A weekend in Sydney (and loads more pics!!!)

** ALL MY SYDNEY PICS CAN BE SEEN ONLINE AT THIS ADDRESS .. http://s18.photobucket.com/albums/b134/Paulmalsop/Random%20pics/Sydney/ **

Hopped on a plane to Sydders this weekend for some sun, sand and sightseeing.

What a contrast to Melbourne, they are two major cities 1 hour away from each other, but they are soooo different, especially at this time of the year. I left cold, windy Melbourne to land in a very sunny and warm Sydney.

For those who are not up on Australian geography, here is a map

After I landed and navigated my way through Sydney airport and the train system (only getting lost once) I was met by a friend of a freind (Bec) who had agreed to be my tour guide for the day. She took me on a whistlestop tour of all the landmark sights. First stop was circular quay, and this is where the ferry/train interchange is, but it is also a great vantage point to see the two most famous Sydney landmarks, the bridge and the opera house.

I wasn't impressed with the bridge, after all, we have the prototype for the bridge sitting in Newcastle upon Tyne! The opera house wasn't initially impressive either, although once i got around the east side of it, i changed my mind.

After taking many photos, we walked through the botanical gardens and sat in the sun for a while (weather was amazing - clear blue skies, not a cloud in sight).
I then managed to convince Bec to take a trip with me up the Sydney tower so i could get my bearings and take a few snaps of the panorama (It was $19 concession, but i thought it would be well worth it).

The tower is the building on the far left (Tallest free standing building in Sydney at 305m above ground). At the end of the tour we finished with a simulated ride through Australia, which was ok, but its no Disneyland!

Then the tour stopped briefly so we could endulge ourselves with a Subway 6 incher, then we had a look around Darling Harbour.

To get to where my friend (Helen) lives I needed to get to Manly (great name, just my kinda town!! [**Grunts in a Tim 'The Toolman' Taylor manner**]). To get to Manly there are 2 options, 1. Across land and a boring bus, 2. Ferry. Sightsee and commute in one go!

I took the ferry and took in the views.........