Today I saw Sydney. I was the only one on the tour that usually has 6 people. But it was great. And David, my tour guide, didn’t seem to mind at all. We started at my hotel and drove through the historic Rocks precinct. I saw the birthplace of Sydney, drove past convict-built cottages, pubs and the first church in Australia.
We then made our way to the Botanical Gardens, passing through Macquarie Street, where we saw Australia’s first Parliament House, Mint, Hyde Park Barracks and St Mary’s Cathedral. We stopped at Mrs. Macquarie’s Chair situated on the water’s edge and walked around the point for views of the Sydney Harbor Bridge and the Sydney Opera House.
We then continued through Woolloomooloo, Kings Cross and into Rushcutters Bay where we stopped for lunch at the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, Australia’s premier yacht club and home to what is considered yachting’s “Everest” – the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.
After lunch, we drove through Darling Point, one of Sydney’s most affluent suburbs, and saw some of Sydney’s most sought after addresses. Then we did a bay tour. First Double Bay, then Rose Bay, Vaucluse, and Watsons Bay, before ending up at Sydney’s most famous beach, Bondi Beach. This is where my guide friend, Greg Vernovage, won a gold medal as coach of the 2000 Men’s Beach Volleyball Team.
On our way back to Sydney we went down Oxford Street in the suburb of Paddington. Here we saw the boutique shopping precinct and the charming Georgian and Victorian architecture of the homes. David was great and I saw a lot more of Sydney than I ever expected.
I ended the day with a tour of the Sydney Opera House. Our guide led us through every aspect of the building’s 14-year creation and 58-year history. We heard how a worldwide design competition was won by Danish architect Jørn Utzon. We learned what inspired his revolutionary design, how his idea was transformed into a masterpiece, and how he solved its many engineering challenges. I was very impressed. The building is much much more than it appears in pictures.