We arrived in Sydney Harbor around 7Am on our ship. It was a very pretty entrance. We passed the Opera house and went under the historic bridge and left the ship for good and went to our hotel. We went to a big name hotel expecting great things there, but we a little disappointed. The public areas were a little odd but in very good condition, but the rooms seemed like they were from the 1970's. However, it was ok. We learned that they plan to renovate the rooms later in the year by shutting down for a few months, which is probably what it would take to avoid irritating a lot of customers.
After checking in we walked to the Opera House and took a tour that was very good. It was the last one for the day or close to that as we thought it would be interesting to see the place in the dark if we could find dinner. They allow photography in areas where they are not set up for a performance and there were lots of interesting spots.
We had dinner at a superb restaurant that is right at the opera house. We learned that there is a video show on surfaces of the opera house at night- two performances and we were told where to stand to get a good view. It was worth the wait for the show. It was a spectacular series of moving and evolving images of aboriginal art and stories.
The next day we visited the main art museum. It was a bit crowded, but not bad and a great view of lots of art of various origins, but we mostly wanted to see aboriginal art. There were lots of examples. The Brisbane Museum was very good and this one was as well.
It rained a bit in the afternoon as we walked back to the hotel. We took a taxi to a restaurant area in the early evening and then walked back to the hotel in the evening.
The next day we took a ferry to the Zoo. There was a huge line of people waiting to ride the skyway to the top and we were unhappy about that and concluded there must be another way up. We met an old woman who was there to aid visitors and she said we could take a bus. Apparently, one is supposed to pay for all this a head of time, but the bus driver let us go for free. We found people were very understanding of tourists who are not familiar with the systems. The zoo was very nice, but we were both a bit tired of crowds - it was a holiday season- and Summer too! We got to see more of the unusual ( to us) animals of Australia.
Janet went further on the ferry to a beach area while Jim went back to the city to walk around more. He discovered some intersting shops and Victoria Mall or market. It was built long ago in Victoria's period, and has a very pleasant old time feel. There is one shop for someone who makes shirt collars. Most other shops are more modern styles. Its a beautiful old building that has been well maintained and carefully updated to keep the old charm.
It was around this time that we changed our flights home. Knowing that Ziggy was not doing well and being tired of traveling, we changed flights. Our original plan was to go to Hawaii for 2 nights and see a little and break up the flights, but we chaged it to go to Honolulu and then catch a flight after a few hour layover to New York.
Our last day is spent mostly walking in an area where galleries are located. Some were open, some
not. Those that were open were interesting. We walked and it was a bit hot. We took a break for light food and drink, but Janet took a mis- step on a hard- to- see step and fell, but, fortunately wasn't seriously hurt- just shaken up. We found a book store and had coffee and then took a taxi back to town and then walked to the hotel.
The next day was a bit rainy, but we went to see a few places near the hotel and in the afternoon we flew to Honolulu and then New York where we rented a car and drove to the veterinarian's office to see Zoe and Ziggy and see that Ziggy was suffering and we had to let him depart.
We got home and found it in good condition. We replaced the 35 year old furnace last fall and it seemed to have kept the place warm! We came from middle of Summer to middle of Winter and that transition is a bit hard to deal with.
The next day we visited the main art museum. It was a bit crowded, but not bad and a great view of lots of art of various origins, but we mostly wanted to see aboriginal art. There were lots of examples. The Brisbane Museum was very good and this one was as well.
The next day we took a ferry to the Zoo. There was a huge line of people waiting to ride the skyway to the top and we were unhappy about that and concluded there must be another way up. We met an old woman who was there to aid visitors and she said we could take a bus. Apparently, one is supposed to pay for all this a head of time, but the bus driver let us go for free. We found people were very understanding of tourists who are not familiar with the systems. The zoo was very nice, but we were both a bit tired of crowds - it was a holiday season- and Summer too! We got to see more of the unusual ( to us) animals of Australia.
It was around this time that we changed our flights home. Knowing that Ziggy was not doing well and being tired of traveling, we changed flights. Our original plan was to go to Hawaii for 2 nights and see a little and break up the flights, but we chaged it to go to Honolulu and then catch a flight after a few hour layover to New York.
Our last day is spent mostly walking in an area where galleries are located. Some were open, some
The next day was a bit rainy, but we went to see a few places near the hotel and in the afternoon we flew to Honolulu and then New York where we rented a car and drove to the veterinarian's office to see Zoe and Ziggy and see that Ziggy was suffering and we had to let him depart.
We got home and found it in good condition. We replaced the 35 year old furnace last fall and it seemed to have kept the place warm! We came from middle of Summer to middle of Winter and that transition is a bit hard to deal with.
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