G'day, mates. We're in Australia!
Picked up our car and headed to home exchange in Umina Beach. Have GPS but got lost in Sydney anyway. Rush hour. Exhausted. Narrow streets. Raining. Oh, and driving on the "other" side of the road. Whew. Greg did an awesome job. We were two tired pups by the time we grabbed a bite at the Bayview then met our host's dad.
Slept fairly well then out to explore local area. Bought groceries. Walked 15 minutes to Umina Beach from house. Shared the beach with a fisherman and a windsurfer. Back to house for r&r. Out for an afternoon adventure. Drove north and happened upon Bouddi National Park. More beach walking then climbed up a cliff to discover cool sandstone formations and sweeping vistas. Check. Another "end of road" place added to our repretoir.
Went to the train station in Woy Woy with every intention of riding into the city. Found out that the line was down for repair and it would be a 2.5 hour bus ride instead of a 1 hour train ride. We opted out and drove back in. After all, it was a Saturday. How bad could the traffic be? We survived.
Were in search of a bicycle "hire" (rental) I found on line. Passed through Miller's Point, an area of century old homes that are currently (and have been for decades) public housing. Apparently the government is selling off the harbourside community to the highest bidder. Many homemade banners decrying defiance.
Found Saturday Market before bikes so strolled through. Got the bikes and we were off. Followed the water around Dawes Point, Pier 4 on Walsh Bay (sneak a peak at Cate Blanchett's studio), back through Miller's Point, Barangaroo, Cockle Bay, Darling Harbour. Spent a couple of hours at the Australian National Mariatime Museum. Back on bikes over to Chinatown then decided we were about done. Figured out the straightest path back to bike shop which just happened to be one of the busiest roads, George--yikes! Did see Town Hall before getting close, getting turned around, repeat, repeat again. Finally found the place and returned bikes. Best night's sleep so far.
Sydney - day 2
On the way to the bus (!) stop found a "car boot" sale. Pretty much equivalent to neighborhood garage sale. Anyone who knows Greg knows he can't pass THAT. Relaxing ride into Sydney where I wrote this and posted pics. For the record, our only technology on this trip is our "phablets" which means only pictures getting posted are from my phone. Camera pics will be dealt with when we get back home.
Spent better part of the morning strolling through the Royal Botanical Garden. It is still early in the season, but the grounds were lovely. I was surprised how many plants I knew. May go back right before we head back stateside to see how the blooming season is progressing.
Meandered through Art Gallery of New South Wales. Both enjoyed the Asian Collection: me for the pottery (Ming, Qing); Greg for the samurai swords. Back through the gardens before catching a bus back to Chinatown for a meal. Had a hankering for Chinese since we didn't eat it the day before! Originally had more on the docket but decided that was enough.
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