A leisurely morning for us here in the Holiday Inn Airport. Agreed last night that we'd use this day to hit Sydney city center and see how much we could discover and visit. There were a handful of places Rosie wanted see/visit/shop at that had been called out and recommended by our friends and daughter, Meg, if we had the time and opportunity. Well, this was it. Dressed warmer than we needed to and left the hotel for Mascot Station at 0830. Was forecast to stay cool, in the low 60s, all day today.
Caught the first available train off platform 1 to St. James Station. St. James Station is located at one end of Sydney's famous Hyde Park. We hopped off there in order to walk over to the historic Strand Arcade (Arcade = shopping venue in Australia) known for it's Victorian style architecture. Would have liked to have spend more time in Hyde Park, I think of it as Sydney's version of New York City's Central Park, but will have to settle for the time spent at the ANZAC War Memorial.
Side Note: Hyde Park. Hyde Park, the oldest public parkland in Australia, is a 16.2-hectare (40-acre) park in the central business district of Sydney, New South Wales. Hyde Park is on the eastern side of the Sydney city centre. It is the southernmost of a chain of parkland that extends north to the shore of Sydney Harbour via The Domain and Sydney's Royal Botanic Gardens. Hyde Park is approximately rectangular in shape, being squared at the southern end and rounded at the northern end. It is bordered on the west by Elizabeth Street, on the east by College Street, on the north by St. James Road and Prince Albert Road and on the south by Liverpool Street.
Around the park's boundaries lie the Supreme Court of New South Wales, St. James Church, Hyde Park Barracks and Sydney Hospital to the north, St Mary's Cathedral, the Australian Museum and Sydney Grammar School to the east, the Downing Centre to the south, the David Jones Limited flagship store and the CBD to the west. It is divided in two by the east-west running Park Street. Hyde Park contains well-kept gardens and approximately 580 trees; a mixture of Hills Figs, palms, and other varieties. It is famed for its magnificent fig tree lined avenues. Sandringham Gardens sit on the eastern side of the park, close to the intersection of Park Street and College Street.
Hyde Park was named after the original Hyde Park in London. The park is pock marked with drain lids, many of which lead down to Busby's Bore, the first large-scale attempt at a water source system after backing-up the Tank Stream, the Sydney colony's primary water source. Busby's Bore was built between 1827 and 1837 using convict labour and fresh water from Lachlan Swamp (later known as Centennial Park) to the city.
From the very early days of the colony, the open area to the south east of the settlement was a favorite place for sport and recreation. It was known variously as 'The Common', the 'Exercising Ground', the 'Cricket Ground' and the 'Race Course. On 13 October 1810, Governor Macquarie separated the area from the Domain to the north, named it Hyde Park and dedicated it for the "recreation and amusement of the inhabitants of the town and a field of exercises for the troops". He kept the Domain for his own exclusive use.
Many sports were played at Hyde Park, including cricket, rugby, horse racing, quoits and hurling. Sports people using the park grounds had to share it with the military, who trained on it and practised drill work, the general public, who cut paths across the playing fields, stray dogs, cattle, goats, sheep and other animals. Their activities sometimes clashed. The quoit players, in particular, used an area close to the cricket pitch and often damaged it.
In 2005 a number of disease-affected trees were discovered and felled. Following investigations a significant proportion of the trees were found to be infected with three different fungi. In 2006, a Tree Management Plan recommended the removal of about 230 diseased trees, to be progressively replaced over time.
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Side Note: Strand Arcade. The Strand Arcade is a Victorian-style shopping arcade in Sydney, New South Wales. It's located in the heart of the Sydney central business district, between Pitt Street Mall and George Street. The arcade was one of the first Victorian buildings in Sydney.
Being three storeys high, the arcade has the traditional-styled protruding galleries, cedar staircases, tiled floors, cast iron balusters and timber framed shop fronts, under a prominent, tinted glass roof to reduce glare. The arcade contains the preliminary boutiques that characterized the Sydney shopping experience of the 1890s.
When the arcade opened in 1892, it was said to be the very latest in shopping centre designs and was described as, "The finest public thoroughfare in the Australian colonies". The arcade has endured two depressions, two World Wars and two major fires. The restored shop fronts are an exact replica of the original internal shopping facades.
Designed by English architect John Spencer, The Strand was built in 1891 and opened on 1 April 1892, as the fifth and last of the arcades built in Sydney in the Victorian era. It is the only one remaining in its original form today. The arcade was to be 340 feet (or 104 metres) long, and three storeys high.
