Alas, all good things must end.
Tuesday was sunny and absolutely gorgeous...and my last full day in Sydney. Wednesday morning would find me up early, making my way to the airport. But Tuesday was mine to do whatever I pleased.
What I pleased was to allow myself a slow start in my hotel room before setting off to The Rocks and The Tea Cosy, where I had eaten a week prior. A second visit was absolutely warranted, though it was quite windy this time and I would need to sit inside.
After a late breakfast, I had no idea what I would do next...but as I made my way over to The Rocks, I passed one of those hop-on/hop-off bus tours, and grabbed a brochure.
If you recall from Part 2 or 3 of this series, I had a gorgeous meal at The Tea Cosy on my first full day in Sydney. I sat outside that morning, but today, as mentioned above, inside was necessary. Of course, the inside is just as charming as the patio.
I had the same meal as the last time: two gorgeous scones with lemon curd and clotted cream, and the curried egg salad sandwiches. This would tide me over for many hours.
As seems to be a pattern in Australia, a bird (a pigeon this time) wandered in to beg for food, but at least this one stayed on the floor and largely ignored me.
While enjoying a leisurely tea time, I contemplated my options for the day, and decided the bus tour was just what I needed. I had been walking a lot every day--anywhere from 12 to 15 thousand steps, that I figured a couple hours of sitting would be nice. The weather meant I could sit on the open second story of the bus, and the recorded history would be interesting.
I walked over to the main boarding point and bought my ticket.
"Is this your first day in Sydney?" asked the bus driver.
"No, my last."
"Isn't this something you'd want to do at the beginning of the trip?!"
"Oh, probably." I answered with a smile. He looked at me like I'm a bit strange, and I took my ticket and set off upstairs.
I rode the whole route of the bus, opting to not get off for anything. There are some museums and places in Sydney I didn't get to on this trip, but instead of regretting that, I figure I'll go back in a couple years, see those, and then visit another part of Australia.
Of course, most of my pictures are just pictures of buildings I found interesting.
 |
| Hyde Park Barracks |
 |
| The largest garden building in the world, apparently. |
 |
| Darling Harbour |
 |
| Those are people, yes. |
The bus reached the starting point, so I got off and walked over to the Circular Quay.
I got a mocha, and since this was the day to do what I wanted when I wanted, I sat on a bench and enjoyed the views of the bridge, and some people-watching.
I took some pictures of the Opera House, and a couple of selfies because it was so beautiful out, and my last day. Then I called Sarah for a chat about how wonderful the trip had been.
I put my phone in panoramic mode and got an absolutely fantastic picture, which is now in a frame and ready to be displayed.
Walking back over towards The Rocks, I saw this plaque, and thought it summed up my feelings perfectly.
While talking to Sarah, I had asked if the Stitch tumbler I'd seen at Starbucks would be appreciated by the Stitch-loving Julia, and got a resounding YES in response. So I stopped to buy it. (It was, indeed, loved.)
I had one last wander around The Rocks, even paying one more visit to Sticky to buy the Ninja Turtles mix I'd seen them make part of the week before.
I was getting hungry, and needed to get to packing and getting to bed early, so I found a spot for dinner and enjoyed one more sunset as it kissed the buildings of downtown Sydney.
 |
| Gnocchi--I think pumpkin? I can't remember now. |
So it was back to the Tank Stream, to pack and shower, then get to bed early enough that my 5:30 wake-up call wouldn't be too difficult. On this last day, I had done some shopping, and found some lovely items to take home.
All good things must come to an end, and my long-awaited, kerfluffle-and-all trip is one of those things.
One more post--the coming home.
No comments:
Post a Comment