Tasmania to Tokyo – Sydney – Day 3 can be found here.
What’s that? A relaxed start to the morning? On this trip?
Yes. A thousand times, yes.
Up at a wonderfully decadent 9 am today, and then off to The Rocks Cafe for breakfast.
Photo Credit: The Rocks Cafe
It’s a fantastic little restaurant with a streetside patio – but reservations are highly recommended. We chose ours for 9:45 am and scarcely make it. My wife and I both have the bacon benedict:
While the kids each have some fried eggs and sourdough with bacon:
The patio is jammed – glad we made those reservations. Though it is relatively quiet upstairs.
We had originally planned to visit the Museum of Contemporary Art, but they are closed on Tuesdays. We also briefly toy with the notion of taking a tour at the Sydney Opera house, but the one tour that interests us – the Backstage Tour – isn’t available during our visit. No suitable shows on, either.
Ah, well. We deliberately tried not to overbook ourselves this time around, and sometimes that means that you miss out on the early-bird opportunities.
Instead, we head out to wander the botannical gardens – pausing briefly when the skies open up. But the storm soon passes, and we are once more on our way.
I enjoy the contrast between nature and skyscrapers – particularly when I’m on the nature side of the equation:
There are plenty of spots to stop and contemplate, but we have a lot of ground that we want to cover.
We start by attempting to visit the Alchemy of a Rainforest exhibit – but unfortunately it’s closed for maintenance.
There’s another nice cafe here if we were inclined to slow down, which we’re not. Instead we wander some of the rainforest paths:
And enter an exhibit focused on ferns:
Then on to succulents:
And through some more flowers on the way to the Oriental Garden:
Spotting an owl as we go:
It really is a spectacular garden.
Eventually we reach the Oriental Garden:
And carry down to the main walking path:
Which leads us all the way to Mrs. Macquarie’s Chair, a ledge that was carved out of sandstone by convicts in 1810. It was commissioned by Governor Macquarie for his wife Elizabeth, who was fond of the views from this area.
Photo Credit: Sydney.com
We walk back along the water, mindful of the endless stream of joggers who seem undeterred by the still-rising heat. We stop for lunch at the Opera Bar, which is every bit as busy as its promotional photo would suggest:
Photo Credit: OperaBar.com.au
But we are all famished, so here is where we shall eat.
Service is surprisingly brisk. Soon my daughter receives her fish and chips:
While my son and I have a pizza:
Artfully shot to hide the fact that half of it has already been eaten
My wife ordered the salt and pepper squid, which is so spicy that I was unable to get a decent photo of it.
All very tasty. After, we head to Royal Copenhagen Ice Cream for a few small cones:
From left to right – mint chocolate chip, s’mores, vanilla and strawberry. All very tasty!
Then back to the hotel for some reading / writing / homework, and some much-appreciated nap time.
Dinnertime – off to 4 Doors Down (The Marcantile Hotel) for an Irish curry, and to enjoy their hidden gem of a beer garden:
My wife and kids have the Irish chicken curry:
While I have a “spice bag” – crispy chicken, chips and curry sauce on the side:
No dessert on offer here, so we wander further along the water front – where we find more ice cream!
Some very solid options here, including vanilla with sprinkles:
And a waffle cone chocolate dip:
The adults opt out – for now. Who knows what tomorrow will bring?
We have an early start next morning so pause for a handful of ‘golden hour’ shots:
And then it’s time for bed. Need to be rested for tomorrow’s red panda encounter at the Sydney Zoo!
Continue reading Tasmania to Tokeyo – Sydney – Day 5.