Sydney By Foot

23,780 steps today, quite a lot up and down stairs and hills. We are tired. 

First, after bowls of muesli in our rooms, we walked just around the corner to the Foam Laundry Lounge to wash all our dirty clothes. We were dismayed when we walked in to see there was no detergent for sale. But wait, that and softener are included in most of the washers. We threw our clothes in, tapped our credit card, and watched the washer do its thing. There were also triple load washers for blankets and doonas, Aussie for quilts, and a special washer and drier for pet blankets. 

A young woman cleaned the shop while we waited for our clothes to wash and dry. She emptied lint traps, swept, mopped, and even wiped out every washer as it became available. The place was spotless.

We returned to our apartment to put away our clean clothes, then walked a couple of blocks to Kingscross Metro, where we tapped our credit cards to ride one block to Martins Place. We didn’t bother sitting down.

Up the stairs and out to Phillip Plaza, a pedestrian mall in the Central Business District, where we met Francis and Hayden, our Sydney Greeters, local volunteer tour guides. Then the real walking began.

We started in the Botanical Garden with a tour led by garden staff who shared botany, history, and politics. I paid some attention but was more intrigued by the birds. Wild sulfur-crested cockatoos screamed overhead. I counted 9 in one flock. Magpies, pewees, silver gulls, ibis, butcher birds. My eBird struggled so I will check which bird packs I’ve installed.

We bowed out about 11:45 to have some lunch before to grab lunch at the garden cafe, warding off the aggressive ibis, worse and bigger than gulls. 

While we ate, a cockatoo drank from the stream. Betsy said some have bands on their legs, but this one didn’t seem to. I did see one with a wing tag.

From the gardens, we walked around the opera house to the ferry terminal to catch the Manly Beach ferry. On the way over, Hayden, a retired barrister and Sydney native, pointed out local buildings like WWII officers barracks which have been refurbished as restaurants. Francis, a retired high school history teacher, shared how Sydney began and has grown. 

We walked over to the beach, along the esplanade lined with huge NI pines, and over to Shelly Beach. Francis’s usual way along the shore was under construction, so we climbed the stairs up and down. It gave us an opportunity to see a water dragon right by the path. Relative of our Florida iguanas, they are heavily protected with large fines for anyone bothering them. Iguanas should be so lucky.

There is a cute pool created at the edge of the water. People sunbathed, lying along the pool concrete edges. Many people were snorkeling in the ocean, perhaps seeing the seahorses called leafy sea dragons.

After a sit in the shade, Hayden suggested we walk (climb stairs) to the lookout. Up, down, then all in reverse to the ferry. Our guides were about 10 years younger and set a fair pace, but they took care to make sure we could keep up. At the ferry, Hayden said goodbye since he could grab a bus home easily from there. 

Back at the CBD, Francis suggested some cafes we could eat at before our opera performance, but as they all seemed rather posh, and, more importantly, faced west into the afternoon sun, I asked about a place more seedy. Off to the Rocks and Sydney’s oldest pub, the Fortune of War. Francis said goodbye to us there. 

We ordered 2 beers (J Squire 150 Lashes and Cooper’s Pale Ale) and gratefully sat in outdoor seating. Only 4:30, we could afford to rest for a while before dinner and our show. Nice.

Eventually, we walked over to the Opera House and ate at House Canteen, sharing an outdoor table with a couple from Brisbane in town for a big netball game. They asked about US politics, and I answered as best I could, with the caveat that we are flaming liberals, so my account could be biased.

The opera aria show was well done, with a soprano, mezzo soprano, tenor, and bass singing arias and duets/quarters from well known operas. When they asked who had seen La Boheme, we were about the only people who clapped, so I think this was a first taste of opera for most of the audience.

We decided we had walked enough for the day, so I ordered up an Uber for $13.00 on the app, but confusion reigned. There was a car, then a 4 digit code appeared, then another car’s info. When it arrived, the code had disappeared which meant the driver couldn’t take us. Plus I was charged a $10 cancellation fee. Now the rides were $28 or more.

In a snit and to show Uber, we decided to hoof it to the Martin Place train station, up hill naturally, ride 1 stop, then walk the 0.2 km to our apartment, which seemed like the longest walk of the day. 

Tomorrow will be a sit down day for sure.

Total Steps: 23, 780