We were up bright and early Saturday morning and sat around discussing our plans for the day. Rachel had invited Mike (her father), sister Vivian & husband over for dinner. We had met Vivian & Patrick when they visited us in Tucson last January 2015.
However, Rachel wanted to show us the bus & train route to the harbor area before the dinner. She had purchased an OPAL fare card that is used on the train, bus & ferry system. You scan the card as you enter & exit the mode of transportation & the fare is deducted from the card. The fares are quite reasonable & the public transportation is used heavily.
We arrived at the harbor area & were treated to seeing the Sydney Opera house & Harbor bridge. Since it was a Saturday, the view was shared with us by a horde of people. The crowds were quite well mannered & orderly. There were a lot of tourists as evidenced by the number of cameras. We had both of our cameras going full blast & took a number of photos.
There are numerous outside bars/restaurants along the seawall leading toward the Opera House and they were packed with customers. The majority of the people were nicely dressed with very few in the grunge look. Rachel has a favorite bar & we managed to find a table there. We sat inside since it was hot & sunny. It was very open so it felt like we were outside.
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| Lunch for 3 at Opera House bar |
The views were spectacular so I will let the photos tell the story.
We were worn out after the sightseeing & caught a taxi back to the apt. Rachel began dinner preparation and we enjoyed Happy Hour before our company arrived. The family is separated by about an hours drive shaped like a triangle with Rachel being located in the city, her father in Liverpool and her sister and family in Castle Hill. Patrick attended a day long Rugby International tournament about a 30 minute walk from Rachel’s apt and arrived worn out but happy.
Gerry and her cousins spent the evening talking about family related matters. It was her first time meeting her cousin Mike, the father of Vivian & Rachel. It was a very delightful evening that ran into midnight when everyone thought it was time to call it a day.
Wonderful day. Did you see a group climbing the bridge? When we were there, a few people in our softball group went up the bridge. They loved it. Never for me.
ReplyDeleteYes, we saw the bridge climbers. Not for us at our age, but would have done it many years ago.
DeleteHaving a great time and loving Sydney. Super nice to have friends & relatives here.
Vesa told us there is no parking lots by the Opera House. Mass transportation is used from remote parking lots. We're getting a geography lesson too.
ReplyDeleteVesa neglected to build a parking lot when he worked on the Opera House. Public transportation is great here. We use it about every day. The beer is great also. So far the weather has been very confortable. Warm & dry. Love it.
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