Day 306: A Tour of Sydney with Local Greg — Another Casual Night At Home
We did a half-day tour of Sydney today.
Our guide Greg picked us up in a van at 9am, We did drive-by’s of several neighborhoods:
Dover Heights
Bondi Beach
Centennial Park area
Surrey Hills
Kings Cross
We got out and walked to Mrs. Macquarie’s Chair and the surrounding area for amazing views of Sydney Opera House.
Greg then dropped us at the Opera House so we could walk around and take a few more pics.
The Opera House is iconic. It feels so familiar — the stock footage representation of Sydney. But at the same time it always represented a far away place that I may or may not ever experience. It was very cool to see in person.
Back in the van we cruised through The Rocks and then were dropped off Darling Harbor near “the ribbon” — a massive new construction project spanning two highway overpasses that will become a hotel plus the world’s largest IMAX screen (12 stories!).
It’s fun rolling through a city with a legit local. Greg had all sorts of insight including a memorable answer to the question of how Sydney compares to Melbourne:
Sydney: the hot friend that doesn’t have to try that hard.
Melbourne: the guy who reads literature, plays guitar, great in the kitchen, multi-talented. But never as dazzling as Sydney.
Lunch was an immediate priority after drop off. Greg mentioned that he and his wife like to go to a Brazilian spot called Braza so we followed their lead.
We sat out on the patio (no other way in Sydney). The food was good. Margaret and I had our first caipirinhas since Brazil and were flooded with great memories. There were some ballsy seagulls and an Ibis who would jump on tables and eat off plates if diners weren’t paying attention. It didn’t happen to us and we were shocked by how chill people were to these creatures stalking their lunch.
After lunch Margaret went to do a little shopping while Lobsy and I took the kids to a big playground in Darling Harbor.
It was inevitable that the kids would make their way to the fountain / splash pools nearby.
I forgot James’s bathing suit so he originally didn’t want to go in. When I convinced him that boxer briefs look just like a bathing suit, he reluctantly agreed — but forced me to hold a towel around him so that “nobody will see me take off my shorts.”
We got an Uber back to Rose Bay. Margaret jumped out at the bottom of our street to grab some ingredients for dinner.
Lobsy and I gushed over our apartment as we walked in. Then Margaret did the same thing when she got back.
We. Love. This. Place.
The kids took showers on their own (a new and amazing development). Lobsy, the kids and I worked on the AUS and NZ puzzle while Margaret made a pad Thai noodle salad for dinner.
A productive day, a relaxing evening and a stunning city.
