We went on top of the Sydney Tower to enjoy the view of this large city. Though its main attractions (i.e. Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge) are certainly better seen from the water. (For the "eagle-eyed" amongst you, you can just about see the opera house between the tall buildings on the photo above.)
We visited the charming Queen Victoria Shopping Center, which was just perfect for the rainy weather outside. Nice floor tiles, too.
Also we enjoyed a rather educational visit the Hyde Park Barracks, an building from the 1820s, which has served (pretty much in that order) as a house for shipped-over convicts from England, an orphanage for Irish girls, a soldiers barracks, a mental asylum, a government office and - nowadays - a museum.
Some rather interesting personal anecdotes from former inmates were on display, e.g. that back in the 19th century someone from the UK was sentenced to 14 years for stealing a pig and shipped abroad to Australia to serve this sentence. Well, it might seem harsh, but given that the
previous form of sentencing was mainly in the form of executions, the trip to Australia was actually considered a step forward in terms of humanity. As long as you didn't mind a somewhat tight accomodation (and some other hardships, no doubt)...
Today was another early morning start for me at 4.30 am (to watch how Germany lost against Spain - argh!!!).
We are now at Sydney Airport ready to fly up the Eastern coast of Australia to Cairns in Queensland. It's a domestic flight, but still a 3 hour flight, which gives some idea of the size of
this big country. We are hoping for warmer weather up North...
No comments:
Post a Comment