Bridge Down Under

My Ship In Sydney Harbour

I awoke my first morning in Sydney and walked out my balcony to see the famous Harbour Bridge on my left and the Opera house on the right.  This was one of the many unexpected spectacular treats that I have been privileged to enjoy on my trip.

Incidentally I got to cross over the bridge by foot as well as attend the Opera the barber of Seville.  My first Opera.  I bought obstructed seats as I am on a bit of a budget and they turned out to be great.

Sydney reminds me a bit of New York.  Wandering around the city I went to a high fashion mall under the Sydney Tower.  Seattle, Auckland and Sydney all have these space needle type towers.

There are many designer high end designer boutiques at the mall from all over the world.  Included are such Australian designers as Zimmerman and Tiger Lilly.

Oyster Bar At Mall

Besides the fabulous stores at the mall under the tower there was also  food court which included sushi bars, oyster bars, gourmet sandwiches and salads and cooked food for take home.

Savory Pies

 Being a port city.  Seafood is very popular including mussels and oysters.






You also can get the traditional fair of savory pies including, meat and cheese, chicken and mushroom, lamb curry and vegetarian. 

 And don't forget a little chocolate.  Australians are very in to Chocolate.  They both make their own and import it.  There are several chocolate oriented restaurants including Max Brenners.

Adjacent to the mall was an outdoor mall pedestrian mall and off that mall were a number of arcades.  One of them reminds me of the arcades in downtown Cleveland.

Turkish Ping Pong Friends at Pedestrian Mal

On my first day, I incidentally bumped into my two Turkish friends from the cruise.  It is amazing how many times I have bumped into people I have known on my trip.

Sydney has one of the most beautiful harbors in the world.  There is an area called Darling Harbor.

It is a very touristy area that includes museums, IMAX theater, restaurants and an aquarium which I attended.   There is a monorail that connects Darling Harbor with the rest of the city. 

The Aquarium includes indigenous sea life, penguins and is complete with a walk beneath shark tank. 
 

There were a few tanks with  illuminated Jelly Fish which looked like pieces of art. 

Ferry

One day I took a ferry across the bay to Luna Park, a famous amusement park and then walked across the Harbour Bridge.

Luna Park

Luna Park was closed the day I went and had to sneak around a bit to take pictures.  They eventually kicked me out.

 On the other side there was more of a village feeling.  I spotted a bunch of young girls in uniform, that I assumed worked at some attraction.  They actually were school girls in uniform, that look like they are from the turn of the century.  Australia, still has a lot of old world charm and customs. 

View of Sydney From my Walk on Harbour Bridge