2 - 2 Sydney Harbor Bridge, the Rocks

 Location, location.  The captain repositioned the ship last night to a dock in the Circular Quay at the edge of Sydney's CBD (central business district) and harbor between the Opera House, the Harbor Bridge, and the Rock - restaurants and shopping like windy roads on the hillside.  It wa so easy to hop on and off the ship take off on your own.

Sydney Harbor Bridge climbs/walks are offered for the brave souls who want a good view.  Can you see the climbers on the photo below?  For $300 - $350 you can spend 3 - 5 hours climbing the bridge's 1300 steps.  At 440 feet high it is the tallest steel arch bridge in the world.  It opened in 1932 and was a symbol of optimism during the depression.

There are climbers here too on the lower level going into the first block column. Climbers are provided with a suit to protect clothes from dirt and skin from sun burn.  No photos allowed. They don't want climbers to be fumbling in pockets or with cameras.    We happen to be in Sydney during their busiest time of the year.  All climbing slots were taken except for 9pm.  Ship sails today around 6pm.  We needed to save something to do for the next time we are in town.

They built the bridge from the ends into the center.  The steel supports were fastened together with rivets.  The largest rivet was 396 mm long.  Rivets were heated up, then cooled, inserted into the hole, then ends were pounded flat. Definitely labor intensive.

The bridge becomes important back (or fore) ground for specail events like the New Years Eve Celebrations. They showed videos from previous years celebrations.

 We walked The Botanical Garden for an hour...NYE prep was underway.

Most of the Garden was peaceful.

                        It's easy to get lost, fortunately maps were displayed throughout the garden.

We walked to the Opera House (yesterday was just a quick drive by) and looked inside.

                                        

There were no square walls or ceilings inside (at least none that we could see). If you can imagine it the inside matches the outside.   Inside was as wildly shaped as the outside.

                                    

                They have Monopoly games with the Opera House theme.

We walked between high rises and shops.  This building appeared to have gargoyles, but look closely they are in the shapes of soldiers.

We climbed to the top of Observation Hill for bird's eye views of the harbor and bridge.  Wedding photo session was underway.  The bride shielded her face from the sun whenever possible.  The groom puffed on a cigarette whenever possible.  Do you think he was nervous?

Art museum one block from the dock.

Last night we ate dinner at a speciality restaurant, Manfredi's Italian.  Our table got a little crowded when they brought the entree.  I had salad, fresh bread and garlic crackers, mussels, asparagus, a small side of spaghetti.  Phil and I shared panna cotta for dessert.  FYI, my clothes still fit ok.

I'm headed to the pool to cool off.  Tomorrow is a sea day, sailing on the way to Melbourne (for a two day stay.) It'll be a light dinner tonight, I hope.