The Land Down Under, Part 11:

 It's amazing how fast time flies on a trip. Before I knew it, I only had two days left in Sydney. My second Monday looked to be hit-or-miss with the weather, so I ignored my weather app, looked out the window, and took my umbrella with me. 

I am so very glad I decided to extend my trip after the "kerfluffle" that started it. Having extra time in Sydney gave me an opportunity to see a bit more than I might have, otherwise, and to not rush around. Monday, I decided, would be a good day to shop.

I set off up Pitt Street to George Street, where there's a lot of shopping. Along the way, I took a lot of architecture pictures, as I always do...

A record store

I stopped first in The Strand, an older shopping center with a lot of high-end shops. 

I had to go to Dymocks, which seems to be Australia's answer to Barnes and Noble. 

I wandered in and out of many random shopping centers, most of them from before the twentieth century. 

Finally, I found myself at the Queen Victoria Building, home to very high-end shops and some absolutely beautiful exterior and interior architecture. 

My original hotel was half a block from Sydney Town Hall, so I would have likely walked by it almost every day...but after switching hotels, I ended up only seeing it this one time. 

My next objective was to visit the Chinese Garden of Friendship, which ended up being absolutely lovely. I spent a good hour there, occasionally sitting to just relax and listen to the water and watch the koi. 

After the garden visit, I walked to Darling Harbour, stopping for a quick ice cream treat, first. Darling Harbour is known as a big tourist area, and this was my first visit. It's mostly restaurants and boat tours, so I just did a quick walk-through. I much preferred The Rocks and Circular Quay. 

It was getting to be later in the afternoon, so I decided to walk back to my hotel to relax and figure out where I wanted dinner. 

I took this "Smug Vacation Meg" pic for my friend
Kay, who was stuck back in England, working.

Downtown Sydney looks great always, but most
especially at sunset.

For dinner, I decided a burger was in order, so I walked to The Fortune of War, the oldest pub in Sydney, down in The Rocks. I sat outside so I could enjoy a view of Downtown and the cool-but-not-cold temps.

I had a nice dinner, then walked back to my hotel, stopping only at a convenience store for a new bottle of water, and a look at Aussie candies and whatnot.

Right. WTF, Australia? 

Intriguing flavors (but not intriguing enough for me
to buy--I don't drink a lot of soda these days.

I had one more day in lovely Sydney, with no firm plans for what I wanted to do, other than knowing I wanted to return to The Tea Cosy for brunch.