Day 3 - A Tourist in Sydney

The Harbour Bridge from the Royal Botanic Gardens

So today I got to be a tourist in Sydney and fortunately for me, it was a gorgeous day. Although I had already been here a day and a half, I hadn't seen Sydney's most famous sights yet. So I set off this morning to correct that. It's about a 20 minute walk from my hotel to the harbor, but it was such a crisp morning the walk felt good. I got my first glimpse of the famous Harbour Bridge through some skyscrapers near the water, but I went in search of a better view and found it in the Royal Botanic Gardens. It was indeed a breathtaking view. The harbor was very busy with ferries making their way back and forth between both sides of the city.

From the same vantage point, I got my very first sight of the Sydney Opera House. For me, anyway, when I see an iconic building for the first time, a wave of both awe and satisfaction washes over me. This was certainly true this morning, but seeing it from the land side and back-lit by the morning sun was not the truly overwhelming experience I had expected. That was yet to come.

Because it was Saturday morning, (yes, dear reader, I am a day ahead of you) I wanted to see the weekly Market on the Rocks, a kind of crafts fair. On a street leading up to the base of the harbor bridge, both sides are lined with stalls of people selling the usual craftsy things. To be honest, it was a bit disappointing. Once one reached the top of the street, however, the reward was worth it. From a point jutting out into the harbor, one has a completely unobstructed view of the Opera House in all its glory! That's when I had the full-blown experience.

Sydney Opera House

I took way too many pictures, but I was so taken by the beauty of this building. As the architect hoped it would, one (or at least I did) has a feeling that the building and the land it sits on could, at any moment, break off from the mainland and begin sailing across the harbor. There's a nice park nearby and I just sat for a while and stared across the water at this marvel of architecture.

As you probably can guess, everything else I saw today never going to get the same reaction. Still, there were other sights to see! I next went to Darling Harbour, another branch of Sydney Harbor. There's a long promenade there and the water bustles with ferries and tour boats leave every few minutes. The promenade is lined with restaurants and one has the choice of countless cuisines. Because it is an immigrant city, Sydney's food scene is amazingly diverse. (More on that to come) One of the most prominent immigrant groups is the Greeks who came here in large numbers in the 50's and 60's. And, as Greeks invariably do, they open restaurants. So the visitor to Sydney who enjoys Greek food has a wide variety of options to choose from. That's why George's Mediterranean Cuisine called out to me like a Siren for a nice little lunch of grilled octopus and chick peas and a nice Greek salad. Lucky for you, my phone battery ran out at this point. Opa!

It's time to say a word about jet lag. The 20+ hour flight is grueling enough, but the jet lag may be even worse. I arrived feeling OK, not great, but I did get close to 8 hours sleep on the plane. The first night I literally passed out at 8:30 p.m., one minute I was watching TV, the next I was unconscious. I woke up at 2:30 a.m. and could not fall back to sleep. I probably tossed and turned for a good two hours before I finally fell asleep again. I slept then until about 6:30, but then it was over. Because I had to be at Rosebank at 9:30, I didn't want to take a chance. The bottom line is, that by 2:00 in the afternoon, I was beat and needed a nap. That's pretty much been the pattern.