Australian Museum, Sydney Cove, and Darling Harbour, Australia - Part 2, Friday, December 22, 2023

Continued from Part 1...

The weather in Sydney today is 75 degrees F. and sunny. Yesterday, it was 65 degrees F., raining, and windy.

After we finished our thorough immersion of [and light lunch at] the Australian Museum in downtown Sydney, we began our on-foot exploration in the afternoon. We ambled through Hyde Park and then strolled down Macquarie Street to Circular Quay (where the Sydney Opera House is located).  

Hyde Park is delightful! The park is home to the ANZAC Memorial, Sandringham Gardens, a tribute garden to His Majesty King George V and King George VI from the people of New South Wales, and the stunning J. F. Archibald Memorial Fountain. I have included links to the highlights I mentioned. Please check them out.

St. Mary's Cathedral, Sydney, Australia.

St. Mary's Cathedral as seen from the stairwell
in the Australian Museum, Sydney, Australia.

Sydney is Gadigal Country, the
people of the grass tree.

The gadi, or grass tree. Also known 
as Yakka or Hard Yakka. It reminds
me of a yucca.

Hyde Park South.

, 

Captain Cook statue.

ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. 

Sydney's ANZAC Memorial.

Sydney's Art Deco ANZAC Memorial.

Art Deco inside the Hall of Memory,
ANZAC Memorial.

The Flame Room, ANZAC Memorial,
Sydney, Australia. 

"Sacrifice," by Rayner Hoff, in the Hall of
Silence, ANZAC Memorial, Sydney.

Silky oak double doors, painted
gold, in the Hall of Silence.

A small museum on the ground 
level of the ANZAC Memorial.

The Pool of Reflection on the south side of
the ANZAC Memorial, Sydney. 

After learning about the sacrifices of the Australian and New Zealand soldiers, we walked out past the Pool of Reflection. From there, we walked along Elizabeth Street for a short distance and re-entered the park to look at "Yininmadyemi: Thou didst let fall," a remembrance of the Gadigal and Torres Strait Islander people who served in the war, but did not reach their dream of equality.

Brazilian Plume.

A major heritage-listed former
department store. It is now the District
Court of New South Wales, Australia.

"Yininmadyemi: Thou didst let fall," a
remembrance of the Gadigal and 
Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Sandringham Garden Gate.

Sandringham Garden with fountain.

Our next stop is the Archibald Memorial Fountain. "This fountain is the gift of the late J.F. Archibald to his fellow countrymen and is intended in terms of his will to commemorate the association of Australia and France in the Great War 1914-1918. It was erected in 1932 and is the work of Francois Sicard, Sculptor, Paris."  It is worthy of multiple pics and a video! Awesome. 

Apollo, Archibald Memorial Fountain, 
Hyde Park, Sydney, Australia.

 

Archibald Memorial Fountain, Hyde
Park, Sydney, Australia.

Diana, Archibald Memorial Fountain, Hyde
Park, Sydney, Australia.

Theseus conquered the Minotaur,
Archibald Memorial Fountain, Hyde
Park, Sydney, Australia

Bob in front of the Archibald Fountain, Hyde
Park, Sydney, Australia.

 

We went north on Macquarie (pronounced MACK-er-ie) Street passing points of interest on our way to the Circular Quay/Sydney Cove.

Queen Victoria Square has a statue of Queen Victoria. 

Queen Victoria.

Major General Macquarie, the
street is named after him.

The Hyde Park Barracks. We toured them in 2012.

Sydney Hospital: Australia's first hospital
has been on this site since 1811. It's
now the Sydney Eye Hospital.

St. Stephen's Uniting Church.

This interesting history marker about wool
stores, bond stores, and warehouses
is embedded in the sidewalk.

Here we are at Sydney Cove overlooking the Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. The place was swarming with people today!

Sydney Opera House.

Sydney Harbour Bridge.

We followed Pitt Street and George Street back to our hotel.

In the photo below, I am chillin' with Rabbitwoman and Dogman.

I found the information about the sculpture below in the blog titled Destination's Journey. Currently located at 264 George Street in Sydney, this Gillie and Marc bronze sculpture is titled, "Together they were a golden couple." The artist's description is "Rabbitwoman takes the lead on the bike while Dogman gets cosy [Aussie spelling] in the sidecar next to her, trusting her to take him somewhere incredible." Gillie and Marc are known for their inclusion of a Vespa, coffee cup, Rabbitwoman, and Dogman in many of their works. This sculpture includes them all in one place. 

"Together they were a golden couple,"
a Gillie and Marc bronze.

The Vienna Coffee Company caught our eye yesterday when we walked through the Queen Victoria Building mall. It looked divine. This afternoon we gave it a try. And it was divine! Bob had apple strudel and I couldn't resist the Black Forest Cake. Mmm! 

Apple strudel and Black Forest Cake at
The Vienna Coffee Company in QVB, Sydney.

Cute tea cup/teapot combinations
at The Vienna Coffee Company.

After a yummy afternoon snack at The Vienna Coffee Company, we went back to the room to charge our phone batteries (since they are our cameras) read, and nap. When OUR batteries were recharged by resting, we walked to Chinatown and had dinner in a Thai restaurant. What's wrong with this picture??

We made another trip back to our hotel before a fireworks display in Darling Harbour at 9:00 pm. Once again, our decision to stay in the CBD (Central Business District) paid off. Darling Harbour was just a few blocks downhill from our hotel.

We made it to Darling Harbour just before the fireworks show started. The place was packed with people!

Darling Harbour.

The fireworks show lasted six minutes, that's it! We walked back to the hotel a different way and saw more Christmas decorations. 

Above is a gorgeous Christmas light display in front of a business called "Luminaria."

Sydney Town Hall at night.

Below is Woolworth's (commonly known as "Woolies") grocery store. It was two blocks from our hotel. Here is a video of their Christmas lights.

And that, my friends, was our 14-hour day exploring Sydney, Australia. We walked 7-8 miles. Jet lag may have caused us to need a nap. LOL. That's our story and we're sticking to it!