Downtown Sydney Tour & Royal Botanic Garden

Downtown near Gardens and Parliament

Martin's Place

Friday morning we checked out of our hotel and walked to Martin’s Place – several blocks of shops, memorials and newsstands.  I bought one fig for a dollar and a ‘large’ coffee for almost four dollars.  We briefly walked through the NSW Parliament House, but the best part was having a chat with the security guard outside.  He asked about our Grid Iron Football (no one seems to know where that name comes from, and they think that’s what we call the NFL in the States) and The Aussie’s rugby – a riot on a field.

At New South Wales (State) Parliament House

We browsed the State Library gift shop, but didn’t purchase anything.  The prices were a bit outrageous.  I’d be interested in buying a book called Upside Down World, but it was $45 there, so hopefully we can find it online.  It contains the drawings of some of the first Europeans to visit Australia and their descriptions of the local animals and plants. 

Royal Botanic Garden

Statue in the Garden

Next stop was the Royal Botanic Garden.  From rose bushes to sculptures of mythic creatures, it was unbelievably beautiful.  At parts, we were able to walk along the Sydney Harbour, although we had to keep out of the way of the onslaught of runners.  As we approached the rainforest, the birds were incredibly loud.  Once there, we were able to look into the trees and see that they weren’t birds, but hundreds of grey-headed flying fox bats.  They are the largest bats in the world with a wing-span of up to 4 ½ feet.

We ate lunch in the Garden, walked along the harbour and then back to our hotel to collect our luggage and head over to the train station.  Bye-bye Sydney!  Hope to see you again soon!  Two hours later, and we are in Wollongong again for the last leg of our trip to the Down-Under.