The Arcade was originally known as the 'City Arcade' and sometimes as 'Arcade Street'. In 1891 it was named after the famous London Street that links the City of London and the City of Westminster. The Strand was London's smartest theatre, hotel and shopping street in the early 1900s. The Nut Shop, which still operates today, opened in 1939.
The arcade became run down as time went by. Restoration work was carried out in the 1970s, but a fire broke out on the morning of 25 May 1976. The arcade was partly destroyed. Restoration began again and the arcade, now back to its original grandeur, re-opened in 1977.
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For the entire day, we referenced a really handy map of Sydney we'd picked up somewhere in the Rocks: Local Sydney Map & Guide. It's really excellent and displays all the major streets and places in Sydney from Circular Quay down to Surry Hills, a suburb of the City. Found the Strand pretty easily and passed right by the Sydney Tower doing so. Considered riding up to the top of the Tower but, decided not to... too many other places to visit/see.
Walked inside, most of the stores and coffee shops on the first floor were open and doing business, and just took in the view. It felt very high end with the shops inside exuding class. Considered doing breakfast here but, things were very busy so, we passed and continued to tour the building. Took the stairs up to the second and third levels to have a look, take some photos and admire the ornate architecture. Left the Strand for the Queen Victoria Building a few blocks away.
The Queen Victoria building is massive and takes up what looks to be a full city block. At the moment there's a lot of construction going on around the building that appears to have something to do with Sydney's 'Light Rail System.' It's another Victorian era building (guess one could tell that from the architecture of the building and name) that has, over the years, been transformed into a place of commerce. On my last visit to Australia in 2010, my friend Hoa took a photo of me standing near the building, I never went in. This time Rosie and I went in to take in the sights and to have coffee and breakfast inside.
There was a sizable coffee/food vendor right in the middle of the building's floor with lots of tables and chairs. Passersby could walk around the vendor on either side of the wide hall. Ordered our hot beverages and breakfasts: spinach roll for Rosie and a sausage roll and meat pie for me, and took a seat at one of the tables to enjoy the fare and people watch. We needed the boost. Over breakfast we planned out our next target: Hyde Park and the ANZAC War Memorial.
The ANZAC War Memorial, opened in 1934, is a fitting tribute to the New South Wales men and women who lost their lives and/or contributed during World War I (WWI) in a supporting role. Over 120,000 died in that war and all of those who made the ultimate sacrifice are represented inside the Memorial by the 120,000 stars imprinted on the inside of the domed roof. We chatted up the on duty docent, David, a Vietnam Vet himself, about the Memorial and all of its symbolism. He was very passionate and full of his subject. Did a great job of answering all of our questions and explaining the ongoing construction around and behind the Memorial. The City was expanding the Memorial to incorporate all the various conflicts Australians have been involved with since WWI. The renovation and additions must be completed by November 2018, the 100th anniversary of WWI. A somber, contemplative visit, we nonetheless enjoyed our visit to the Memorial.
Side Note: ANZAC War Memorial. The ANZAC Memorial, completed in 1934, is the main commemorative military monument of Sydney, Australia. Listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register, the monument was designed by C. Bruce Dellit, with the exterior adorned with monumental figural reliefs and sculptures by Rayner Hoff.
The memorial is located at the southern extremity of Hyde Park on the eastern edge of the Sydney central business district, and it is the focus of commemoration ceremonies on Anzac Day, Remembrance Day and other important occasions.
It was built as a memorial to the Australian Imperial Force of World War I. Fund raising for a memorial began on 25 April 1916, the first anniversary of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) landing at Anzac Cove for the Battle of Gallipoli. It was opened on 24 November 1934 by His Royal Highness Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester.
A competition for the design of the memorial was commissioned in July 1929 and a month later the prize-winning entries were announced by the Governor of New South Wales, Sir Philip Game. Third prize was awarded to Peter Kaad, second prize to John D. Moore and the winner was Bruce Dellit. The successful contractors for the building works were Kell & Rigby.
The building is constructed of concrete, with an exterior cladding of pink granite, and consists of a massed square superstructure with typically Art Deco setbacks and buttresses, punctuated on each side by a large arched window of yellow stained glass, and crowned with a ziggurat-inspired stepped roof. It is positioned atop a cruciform pedestal within which are located administrative offices and a small museum.
The interior is largely faced in white marble, and features a domed ceiling adorned with 120,000 gold stars – one for each of those men and women from New South Wales who served during World War I. Access to the main hall is provided via broad stairways on each side of the building's north-south axis, while ground-level doorways on the east and west sides offer entry to the lower section.
