh fencing. 

What a beautiful panoramic view of the neighborhoods below and the Opera House in the distance.  I loved this Sunday afternoon walk!  The height didn’t bother me at all, and the breeze was refreshing on this hot, humid day.  By the time I had gotten 2/3 of the way across, I knew it was time to turn around and head back.  I walked the return trip a bit slower because I was tired.

We found a roof-top restaurant for a quick, late lunch and took a final picture under the bridge before we headed back to the Light Rail and then the shuttle to our ship.

I celebrated the two wonderful days in Sydney by finishing a very hard puzzle in the game room after dinner that night with my niece.  I had purchased this round, 1000-piece puzzle in Auckland New Zealand to add to the ship’s supply of puzzles. 

So what will I remember the most about Sydney?  Seeing the two iconic symbols of Sydney close up – the Opera House and the Harbor Bridge.  The fun of using the Light Rail system.  The spontaneity of our evening cruise in the harbor.    

And I was left with a desire to spend a few weeks here sometime in the future to explore the rest of this city and surrounding area.