Thursday 27 December Sightseeing marathon

The last two days have been unseasonally cool, or wet as in Christmas Day, so it was welcome to see the sun once more. The Australian sun is viscous; hats and sunscreen are order of the day, everyday to avoid burning our delicate white skin. I don't' burn in the tropics but here, and in NZ, I take extra care. I think it's something to do with a vanished ozone layer.

St Mary's Cathedral

Boy Nolan pool, Woolloomooloo

Woolloomooloo ex navy yards

Mr P on Mrs M's seat

Opera House up close

Our programme for the day was to see the sights from the Domain and around the point for a close up of the Opera House. We pushed our way through the sales crowds more intent on grabbing a bargain then a nice photo opportunity, to the cathedral and then onto to the Art Gallery of NSW which I thought had a excellent collection of twentieth century works (David never complains and waits patiently while I wander) then continuing on through the Botanic Gardens on the Woolloomoollloo (sheep toilet, cow toilet – think about it) side past an open air swimming pool, views back to the Naval dockyard now converted to high end loft living. Russell Crowe owns the penthouse apartment on the end. Wandering around the point you have a great view of this wonderful natural harbour still with lots of greenery coming all the way down to the shoreline.

David took a rest at Mrs Macqauries chair where the Governor's wife waited and watched the ships coming up the harbour. We had a coffee at the café in the Botanical Gardens hassled by the stork like birds scavenging for scraps. I thought pigeons were a nuisance, but these are ten times the size with big beaks doing bigger doo doos.

Last stop of the day was Sydney's iconic Opera House. From the water it's impressive, from close up it's still as impressive but you see the modern concrete, smoked windows and the self cleaning tiles which cover the roof. There are no gutters, provision for rain fall was included in the design. The story we were told was the man who was to choose the deign for the new building to be built on Bennelong Point, possibly the mayor, rejected the four short listed and asked to see the ones which had been rejected by the committee. He picked up one by a Danish architect which looked like ships' sails and said ' this is the one'. From the original projected $7m to build, costs rose to something around twenty times that when it was finally completed.