Photoblog: Pictures from Sydney

I have recently returned from Sydney, Australia. I was down there on business for just a few days. A full day of flying either way, but at least it was productive time down in Australia. In addition to work stuff, I spent a little time site-seeing.

The Sydney Opera House is potentially the most iconic image of all of Australia, though Uluru, koalas and and kangaroos probably rank high up as well. Like a few places I have been before, I was surprised when I got up close to the Opera House. I had always thought it was solid white, like a giant stucco building. It's not, it is covered with tiles, which are varying shades of off-white. It is also smaller than I had expected.

Second on the list of Sydney sites is the Sydney Harbour Bridge, sharing space with the Opera House in this photo...

The bridge crosses from Sydney to North Sydney, and as I was staying in Sydney and had work in North Sydney, I crossed it a few times - both in cars and via the CityRail train service which runs across the bridge. You can also walk it, but I didn't have time. It is the fifth-longest arch bridge in the world, and visible from many angles in Sydney, making for some interesting photos.

Below the bridge on the Sydney side is "The Rocks." The Rocks was established during the settlement of Sydney in 1788. The original buildings were made mostly of local sandstone, from which the area derives its name. Originally a slum and area of "recreation" for visiting sailors, who liked their drink and women cheap, the area has now been revitalised into an area of swank shops, high-end markets and bistros, though the outer edges of the area still have their problems with poverty.

Just south of The Rocks is Sydney's Central Business District. Shiny tall buildings and straight, fast moving streets give the place a very American feel. It's like Seattle without the rain.

Adding to the feeling of the place being like Seattle, Sydney and Seattle share that curious form of transport - elevated Monorail. Just like Brockway, Ogdenville and North Haverbrook!

Just to the east of the CBD is the botanic gardens and "The Domain", which I walked south through on eventually into Sydney's Hyde Park. Plants, statues and lots of birds featured on the walk.

An Ibis, bird with a long beak.

St. Mary's Cathedral, just east of Hyde Park

At the south end of Hyde Park is the ANZAC War Memorial. The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) was a First World War army corps. They mostly fought in the Mediterranean, and famously during the Battle of Gallipoli, where many died on both sides. This memorial to those soldiers, completed in the 1930s in an Art Deco style, sits alongside a reflecting pond at the south end of Hyde Park.

South of the Central Business District, and close to my hotel in Darling Harbour, is China Town. There are many Asians in Australia, and lots of opportunity for good Asian food, including a number of restaurants in China Town.

Bondi Beach, to the east of the CBD, is a famous and mostly touristy beach. One day after work, I headed over there for a couple hours to enjoy the sunset by the seaside.

Like all trips, mine ended up at the Sydney airport, waiting to come home. They have a nice (but noisy) outdoor bar area just off the terminal building, where I enjoyed my last gasps of Australian autumnal weather before heading back to early spring weather in London.

And thus ends my first trip to Australia.