01/08/12-01/09/12 Sydney

 2 lovely days in Sydney. The first day we poked around at the QVB (Queen Victoria Building) and the Rocks area. The second day we ferried to Manly and enjoyed the beach. I had all sorts of things planned that involved walking, but my limited mobility kept us from doing most of them.

The boat’s shuttle dropped us at the QVB, so it became the center of Sydney to us. It is this magnificent old building that became derelict in the 60s and was saved and restored by a Malaysian businessman to its former splendor. It houses a lot of upscale shopping and restaurants, with everyday stores (such as the one that cut Rick’s hair) on the lower levels. As you can see from the picture, the stained glass and tile work is excellent, but perhaps the most amazing feature is the clock, which handles time and date, as well as gives a history of Australia by land and sea.

Taking the free green 555 bus, we wandered down to Circular Quay and The Rocks. I was having a pizza craving and we found a wonderful little pizza place that seated about 20 and had some of the best pizza and beer we’ve ever tasted—probably not that good, but having gone without for some time, it tasted wonderful. We did a little shopping, sent some postcards and went back to the ship.

The ship has a shore excursion tonight to the opera house for almost $400. Would love to see the production, but that seemed a little steep. We went to the opera house on our last visit, so we skipped this one. Instead, we ate on the back deck and enjoyed the skyline of Sydney after dark.

Yesterday we hopped on a ferry at Circular Quay and enjoyed Sydney’s best harbor cruise—the $13 round-trip ferry trip to Manly. The beach town was abuzz with activity—the Australian Open for surfing was scheduled to start this weekend and last for a week. The town was filled with well-tanned, good looking 20-somethings. The water was filled with surfers and the day was absolutely perfect—mid 70s and sunny. I sat on the beach watching the surfers and beautiful people, while Rick hiked around the shore a couple miles. After watching for a long period of time, I can definitely say that I have NO idea what makes the perfect wave!

On our way back to the ferry we stopped at the local pie shop for lunch. Rick had mushy peas, mashed potatoes and beef, while I had chicken, asparagus and brie. They were wonderful and less than half the price we paid for lunch at The Rocks yesterday. We then discovered Royal Copenhagen ice cream—really good!

As we sailed back into Circular Quay, we watched the bridge climbers and wished it could have been us—next time….

Brisbane tomorrow!