3/5 - Sydney
After a quick breakfast at Starbucks across the street from the hotel, we
were picked up by a van for a transfer to the bus station. The bus we took
provided a day tour of Sydney harbor and its environs. The temperature was
20° and the sky a brilliant blue, perfect for a day of sightseeing.
The tour included a park with a view of the harbor, and another of the beaches
northwest of the city. Although the driver did provide some interesting historical
tidbits, the main commentary seemed to be about the real estate prices of
each of the neighborhoods we drove through.
The bus dropped us off at South Quay,
where we boarded a boat (Captain
Cook Cruises) for a luncheon cruise around the harbor. Awesome views
slightly outweighed the awful food.
Returning to South Quay, we decided to skip the afternoon bus tour and opted
to walk through the nearby Sydney botanic garden. In addition to the interesting
assortment of unusual trees, some of which were adorned with flying foxes
(bats), there was an unexpected sense of peace and quiet in the middle of
the country's largest city.
We also walked through the nearby section of town called The Rocks, combining trendy shops and
restraurants with constant access to the harbor and its views, somewhat similar
to Baltimore's Inner Harbor.
As we returned to the hotel, we also did some shopping for opals, of which
Australia is the main source. We found a reputable store called Gemex Opal
Jewellers on George Street, with staff patient enough to convince us
that the earrings we settled on were worth the price we were paying.
Back at the hotel, we asked the conceirge for a nearby informal and quiet
restaurant. What we got, The Waterfront
in The Rocks, was nearby, but it was also expensive and noisy, with only mediocre
food.