Sydney, Beautiful Sydney!

My first glimpse of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House was from the air as we flew into Sydney - they appeared as beautiful, scale models of these iconic structures, that everyone in the world recognizes.

Since our flight from Hervey Bay and Brisbane didn't connect with the flight to LAX, we had to spend the night in Sydney - cool, huh?  It was quite a treat, for sure!

We got into Sydney at noon, checked into a hotel at the airport, got on the bus, and headed into circular quay, where the bridge, the Opera house and botanical gardens are located, as well as the rest of downtown Sydney.  It was great to take the bus in, as we got to travel through the neighborhoods, into downtown.  We saw lots of neat architecture along the way.  It was a beautiful, clear, warm day, and it was like a dream, to finally be going to Sydney!  Of course, Lee has been there many times, but this was my first trip, and you're right, it won't be the last! 

The beautiful Sydney Harbour Bridge on a perfect day!

Proof!  We're REALLY here!!

There's that amazing Opera House. 

Lee with the Opera House

Ok, I can tell you right now, you're going to get sick of pictures of the Opera House, although, clearly, we didn't!

This shot was taken from the steps of the Opera House.  We had lunch on the water at the restaurant with those white umbrellas that you can see in front of the city scape.

Some of the Opera House structure, up close

This is one of the fan-shaped sections, where you can see the individual tiles

And at a distance - isn't it striking!  We kept thinking of our friend John, who is an architect!

One of the ferries, coming into the harbour, and of course, the bridge.

More Opera House!  Don't worry - you're going to see it from every possible angle!

Isn't this spectacular?

The Opera House with the city behind it

Lee got this shot as we were heading into the Botanical Gardens

There were dozens of cockatiels in the botanical gardens.  They are grazing quietly here, but later they were flying around and screeching!  They are very loud, grumpy birds!

The gardens with the city in the background

The Opera House and Harbour Bridge from the walk around the waterfront

And another one!  I'm sure there's something different about this shot.....

There were a lot of stone overhangs along the walkway

Here's Lee, under another one

Another great shot of the bridge

Make this picture bigger, and read the inscription over the bench

This was an amazing tree with the most incredible, huge root system that we'd ever seen!

See how big they are?

Here's Lee, standing in what could be a small room!

And after our picture-taking, we discovered this "resident" in one of the root spaces - YIKES!  By the way, Australia has HUGE spiders!

The Harbour Bridge with the Opera House, heading towards sunset

This was another interesting tree, with lots of hanging roots - or root "wannabes"

Sydney

And again with the bridge and Opera House!

Downtown, seen from the Botanical Gardens

Here is another tree, with a huge, bulbous trunk

If you expand this picture, you can see what kind of a tree it is

An IBIS bird!  There were lots of them, all around the gardens.  They have amazing, huge curved beaks!

Cockatiels, resting on a sculpture

One of the many gorgeous sculptures in the gardens

The beautiful pond

The pond and I.

The pond, scuptures and reflections

This is a shot of the back of the Opera House.  We were walking back from the gardens, and the sun was beginning to set, making a golden relfection on the windows.

Ok, make this picture bigger - the little figures you see at the top, and to the left of the picture are people walking across the top of the bridge!  We're definitely going to do that next time!

The Sydney Opera House as the sun is beginning to set

Like most cities, you can find entertainment along the waterfront.  Here's a fellow playing the didgeriedoo!  He was making the most amazing sounds with it.

There are lots of ferries departing from the harbour there.  You can go to Bondi Beach, Manly, the zoo, etc.

Another shot of the waterfront, with the pink-tinged sky

The Opera House at dusk

We had dinner at a great Irish pub in the Rocks district.  The Rocks is where the first ships from England unloaded their convict passenters, and the city of Sydney was begun.

It was a quick but fabulous visit to Sydney!  I have a whole list of things to do the next time, including a tour of the Opera House and seeing a performance there.  Sydney is such a beautiful city, with lots of green space and friendly people.  We are looking forward to exploring the city in depth on our next visit!