The touring part of our holiday has come to an end. This morning we left the Blue Mountains for Sydney. Our arrival was iconic as our route took us over the Sydney Harbour Bridge; our hotel is just underneath it. So I dropped off Marion and the luggage and went in search of the Avis office. With our two hire cars we have travelled around 5,500 kilometres in three weeks from Perth in the West to Sydney in the East via the Great Ocean Road in the south. We have travelled through five Australian states, seen many kangaroos and absolutely no koalas.
The trip back from the Avis office was slightly difficult as there was a demonstration blocking Central Sydney, so I had a crash course on the Sydney transport system. Fortunately it operates a cashless system using a credit card juts like London, and after a change of trains
I reached Circular Quay, which is a short walk from our hotel. Of course at Circular Quay on either side there are the two signature Sydney sites, the Opera House and the Bridge.
We had time this afternoon to explore the Rocks Market, which took place a stones through from our hotel. This is a lively market selling all sorts of Australian goods. After purchasing several interesting items, look out Tomas and Alison, although I did veto the boomerang, we had Japanese pancakes and made friends with a Chelsea supporting Malaysian couple on their honeymoon. As it was hot and humid we felt we deserved the excellent pint of IPA from the brewpub around the corner, one of the best Australian beers that I have sampled.
A sharp shower of rain did not dampen our spirits; rather we had a pub dinner and then took a scheduled ferryboat around the harbour.
For less than £1 each we had a spectacular round trip viewing one of the most spectacular cityscapes in the world.There were even some fireworks over the Opera House just for us. This rounded off a really great introductory day in Sydney.
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