A Walking Tour of Sydney

My hotel is located in Sydney’s CBD (Central Business District), within walking distance of many great parks, restaurants, shopping and museums so I decided to take a little walking tour of Sydney and get the lay of the land.  On my way through the airport I had picked up a free pocket guide to Sydney.  It included a map so I knew from that that the Sydney Opera House was only about 1.5 miles from the hotel.  So that’s the direction I headed stopping at several points of interest along the way.

I first grabbed an early lunch at Caffe Cherry Beans (I can’t live on Violet Crumbles alone!) and then it was on to Hyde Park where the ANZAC War Memorial is located.  I met a nice employee there who had served in Vietnam and had become friends with a couple of US soldiers while he was there.  I continued through the park admiring the carvings in the trees that lined the Pool of Reflection.

Adjacent to the park is the Hyde Park Barracks Museum which has a fascinating history of being used to house convicts, orphan girls during the Irish Famine and later as an asylum for elderly women.  I really enjoy visiting places like this – a building that was constructed almost 200 years ago and is still standing.  I like to run my hands across the old bricks and imagine that I have placed my hand on the exact spot where one of the residents from long ago had placed theirs.  

After the Barracks Museum I made my way down Macquarie Street towards the Royal Botanic Garden passing by The Mint, the Sydney Hospital and the Parliament of New South Wales along the way.  I saw on my map that I would pass by the State Library of New South Wales just before reaching the Botanic Garden but did not intend on stopping there until I laid eyes on it.  There were people everywhere actually using the library!  I admit that I do not go to the library very often.  In fact, I’ve probably only been once in the past year.  But I just assumed that with the technology we have, that the library was becoming a relic that had served its purpose.  I mean, most people I know do their research on-line and if they want to read a book they take their iPad and go sit at Starbucks, right?  So I walked in and looked around and there were more people than I could count.  A majority was using laptops but many of them did have actual books in their hands.  This brought a smile to my face.  Yes, I’m old fashioned; I prefer hardback books over e-books, singing old gospel hymns over new praise choruses and I will take a phone call over an email or a text message any day of the week.  I made my way through a couple of art exhibits that were on display in the library and then came upon what would become my favorite spot in the library, the Mitchell Library Reading Room.  It’s a very large room with floor to ceiling shelves of books, a glass ceiling and stained glass windows at each end.  I felt more intellectual just being in this room. 

Just outside the front door of the library is the Royal Botanic Garden.  I did not spend too much time there as I was getting a little hungry and I knew the Sydney Opera House was just on the other side of the Garden.  Also, I had already planned to make the Botanic Garden a regular running spot for the next week.  So I pushed on past the Conservatorium of Music and as I rounded the Government House I looked up and there she was – a place I had only ever seen on television and never really thought I would be standing here on its footsteps.  I stood there and admired the building for several moments, walked all around it and took a few photos.  There is a café right beside the Opera House that sits on the water of Sydney Harbour and provides a great view of both the Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge.  I stopped there, grabbed a snack and just soaked it all in for a little while – the view, the sun, the wind, the harbour, the conversations of the locals sitting at the table next to me.  It was simply amazing.   

It was getting late in the afternoon and I still wanted to walk across the Sydney Harbour Bridge so I put my shoes back on and headed off again passing through the neighborhood of Circular Quay and stopping in The Rocks to do a little shopping at the outdoor market.  I made it to the Bridge and took more photos of the Opera House from this great vantage point and eyed a couple of spots on the other side of the Harbour that I wanted to run to while I’m in town.  

By this point I had been on my feet for about 6 hours, jet lag was setting in and I was ready to get to the hotel, take a shower and catch some sleep.  So I walked straight back only stopping long enough to grab a quick bite from Pie Face (think mini pot pies with a variety of flavors and fillings).  

I have a pretty good view of Darling Harbour from my hotel room and just as I was getting ready to turn in a fireworks display began right over the water.  I just shook my head and smiled.  Blessed.

View all of my walking tour photos here.