Back to Sydney

So – the final leg of my travels – and it’s a return to Sydney. I left here on July 8th after a 24 hour whirlwind tour of the place – but now I’m back for six days and nights, which I’m delighted about. This is a great place to finish up – and I have so much I want to see and do here.
First up would be a closer look at the famous Sydney Harbour Bridge. It was time to actually be on the bridge and walk across, rather than just admire it from afar (which is very easy to do and enjoy!)
I took a train to Milsons Point – on the north side of the harbor. Here, I also had the chance to explore Luna Park.

Luna Park was built in the 1930s and was based on the design of New York's Coney Island funfair. It is full of traditional fairground rides, an historic carousel and classic, art-deco structures. It is most famous for its extraordinary entrance gates - a 30 foot high maniacal clown-like face with a gaping mouth that you enter though. At night time, this is garishly lit and you can see it from way across the harbor on the Opera House side.
I then walked up and on to the Sydney Harbour Bridge itself – a magnificent structure and a Sydney icon. It was built in the 1920s and opened in 1932, linking the north and south shores at last. It remains the widest long span bridge in the world and is also the world’s tallest steel arch bridge – an impressive piece of engineering and breathtaking beauty. It was wonderful to cross the bridge by foot (nearly a mile long) and have time to stop and admire the incredible views of the harbor. Looking across at the Opera House, I was struck by how it has a ‘magnetic’ pull.
You just have to keep staring at it – few buildings in the world have that “Look at me! Look at me!” power. The Eiffel Tower has it, maybe the Pyramids too – but I think the Sydney Opera House beats them all because of what it is surrounded by. The setting is perfect, and I think I have just found my favorite view in the world. I could look at this for hours.
Having admired the water and the harbour from above for so long, I decided that I now needed to get on to the water. From Circular Quay, I caught one of the green and gold city ferries out to Manly.
This was a beautiful 30 minute ride, better than anything you could hope for even on a special tour boat. The regular public ferry to Manly provided all the photo opportunities you would ever need on this glorious, sunny day. Manly itself is a popular and picturesque Oceanside town with a beautiful beach. Here, I saw surfers catching a Pacific wave and children playing in the perfect sand. For a beach in winter, this was impressive.
As darkness fell, I took a ferry back to Circular Quay and caught the wonderful sight of the sun setting over the harbour. The Opera House had taken on a pinky-orange glow in this dusky light – and it was to this wondrous building that I now headed, to actually go inside and see an evening show. I was thrilled to actually have the chance to see a performance in this world-famous building and I enjoyed a hugely entertaining production of Shakespeare’s ‘Pericles’, performed by the Bell Shakespeare group – Australia’s only touring Shakespeare company. It was a great end to my first day back in Sydney. I just love it here.