Friday - Homeward Bound

 It's a weird one as we arrive home before we leave Sydney... with the time change that is:-) 

Up early as I hit the shower and then did the coffee thing while Kelly took her turn. We had the bags mostly packed last night so it was last minute toiletry items to pack up.

I called down for a luggage cart (twice) and they eventually showed up. We loaded the cart up and headed to the ground floor as our Uber driver was already downstairs waiting for us. Bags loaded we departed at 8 a.m.  sharp for the International Terminal. 

Twenty two minutes later we were in front of Terminal 1 for our discounted Uber ride of $41....  not bad at all!

Bag drop was easy and straight forward and then through security with a short hold up as they needed to check Kelly's circular knitting needles. Next Kelly got in the huge line for the TRS (Tax Refund Scheme). It was packed and took an hour to get her $71 in taxes back... oh well lots of time so well worth it.

 Off to the gate area and, after waiting because of construction at the gate, we boarded our flight. We pushed out of the gate early at 11:07 local time and airborne at 11:33! 

We had a mostly smooth flight but because of the departure time, we really didn't sleep much, maybe an hour or two total. Watched movies etc.

The fellow sitting next to me has a cruise booked on Celebrity Edge (doing part of the reposition to Hawaii next April) so I filled him in on our experience. Bottom line: He will like it!

We touched down in rainy Vancouver at 06:22 local Friday Morning (yes back in time:-) and then cleared customs & immigration and on to our short flight over to Victoria. Had a chat with our pilot & drank coffee until departure.  It was a bit late but on arrival we were greeted with a welcome party in Harper & Rory holding a "Welcome Home" sign along with Lauren, Kyle and Kris (our Uber). Kelly was tearing up.

Collected our bags and loaded up the Kia EV9 for the final leg of our trip home. In the door at 10:25 local. 

What a trip! Met lots of great people & saw a lot of the country over our stay... and walked a lot!! Hope you all enjoyed coming along for the ride!

Thursday - Sydney Day 4

Kelly was up early and on her way for coffee as I laid in bed checking e-mails.  Coffee was then delivered bedside! (Yes I am smart:-) Nice start to our last full day in Sydney.

Some Facetime with our grandchildren this morning created a few laughs.. . looking forward to seeing them soon! I also completed our ArriveCan application that makes our declaration into Canada complete.

My backpack loaded, we headed off across Prymont Bridge to the fish market. It was only about a 15 minute walk before we arrived at one of the entrances. Kelly was a bit freaking out at first, thinking it was private property but we soon found the main area. 

Some large Pelicans waiting for something to fall off a pallet...

 

We found the main market and it as amazing! There were several fishmongers and lots of takeaway restaurants as well. A huge variety of everything but sadly too early in the day for lunch. 

 

The whole area looks a bit dated and so they are in the process of building a huge new fish market. It will feature all modern construction and give the fisherman a great place to sell their catch and a great place for locals and tourists to visit. It will be fantastic once completed. 

New market under construction.

We decided to continue our walk and headed over to Waterfront Park where we enjoyed the views and grabbed another geocache. It was a bit of a tricky one but we got lucky and figured it out. A shipload of sugar was leaving the dock across from the park so we watched that for a while. I was also having some data issues with my phone so we stopped and got that sorted out. 

Time was marching along so we returned to the fish market and had lunch. It was a far busier place now as everyone in Sydney was looking to do the same!  We picked a variety of items and ate them out on the dock. We could watch the ongoing construction of the new fish market. It will be amazing once done. 

We walked back towards the Prymont bridge, stopping to see the huge construction going on for the underground subway system being developed. They were tunneling 40 meters down and the dirt was brought up to the surface and then loaded on trucks and sent out to stockpile points elsewhere. 

Quarryman's Hotel est1913

 

Once again we returned to the upper deck of the Prymont Hotel and enjoyed a beverage or two... hey we were walking by! Probably the most visited drinking establishment we have used in Sydney this trip 😂 Kelly downloaded our boarding passes for our Air Canada flights home and sent me mine... I'm all set if I lose her! She also pre-ordered an extra large uber for the morning for $47 (she had a discount coupon! That's my girl!)

We wandering over to Tumbalong Park and grabbed another geocache then walked down to the end and there it was.. the Paddy Market! So close too! We wandered around a bit more and found the Power House Museum but it was closed and under a huge renovation. 

We did manage to find a great geocache that incorporated a hidden lift within a sign.  We love these ingenious ones! George would have like it!

Look... Gelato! Yes we stopped an had a cup of this great treat which, on a hot day like today, sure hit the spot!

We went back to the hotel to relax and then start the packing procedure everything This consists of getting everything Kelly has purchased into my bags. 

 

Clothes planning consists of what we will wear on the plane and what we will need in Victoria once we arrive home (5°C) The rest gets packed. So three bags x 50 lbs plus Kelly's two carry on's packed to the gunnels and my old flight bag which is now my carry on and a backpack with the rest of Kelly's stuff. No problem she says!  

 

We decided to go to the roof top bar at the hotel called Zephyr and enjoy our last sunset in Sydney. It was a nice end to a great vacation.

 

 

Last bit of packing and it was lights out for us. Tomorrow: Trip to the airport and we head back home.

 

Steps - 16,700

Wednesday - Sydney Day 3

 Kelly had a good sleep last night so that was a plus... a few sleepless nights lately for her so she needed it.

She showered while I ran across the street and grabbed a couple coffees and croissants from the Victoria University Campus. Very good!

We walked up to George Street and caught the tram down to Chinatown (this took 3 minutes). Once there, we both forgot to tap off... yep two wanted criminals and it wasn't even 10 a.m.!!

