Thursday, March 2nd, 2023 Queen Victoria, Sydney, Australia
Updated: Jul 1, 2023
It’s a bit overcast today with rain forecast on and off all day; our plan is to take a walk through Sydney, making our way up to Hyde Park. Last night, Sandra spotted a potential place for breakfast. Just a few minutes’ walk from the ship, in the Rocks, Guylian Belgian Chocolate Café was an excellent choice for breakfast. We opted for indoor seating as the heavens had opened and it was really pouring down with rain. By the time we had finished our lattes and avocado toast the rain was easing up, so we set off on our walk. George Street, one of the main shopping streets in Sydney, flows right into the Rocks and so it was an easy task to navigate our way along and into the center of the city. The rain was light but it nothing our umbrellas couldn’t handle. The Strand Arcade runs from George Street right through to Pitt Street, it was opened in 1892 is 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. Exiting the Strand on to Pitt Street we found the Westfield Mall, which actually runs through several warren-like walkways from building to building. Back on George Street we stopped for a quick up of tea and the QVB before heading over to Hyde Park, passing city hall along the way. Hyde Park covers 40 acres in Sydney’s Central Business District and is nicely laid out with large lawns, trees, planting beds and monuments. The Anzac memorial, built in 1934, is at the southern end of Hyde Park, and is dedicated to those who fought in the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. The size and scale of the memorial was unexpected, I thought we’d see a statue with some commemorative plaques, but the memorial turned out to be a substantial structure with an integrated museum. Entering on the ground floor there is a fantastic, life-size, bronze statue of a fallen soldier located within a circular marble room which is open at the top to the next level and all the way to the high ceiling of the memorial. The soldier is shown lying on a shield with his arms stretched across a sword, thus forming a cross with his body – the whole sculpture is placed upon a post, supported by a plinth. The second level of the memorial is a large, cathedral-like space with a central opening in the floor looking down on the soldier statue. Around the walls are large stained-glass windows and several alcoves, each dedicate to a particular Anzac campaign; on the floor of each alcove is a recess filled with earth from the area of the campaign. For a while we had the place to ourselves, and it was a very moving experience – especially for Sandra whose dad had served in the British Army in several of the same campaigns as the Anzacs. The basement level houses a recently added museum, library, and gift shop – this was another surprise. The museum, though quite small, is very well curated and covers all of the major Anzac campaigns from Gallipoli to Vietnam. The personal stories of individual Anzacs was a particularly nice touch. The weather had really warmed up as we made our way back to over to George Street, bright blue skies and the occasional could – quite the contrast from the morning. Lunch was a at a Mediterranean restaurant called Shewal back in the QVB, and then we wandered all the way back to The Rocks for an afternoon coffee at Guylian Belgian Chocolate Café – this time sitting in the outdoor area. Before returning to the ship, we had a great walk through The Rocks and around the dock area to the Sydney Harbor Bridge. This area is nicely laid out with several restaurants, a brewpub, and a Hyatt hotel – there are fantastic views of the ship, Circular Quay, the center of Sydney, the opera house and of course the bridge. A small sailing ship was moored in an offshoot wharf and a sailor was in the rigging making sail adjustments – it made a nice contrast next to the enormous Queen Victoria. The ship sailed at about 7PM and so we were afforded superb views of the city and the bridge as the sun set. It took about an hour to steam out of the harbor and around the point at Sydney Harbor National Park, then the ship turned north for Cairns. We’ve had a fantastic two days in Sydney, we went with an open mind and left with a very positive impression – we can’t wait to go back.
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