The main focus of the interior is Rayner Hoff's monumental bronze sculpture of a deceased youth, representing a soldier, held aloft on his shield by a caryatid – three female figures, representing his mother, sister and wife. The male figure's nudity was considered shocking at the time of the monument's opening, and it is said to be the only such representation of a naked male form within any war memorial. Two other even more controversial figural sculptures designed by Hoff—one featuring a naked female figure—were never installed on the eastern and western faces of the structure as intended, partly as a result of opposition from high ranking, reactionary local Catholic Church representatives.
The building's exterior is adorned with several bronze friezes, carved granite relief panels and twenty monumental stone figural sculptures symbolizing military personnel, also by Hoff. Immediately to the north of the ANZAC Memorial is a large rectangular "Lake of Reflections" flanked by rows of poplars. The poplars, not native to Australia, symbolize the areas of France in which Australian troops fought. Original plans called for the construction of similar pools on each of the other sides of the building, but these were never built.
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We left the Memorial and Hyde Park to make our way down to famous Paddy's Market located in the Chinatown area of Sydney, about a 5-10min. As advertised, this is the place to purchase souvenirs of all types and hugely discounted home and office products of all types. It also houses a sizable fresh vegetable market that, if we lived near or in Sydney, we would buy all of our veggies from. There was also a really interesting spice vendor you just don't see in the U.S. Rosie and I took a good deal of time just walking up and down the numerous aisles of the market. Ended up making quite a few souvenir purchases. I even bought a piece of rolling carry-on luggage for $35AU. We needed it to help lug home some of the bulkier souvenirs we'd picked up along the way. Glad we actually made it to Paddy's!
Stepped out of Paddy's and walked right over to the arched entrance into Chinatown. Before going too far, since it was a bit after noon, we found a hotel on an adjacent street corner with a bar, some outside chairs, tables and sat down with our beverage order to just chill and people watch. I've decided my favorite beer in Australia is a Victoria Bitter or VB for short. It may not be the most favored by the locals, but I liked it a lot. Rosie's go to beverage has been wine. While we were relaxing, right across from where we were sitting, a lot of people were queuing up to a window in a Chinese Bakery buying something called Emperor's Puffs. Turnover was very quick but, the line seemed to persist with interested and eager shoppers. So, Rosie went and stood in line and after about 5min came back with 1/2 dozen 1 inch round pastries, each one filled with hot custard, all for $2AU - they were quite delicious. Not too sweet or heavy. Rosie told me that there was a automated machine that was 'spitting' out a lot of these little balls directly into a vat of oil, like Krispy Kreme donuts are made, and as soon as they were done, being packaged and sold by the handful or box full to enthusiastic patrons. Pretty cool.
We didn't spend much time in the Chinatown area. Enough time to encounter an odd site: a woman lying on her side outside of a building along the main drag. Was just strange, couldn't tell why she was lying there but, she was being kept company by a couple of folks. As we were passing her on the way out, an 'ambulance' was making it's way up the pedestrian thoroughfare to her location. I put ambulance in quotes because it was actually a little bitty smart car all marked up with ambulance decals and flashing lights being driven by 1 guy - we assumed he must be a paramedic or the like. The utility of such a vehicle came to our minds but, it could certainly make it's way into areas a normal ambulance couldn't. Interesting... we hoped the lady on the ground was ok.
Left Chinatown and made our way back to Central Station, the closest Station to Chinatown, and made it back to the hotel by 1400. Wanted to relax and refresh before getting cleaned up and heading over to CQ and the Opera House for dinner with Erica.
Our dinner reservation at Bennelong was for 1730. We left the hotel at 1600 and made it to CQ by 1620. Rosie and I are really getting the hang of the train system here in Sydney, just as we get prepared to leave it, typical. Besides the 'rip off,' in my opinion, the owners of the train lines pull on unsuspecting air travelers, the system's really very good. The only place I would rate higher on a scale of ease of use and design would be Singapore's train system. Made our way slowly towards the Opera House Bar, we thought, taking photos of many of the circular bronze plaques embedded within the walkway around the Quay. They are of famous Australian writers or writers who have lived in or visited Australia. Didn't take photos of all of them, just a few we recognized.
Side Note: Sydney Writers Walk. The Sydney Writers Walk is a series of plaques from around the International Passenger Terminal on West Circular Quay, down to the walkway between the ferry jetties and the train station, and all the way to the side of the Sydney Opera House forecourt on East Circular Quay. The plaques contain an excerpt of the author's writing as well as a brief biography.
The writers represented on Writers Walk include not only Australians but also those who lived in, or visited, Australia, such as D. H. Lawrence, Rudyard Kipling and Mark Twain.