 We easily found the Paddy Market but didn't realize the basement was were all the action was. Once down there, well it was mayhem at the market. Couple shirts for the wee ones back home and some other stuff.  Kelly said the magic words “ok.. I’m done!”  Funny thing.. I said the same when we walked in!

Kelly joined the scrum.

 I eventually found a fish market and took a couple pics of the latest catch! Lots to choose from.

We went for a walk around the area and noticed lots of restaurants that looked interesting. We had forgotten to tap off the tram so we went back to the tram spot we got off and did it anyway. Not sure what will happen as my card was "declined" but Kelly's worked. ?

 Not to be outsmarted by a tap machine, I pulled out card #2 and tapped back on, this time we headed east to Randwick station for a look see.  We went past the big sports arena at Sydney Cricket grounds and Allianz Stadium and then the horse race track at Royal Radwick before getting off at the end of the line. It has a University & hospital kind of vibe to it. 

We walked into the main part of town and spotted a Church that looked interesting... in we went of course. It was The Lady Of The Sacred Heart Church & Shrine.

A house I liked.

 

We continued our walk around town and ended up at the Coach & Horses Hotel for lunch which consisted of fish & chips and cold beer & wine. We watched some sports betting races on the telly. 

We then walked back to the tram and grabbed the 2 p.m. departure back towards town. (My Card #1 worked this time!) We went to the end and got off at Circular Quay. We then jumped on the ferry over to Milsons Point Wharf and got off and walked into Luna Park. This was like a mini Playland but only had limited rides available.. it's a weekend thing we are told. The trip was quick & easy with tap on tap off... when you do it :-) 

We strolled the waterfront and climbed the pathway to a geocache up the hill. Spectacular views from above. 

 

Trip under the bridge.

 

Pick up at McMahons Point.

We walked around the point to McMahons Point and jumped on the ferry to Barangaroo.  This brought us to the very busy Darling Harbour. We stopped at Bungalow 8 for a beverage.  The stops along the waterfront were busy with people preparing to go on the event cruise boats. Some beautifully dressed people out for the evening. 

As this place was quite expensive (no happy hour!!) we walked down the wharf to "Cargo" where they had a burger & beer for $25. In we went and found a relatively quiet corner in the shade to relax and have our dinner. It was good.

Back to the hotel where we prepped for our evening out… Martini Bar? No…. Eden? No.  It was off to Saint Mary’s Cathedral to listen to a recital. They have music from Hungary and Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 being played on the huge pipe organ. We weren’t too sure of what to expect but when we saw the huge pipes we thought this was a great opportunity to hear them. 

 

Our view tonight.

Organ

On our way home I took this shot.

 

We walked back to our hotel and got ready for bed. Exhausted again! 

Tomorrow - Fish Market and ???

Steps - 17,500

Tuesday - Sydney Day 2

After our lazy evening last night we got up around 7:30 and prepped for the day.

First was a walk down to the waterfront to Adria's for a Flat White coffee and some breakfast. It was so good Kelly ordered a second FW! One issue that these restaurants along the shoreline deal with daily is the seagulls raiding food off the tables. They have devised a plan to put a squirt bottle with "eco friendly liquid" (water) on each table so customers can squirt the birds accordingly.

 

Kelly takes aim!

 

Unfortunately the weather was overcast with light drizzle so we decided to do the Australian Museum this morning. We grabbed a geocache up on the bridge and then headed east towards Hyde Park.

 

The walk did not take very long as it just seems like everything is "closer" now. Perhaps it's because we know our way around? Not sure?

 

Our first stop was the Australia Museum and it was very good. Free entry as well! We roamed the various levels and halls that connected through the different sections. Animals, insects, birds and dinosaurs along with native art and history. There was also a good exhibition of people that made significant contributions to the development of the country. Below are just some pictures of the many displays.

 

 After our museum visit, we walked over to Saint Mary’s Cathedral that was next door (sort of). We had seen this building back in 2018 when we visited the city but this was our chance to view the inside. This big cathedrals seldom disappoint.

We grabbed another geocache on the way towards our next spot, the Anzac Memorial in Hyde Park. This was being renovated in 2018 but had since reopened. Cathy had mentioned that it was avery good display and she was correct! We visited the various levels with the first floor featuring an amazing collection of materials from all periods of war and peace. We roamed through the corridors reading the various explanations of the displays.

Just a portion of the dirt samples from all places in Australia

 

We spoke with several people that worked there and they all agreed it was an incredible display. A must see if in Sydney. 

 

Once finished, we came outside to glorious sunshine and grabbed a couple more geocaches in the area. We walked over to the Queen Victoria Building and looked at the shops located on several floors. It is a beautiful building I will say... and yes the Christmas decorations really set Kelly off!

 

 

Elf with tree.

We wandered the streets for another 20 minutes and decided to stop at the Edinburgh Castle Pub for some liquid sustenance. It was tasty to say the least.

 

We continued our walk about the area and ended up back at the foreshore in Darling Harbour. We walked around the Cockle Bay area and looked at the progress of the construction we saw last month before the cruise. 

 

 

Prymont Bridge footings.

 Look the Pyrmont Bridge Hotel I shouted!!...  and they serve beer & wine! Lucky us as we checked the step counter... yep we deserved it. 

 

We decided to have an early dinner and then retire back to the hotel. A quick search put us into the basement of a building with Coles where we found Jumbo Thai. We ordered from the small establishment and enjoyed a very good meal. It was a bit spicy from what we are used to but we managed. A walk across the Prymont Bridge and we were back at our hotel exhausted. 

 

Tomorrow we will check out the Paddy Market and maybe the fish market... not sure yet.

 

Steps - 18,300