Sydney Walkabout

Sydney’s port swarmed with people, but we had a good time exploring the area just the same.

Friendly volunteers handed out maps at the pier. The lady I spoke to told us how to enter the opera house for free, adding that, “Be sure to visit the bathrooms, too, they are quite picturesque.” I’ll let you be the judge from my photos!

Along the way, we saw some Aborigines busking. I’m a sucker for the didgeridoo, so I walked up to take a photo of the guy playing it while the other guy danced.

I didn’t expect the dancer to pose for pics with me, but he was very exuberant. After our first pose, which was rather sedate, he goes, “Let’s do another shot, but make it a bit crazy!” Sounded good to me, so that’s the shot I’ve shared here.

Sydney’s historic neighborhood, aka The Rocks, was especially busy, with an open air market full of goodies.

I chuckled at the sight of a Berliner booth because of JFK’s famous gaff. When visiting the city of Berlin, he grandly stated, “Ich bin ein Berliner.”

He meant to say that he was a citizen of Berlin, when he was actually proclaiming that he was a jelly filled donut.

Seeing Vegemite for sail put the Men at Work’s “Land Down Under” song in my head. We also saw a variety of kangaroo products for sale.

The little phone booth I show here would’ve come in handy when Larry and I were trying to book a cab earlier in the day. You can use it to make free calls in Australia. It also says that it has free WiFi, but I’m not sure how it all works.

Ozzies drive on the same side of the road as Brits do, so the “look” sign on the pavement was a good reminder. We travel so much that I look both ways before I cross the street no matter where we are.

Larry has a special way with birds, and was able to feed some wild Lorikeets we saw loitering on some cafe umbrellas.

Seeing “pet shop birds” in the wild is such a delight. During our cab ride, for instance, I saw a dozen lorikeets standing on an apartment railing. The cabbie explained that the birds had “adopted” the people living there. I like the idea of people being pets to animals.Read more