Here's the total list of writers on the plaques: Thea Astley, Faith Bandler, C. E. W. Bean, Christopher Brennan, Peter Carey, Joseph Conrad, Peter Corris, Eleanor Dark, Charles Darwin , C. J. Dennis, Arthur Conan Doyle, Umberto Eco, Miles Franklin, May Gibbs, Mary Gilmore, Germaine Greer, Xavier Herbert, Dorothy Hewett, A. D. Hope, Robert Hughes, Barry Humphries, Clive James, George Johnston, Thomas Keneally, Rudyard Kipling, Ray Lawler, D. H. Lawrence, Henry Lawson, Jack London, Dorothea Mackellar, David Malouf, James A. Michener, Oodgeroo Noonuccal, Ruth Park, A. B. "Banjo" Paterson, Henry Handel Richardson, Nevil Shute, Kenneth Slessor, Christina Stead, Robert Louis Stevenson, Douglas Stewart, Kylie Tennant, Anthony Trollope, Ethel Turner, Mark Twain, Morris West, Patrick White, David Williamson, and Judith Wright
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Eventually found our way down to the Opera House Bar area, or where we thought the bar area was. Turns out we were in the Opera House Kitchen area, not the Bar. As far as I could tell, the distinction isn't one that's patently obvious to your basic visitor to the Opera. The area appears to be just one long, curved stretch of seating, tables and bars along the CQ seawall. Anyway, ordered cocktails for Rosie and I, started a tab, found a table and took a seat. Time was around 1645. Texted Erica and found out that she was also at the Bar having just ordered a beer. We spent the next few minutes looking for each other and finally made eye contact. She was in the relative same place we were, just farther down, closer to the piers. She made her way over to where we were with her drink in hand and we immediately started getting the 'stink eye' from the bar staff!? Odd. Our waiter, Rick, came over to let us know that people were not allowed/supposed to bring drinks from the Opera Bar area over to the Opera Kitchen area and vice versa - even though it all looked the same to the 3 of us. Rick tells us that there's some local ordinance covering such a rules violation and that they could tell by the type of drinking vessel Erica was drinking from (not to mention they saw her walk over to us). Erica was trying to finish her beer quickly when Rick said he's go down to the Kitchen bar and get a glass for Erica to pour her Bar area beverage into. When he got back, the glass he had was exactly like the one Erica was drinking from? WTF? He was at a loss for words. Erica finished her beer and I ordered us all another round - all was right in the world again. Geeze....
Side Note: I've tried, when I remember, to jot down odd sayings we hear from local Aussies. We were speaking about Aussie slang and Erica had one (she had others like 'bogan'): 'Mad as a cut snake' - meaning: very angry, very upset; crazy; furious. Insanity or anger so extreme, you don't want to get near it.
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We enjoyed catching up with Erica and wished Simon, her brother who couldn't join us, a speedy recovery. Finished our drinks and made our way up to the restaurant at 1725. Erica remembered how to get there from underneath the Restaurant. We found the lift and took it up to the Restaurant level. It takes you right up to the entrance in to Bennelong, how convenient! It's definitely fancy and very upscale.
Erica, nor we, had never been in the restaurant. We were greeted at the door by a gent I suspected was the restaurant manager for this evening. He made a bit of small talk with us, inquired of our reservation, "three now, not four?" and, had one of the waiters take us to the appropriate table. We passed the bar, it was up and left of where we entered, as we were escorted to our table. Ours was on the lower level, right up against the tinted windows with a view to the Botanical Gardens and Navy Piers. There's really not a bad table in the place.
For early reservations the restaurant only offered a 3 course meal (sure seemed like a lot more than that). I ordered a nice Malbec for the table, turns out to be Erica's favorite type of wine, and we all ordered different items off the menu. Bread/butter was brought out with our wine and Erica had the fun of sampling it prior to general table pour. Our mains: Erica, beef cheek (melted in your mouth); Rosie, the quail to start and red snapper (she enjoyed the quail and all of us loved the fish); I went with the eggplant. The food was delicious, service spot on, company excellent and, the ambiance memorable. We had a really enjoyable few hours over just 3 courses! Near the end the staff were politely asking if we'd like to move to the bar - there were other guests waiting to be seated - in order to make our table available. Not sure where the 2+30 we spent enjoying the dinner went? We declined, settled up and made our way out. It was a bit of a pricey night but, well worth it if you're interested in making a memory and enjoying some great food, well prepared, in a singular venue!
Was definitely one of my top 5 dinner reservations ever! We all walked back to CQ and caught the train headed to Mascot Station via Central Station where we said our farewells to Erica. So glad she could join us for dinner and we're looking forward to - as long as her itinerary allows it - seeing her in the U.S. sometime in October. Made it back to our hotel by 2100.
What a most excellent day, our evening out being the 'cherry on top!'
Fuji
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