Arrived at my hotel Glenferrie Lodge and instantly loved the neighborhood, Kirribilli. Big, beautiful houses, people are friendly, easy to get around but across from the actual city center near the Sydney Harbor Bridge. My room is smallish and plain, but has everything I need and a big backyard garden area to relax in. I spent the first day walking around by hotel, my usual routine of getting my bearings. 
Spring time flowers are all out in bloom and the streets smell of jasmine and gardenia. I love the intense purple jacarunda trees which line the street. The secondary residence of the Prime Minister is at the end of my block, so the neighborhood feels very safe. 
Waterfront views a few blocks away look across the harbor to my first real glimpse at the Opera House. I did found the neighborhood stores and did some grocery shopping for liquids I couldn't bring as I went all carry on for my flight. I grabbed dinner at Kirribilli Seafood for some fish, calamari and chips with a strange chicken salt before falling asleep relatively early.
The next morning, I walked over the Sydney Harbor Bridge to the Royal Botanical Garden. Wander around in there for hours, checking out strange birds, some of which are just weird to see in the wild such as cockatiels and a few lorakeets (that steal people's food like pigeons or seagulls). 
Walked along the water with more views of the Opera House and looked at the sculptures and art along the way. 
Checked out the desert botanicals, the fernery house and a beautiful exhibit on pollination with a whole wall of flowers. Leaving the gardens, I headed out to walk the city. I started chatting with an older gentleman who moved to Australia two years ago from Syria and we had coffee and walked the harbor ferry dock. Then I went to check out the Police and Justice Museum, which was interesting to hear the stories notorious Sydney criminals and see all of these black and white photos they had uncovered. Originally, they didn't even have the story behind some of the photos, but as locals visited, they spotted relatives or new of stories that have been added to the exhibits. The mug shot photos are also great because in most of them, they are grinning and just excited to get their photo, as they think it is the first time many of them have seen a camera. Headed back to the Harbor and wandered through the Rocks neighborhood nearby, checking out old houses. 
Visited the Sydney Observatory, Australia's oldest surviving observatory set up in 1858 mainly to provide time for ships in Sydney Harbor. Then I ended up walking over to Darling Harbor and then on to Chinatown and Paddy's Market for some cheap and yummy Thai food. 
I meandered back towards my hotel, walking through the central area of the city past Town Hall decorated with a rainbow flag for the upcoming same sex marriage vote and the Queen Victoria Building. I headed back to the Royal Garden for sunset. 
Great views of the Opera House at sunset as well as my hotel's neighborhood amusement park lit up at dusk. I walking back across the Sydney Harbor Bridge to my hotel, enjoying the nightly 7 minute Badu Gali light show the lightsup on the sides of the Sydney Opera House with vivid colors. Phew... legs tired after about 14.5 miles of walking!
The next day, I headed for Milson's Point, the closest subway to my hotel. Stopped by nearby Luna Park, a goofy, but fun looking amusement park. I happened upon a Kirribilli Sunday Outdoor Market where I looked at arts and crafts and grabbed an absolutely delicious lamb sandwich from a food truck called Follow the Cow, specializing in South American and Spanish flavors, and a lemon cordial from this woman selling homemade baked goods. 
Then I headed off to Newtown because I heard it was a good area to check out street art. It is a cute area of town and I walked around for hours checking out street murals and then wandered in to a huge festival with live music at the park that happened to be going on that day. 
Grabbed some delicious meat pies and avocado feta toast at the
Bourke Street Bakery on the way back to the train station. They messed up my order and the manager tried to refund my money, which I wouldn't allow. So instead, she added a ginger tart to my goodies. It was amazing! 
Took my goodies and headed on a ferry to Cockatoo Island. It is a historic island that was inhabited in the 1800s where originally second crime criminals where held. The prisoners were put to work building barracks and guardhouses and residences. It later became shipyards and old ship building/repair workshops during WWII. 
There was lots of old buildings and equipment to clammer around and tunnels built as WWII air raid shelters. The island was pretty empty when I first got there, so it felt a bit spooky at times wandering through all the old abandoned buildings. I ran around for a few hours and ate my baked goods for dinner while enjoying the views, before catching a ferry to the city. On the way, I took a quick stop to visit the ANZAC Veterans Memorial (I missed Veteran's Day in the US) before heading back to the hotel.The next day, my head cold I had been staving off finally got me. I spent most of the day sleeping. I wanted to go to the Museum of Diseases and the North Sydney pool and sleep in the sun, but didn't want to spread my germs. In the afternoon, I had a nice chat with a mom and daughter at my hotel, visiting from another small city in Australia here in Sydney to pick up some expensive jewelry bought on an online auction: I had an dinner and picked up some cold medicine and went early to bed.
Woke up super early yesterday morning and thankfully felt better. I caught an early train at sunrise and then the L line to the Fish Market for a tour of the wholesale market, which occurs at 6:40ish every morning. I was lucky to book it somewhat last minute, as only 15 people are allowed per day and you can only watch on a tour. The guide was super informative and knowledgeable. It is a very interesting process based on the Danish auctions used for tulips to get sellers the best price and buyers the highest quality product... kind of like a Wall Street of fish. 
Then I caught the train to Turrella Nature Reserve on Wooli Creek to try to catch the flying fox bats. I had read there are close to 12,000 at this spot on the internet. They all fly out at dusk, but sleep in the trees during the day. There used to be some at the Royal Botanical Garden, but were causing too much damage to the trees and were recently relocated. 
They were incredible to see... trees full of them! Some had babies, hanging upside down with their cute little faces occasionally peeking out before they wrapped their wings around themselves like a little snuggie. 
Occasionally, one would fly out, showing their massive wingspan and making a flapping noise almost like a helicopter. I finally left to let them sleep in peace and headed off to bus to Bondi Beach for some sun and relaxation. 
I was going to do the Bondi to Congee walk along the coast, but immediately settled in when I saw the beach, sunning and watching the surfers. Headed back to my hotel in the late afternoon for some last minute errands, conveyer belt sushi at Sushi Rio, laundry and packing. On my walk home through the neighborhood, I met an Australian guy who lived around the corner from the hotel who had lived in Wenatchee and Leavenworth for 5 years. He invited me to a BBQ with his friends. After finishing my laundry, I headed over there to hang out and chatted before going to sleep.And now I am off to catch my flight to Ayers Rock/Uluru. Three days with two nights of camping out under the stars in a swag! Should be fun.
Love,
Betsy
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