Sydney City

Pyrmont Bridge in motion
Land of Four Seasons - I am not sure if Australia is really called this. After previous day's high temperatures, today the prediction was a pleasant day - ideal for a visit to the city.

Today we had my cousin's family too. As with any Palakkad TamBrahm outing, similar to the previous day, it was a day with packed lunch. That too an elaborate one. We must be carrying 2-3 bags full of eatables. :-P

Parking spaces in all major cities cost you a fortune and Sydney is no different. Being a Sunday, it is cheaper today. Just AUD 30 for whole day!! But we being Indians find alternatives. Why not park in office parking lot for FREE!!

Pyrmont bridge at Darling Harbor was our first spot for the day. You could talk a  tour of the Australian National Maritime Museum and get into one of the warships docked there. We gave it a miss and settled for an early lunch. You see food is the most important part of our outing..

The weather was awesome with cool breeze flowing from the bay. The curd rice and tamarind rice just vanished when clubbed with crispy and spicy potato wafers. In between the Pyrmont bridge had opened and closed a couple of times whenever a slightly bigger boat had to pass by.




Queen Victoria Building
With little kids catching an afternoon nap in the strollers, and the elder ones energetic, we set off for the walk tour of Sydney CBD. The harbour side cafes in Darling Harbour were overflowing with tourists and locals enjoying their Sunday beer. We walked till the famed IMAX Theate which was showing Interstellar. From there we took the walkway over Druitt Street/Cross city tunnel to the Queen Victoria Building.

In layman terms, you can say that QVB, as it is popularly called, is a heritage shopping mall. Heritage building full of shops and cafes. Today's highlight was a huge christmas tree in the atrium all decked up for the festivities. It is called the Swarovski Christmas Tree. You cant really get the whole tree in one frame in your camera. Parts of the tree are visible from different floors of the building.

Sydney Tower Eye
Our next destination was First Fleet Park, a vista point from where you could see the Sydney Opera House. I continued on the walk tour along the George Street leaving the rest of the folks to catch the free-for-all local bus.

Sydney CBD is a mix of heritage and modern architecture. You can see many old British style buildings interspersed with huge modern skyscrapers. It reminded me of the day I walked along Mumbai CBD from Victoria terminus to Nariman Point to Churchgate station.

On the way I got a nice view of Sydney Tower Eye.
First Fleet Park is next to the Circular Quay Ferry Terminal. It is also the International Cruise Passenger Terminal. Here you could see the huge cruise ships docked at few 100 metres away, people standing on the decks and waving at you as they sail away. Does Titanic come to your mind? It certainly did to me.


The Opera House is indeed one of the wonders of the world. It gives a different feel when viewed from far and from near. As you walk towards it and click numerous selfies, you realize its varied looks from various angles. Lack of symmetry sometimes give more scope for photography. :-)

Harbour bridge is yet another architectural marvel. It is iconic, yet comparable to many of its class - Golden Gate Bridge, London Bridge, Howrah Bridge etc. The most famous sight of the Sydney Harbour bridge is the New Year fireworks show. We could see that preparations for that have already begun!

We watched a couple of more cruises sailing away as dusk fell. It is a sight that would remain etched in my memory for a long time, reminding me of a future when I would love to be on one of them.

Our day was not over yet. Back at the Darling Harbour, they have fireworks show every Sunday!! We got back there quickly to rejuvenate our stomachs. Is that really a right figure of speech?

The food court at the Promenade had plenty of choices - surprisingly for Vegetarians too.

We lined up at The Promenade with scores of others and watched the spectacular fireworks show. I was awestruck and wondered what would it be on a New Year Eve.

One more thing added to my wishlist.

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