February 15, 2024 Sydney, Australia, Day 57 of 138

 We are back to Sydney, Australia. We have a excursion bus trip around Sydney. Our guide did a great job giving us an overview of her city. We got some ideas for what we want to do this afternoon. We stopped at Bondi Beach which if the weather had been better the men could have seen topless women, which are allowed on the beach. Today the temperature is in the low 70's, and during the morning when we were there it was overcast, and had been raining off and on.

We spend time on buses and ferries to get from place to place. The top picture just shows you we are still smiling and having a good time.

I took pictures of some of the downtown buildings. I love the curved corner, and clock tower to the right.

Our guide is very proud of Australia. She loves that they don't necessarily tear down their old buildings, but remodel them to meet new needs. The church on the left is now a retail space for women's clothes. Below you will see churches that are still being used for their intended purpose.

Our guide told us to watch the wrought iron on the balcony's to date when they were built. You can see the different styles as you drive around the area. This was in the Italian section.

Here is Bondi Beach. We were told there will always be someone in the water swimming or surfing. All beaches here are public beaches, and no dogs are allowed on any beach in Australia.

Swim at your own risk, as we were told beaches have a shark net, and during high season they may have helicopters flying to watch for sharks.

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The Bakery above, what a great name. Our guide likes to come to this Bakery, she says it has great coffee. I think the name paints a picture.

The view point on the left is high rent district. Look at their view. This church has been made into flats for people to live in. Australians as well as New Zealanders pay their rent weekly. It is foreign to hear apartment rents quoted in weekly terms.

Below is a fountain made to look like a dandelion.

Below is an entrance to the Botanical Gardens.

This is a statue of King Edward VII. He was here to open this building.

Above see the castle. This was the stables for the Prime Minister's residence. It has been remodeled and is being used in another function.

The Opera House is a must photo site. It is an amazing building. 

The bridge is an iconic structure, and very close to the Opera House, so you can see them in the same picture many times.

I love the tree roots above.

Mike saw this phone booth, and alerted me quick enough to capture the picture. Whew, on these bus trips you need to be on your toes.

The Nelson Hotel above is the longest continuous operating Pub in Australia.

This is an Australian soldier statue at the end of one of the bridges, at the other end is a New Zealand soldier. This is the war memorial for the first World War. Neither country had enough men to fight alone, so they combined forces and were called the Anzac, which stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corp. The bridge also sports two flags, one for each country.

In the afternoon we took the ferry provided to downtown Sydney for our own walk about. First off we wanted to see The Queen Victoria building. Construction was started in 1893 and finished in 1898. It covers a full city block and was designed as a Marketplace. It was restored in the late twentieth century. The building is beautiful and thriving.

And last, but not least for my family. Look at the bread we had at our dinner. Do you recognize the knot?

I am having issues tonight getting my pictures to be in the right place, so here is a picture of a future concert pianist. At the Queen Victoria Building there was a grand piano for anyone to play. This young girl sat down and played beautifully. No music, and in front of a small crowd.

Below I took a picture of the tile floor. It is original to the building and beautiful.