In the 2005 movie, “War of the Worlds,” Dakota Fanning ask Tom Cruise this question, “What is the Capital of Australia?” Tom’s brother apparently knew the answer.  I have asked plenty of students that question too.  The response is always the same: “Sydney!”  It is not.

Ironically, the Steven Spielberg movie, “War of the Worlds” came out in 2005.  We always like to date our pictures with the current movies playing at the time.

Sydney is the largest city in Australia by far.  It was home to the 2004 Summer Olympics.  We made it there in late June of 2005. Our American Express Airmiles took us to New Zealand first, and then the three hours plus flight to Sydney from Christchurch, NZ. 

Sydney is a vibrant and fun city. As I write this, though, Covid restrictions in Australia are severe. A number of places I will mention are temporarily closed.

When you fly down under in June/July, one is flying into their “Winter Season.”  We found the temperatures not to be that cold—actually delightful.  An exodus happens from Melbourne and Sydney to travel north to Brisbane and even Port Douglas to get the sun.

We stayed near the main harbor where the Sydney’s Opera House is located.  Our Holiday Inn is no longer, but it was a comfortable and pricy homestead.  We stayed in Sydney for 7 days.

By bus, we did get out into the community surrounding Sydney.  I took this picture of this sport car.  What we really liked was the emphasis on protecting the tree around the road.

On our way to the Opera House, we had to walk past five Quays that ferries take people around Sydney’s Harbor communities.  I was able to give this street performer (a mime) some money and he was very happy.

The Sydney Opera House is an iconic symbol of not only Sydney, but all of Australia.  The Kangaroo is also in the top tier of Australian iconic symbols.

In 1959 became the first ground-breaking developments for the Opera House which was finally completed in 1973. Designed by a Danish architect, Jorn Utzon, it cost $102 million dollars to construct. In today’s dollars, we are looking at almost a billion dollars.

Originally the Opera House was to cost $7 million to build and take only four years to build.  It took 10,000 construction workers to complete the building. In the good times, over 10 million people visit the Opera House yearly.  An interesting tidbit was that in 1980 former actor and Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, won his last Mr. Olympia title in the Concert Hall.

We were indeed impressed with our tour and the unique design of this famous place.  We found out that there are over a million roof tiles covering the structure, and all of it was imported from Sweden.

At night, the Sydney Opera House lights up to impress.

In 2005, there was a small but lively “tourist train” that took people around the waterfront and past the Royal Botanic Gardens.  We decided to walk.

We did observe bats hanging from the trees.  And, there were no cages.

We caught two birds fighting in the pond.

What was highly interesting to us was all the free flying Australian Cockatoos. There are actually 44 different types of Cockatoos that can live from 40-60 years.

One man was able to feed these Cockatoos from his arms.

It was hard trying to photograph these birds in flight.

Near Mrs. Macquarie’s Chair, Kathie and I had our picture taken by a friendly tourist.

Walking around the point, we came across Harry’s Café de Wheels, an iconic dinner that was actually visited by Sir Richard Branson—naming just one of many celebrities that have visited Harry’s.

At the time of our visit, the USS Kitty Hawk was in port.

Constructed in 1960, this aircraft carrier was visited by JFK in 1963.  It did serve off of Vietnam and defended against the TET Offensive.  It could carry 85 planes.  USS Kitty Hawk, named for the North Carolina area where Wrights Brothers first flew in 1903, was decommissioned just four years after we saw her.

It was at the Quays that we bordered our harbor cruise boat, Captain Cook Cruises.  We were taken around this famous harbor.  We were amazed the number of homes that had direct views of the harbor area. 

The boat turned around in the inlet area surrounded by high rock ledges.

 

The inlet is actually quite close to the main harbor area. I remember seeing shows on how Bull Sharks have attacked swimmers close to the the Opera House. 

Near the central Quay area is a central bus station.  We decided one day to take a bus out to their famous beach, Bondi Beach. 

Even though a tad cool, there were plenty of people swimming and particularly surfing in the blue waters. We came across a surfing lesson on the beach.

We took a bus a short way to Watson’s Bay and the Hornby inlet area.  This area was used for defensive purposes during WWII.  The ledges are quite dramatic along this seacoast. 

We did come across this unknown bird perched on a rock.

We decided not to walk literally over Sydney’s Harbor Bridge.  This famous bridge was started in 1923 and completed in 1932.  The bridge is nicknamed “The Coathanger” due to its design.

In 2005, the cost for a tour over the bridge was $150 dollars.  We did not take the tour as pictures were not allowed with your own camera.

 

The best alternative was climbing up one of four Pylons—the concrete structures holding up the bridge.  The cost back then was about $10.  The views are magnificent.

Today, the Sydney Harbor Bridge is the 8^th longest spanning-arch bridge in the world.  At 440 feet high, it is, indeed, the tallest steel arch bridge in the world.

During New Years, the Sydney Harbor Bridge lights up with fireworks and celebrations for the upcoming New Year.

On the Queen’s Birthday in June, we were witness to a gallant parade.

We did take the Hop-on-hop-off bus touring Sydney proper. We got off at a casino and actually won $30 on Craps.  We were, though, caught in a fierce rain storm waiting for the bus in a very small telephone booth. Winds were well over 50mph. We saw all these discarded umbrellas along the streets.  Kathie and I still talk about it to this day. 

We took a tour of the Aquarium.  Not as dramatic as the Georgia Aquarium, but still fun nevertheless. 

We did go to the Naval Museum and saw some old ships and photographs.

A McDonald’s was close by with an intriguing architectural style.

We did come across Sydney’s China Town.

Sydney does have its share of creative artwork.

One of the highlights of the day was visiting the Queen Victoria Building.  I was amazed at the unusual urinal in the men’s bathroom.

The mall was several floors high.

We found this artistic manikin.

Sydney is considered the “Fourth Safest City” in the World. 

Like New York City, there are many nationalities walking the streets.  Unfortunately, we did not make it to the top of Sydney Tower Eye.

We would continue our Australian sojourn by flying to Cairns and visiting Port Douglas and the Great Barrier Reef—our next expose.  We did not get to visit Australia’s capital: Canberra. 

Thank you for joining us for “Reminiscing Sundays.”