mommyvsarmyof5: Traveling in Sydney, Australia: The Photo Edition

Well, if you didn't fall asleep over that LAST post, you might enjoy this one. Again I'm talking about my trip and posting some of my pictures.

We left off in NewZealand, about to fly into Australia.

First of all, a few words about flying.

I hate flying.

Okay, that's about it.

But, that being said, I hate flying a lot less when you distract me with food. And Quantas Airlines feeds you well.

Unlike the major airlines in America, who REFUSE to feed you unless you shell out extra cash, and even then you'll only get a measly salad!

Salads make me EXTREMELY grumpy!

But I digress....

Once we arrived in Sydney, we checked into our hotel and then set out for a walk.

We walked through the botanical gardens.

The gardens and a park called The Domain surrounded the old Governor's residence when Australia was originally founded as a penal colony. According to the sign, this large amount of land served as a buffer between the Governor and the convict population.

Sounds like a peach of a job for the Governor, by the way.

King of England: We've got a great assignment for you, man! You're going to live in a castle in a beautiful country of your own!
Governor: Awesome! And here I thought I was going to be punished for that little incident....
King of England: No, man, that's all forgotten!
Governor: Gee thanks, your majesty!
King of England: Oh yeah, um, also it's on a island about as far from England as you can get, and you'll be surrounded by convicted criminals.
Governor: What?
King of England: Bye-bye!

Okay, back to the present....We emerged from the gardens and walked along the harbor.

Then we took a ferry out to Manly, a beach suburb of Sydney.

This was recommended to me by an Australian girl I met on the plane as a good way to get a nice view of Sydney from the harbor. She said it's not particularly expnesive or touristy because it's actually a commuter ferry.

The ferry ride was beautiful, although crowded, since it was about 5:30 in the evening, prime time for commuters.

By the way, Australia is across the International Date Line from America, so we were a day ahead of everyone at home, although only a few hours' difference from Hawaii time.

So when we were sitting down to dinner in Manly, Australia, on Monday, it was still Sunday at home.

Now that's a seafood dinner!

On the way back on the ferry the sun was setting.

It was a beautiful way to approach the city.

This definitely beats flying in an airplane!

We stayed in a hotel downtown. It was nice to be within walking distance of everything in the city.

The next morning we set out to explore the city. Our hotel was right next to the courthouse. We actually saw barristers walking around carrying their white wigs to wear in court!

This seems very quaint to Americans, who only see men wearing wigs in drag shows.

Or maybe at the Hair Club for Men....

Next to that we saw a beautiful cathedral, St. Mary's, the largest church in Australia.

This church had an interesting history. It was begun in 1868 but not actually finished until 2000, in time for the Olympics. Nothing like a deadline to motivate you, right?

Kind of like me, who puts off mopping the floor until the night before someone is coming over....

Next we went to the Art Gallery of New South Wales. We took a bunch of pictures of the art, which was fabulous in person. However, it kind of loses something secondhand, so I won't bore you with those.

Here's a sculpture outside of the museum.

Also the biggest cactus I've ever seen outside of a desert.

We visited the Museum of Contemporary Art and they had an Annie Leibovitz exhibition going on. It was very popular exhibit, meaning there were so many dang PEOPLE there you kind of felt like you were in a herd of cattle while perusing the art.

Of course, Annie Leibovitz is known for her portaits of famous people, and there were plenty of those pictures. (Brad in Vegas!! Pregnant Demi!! Leonardo hugs a swan!!)

But the part I really found interesting was what the artist revealed about her life through her own photos.

This woman gave birth to her first child at age 51.

Yep. FIFTY-ONE!

I thouhgt this was astonishing. But I guess you don't become a world-famous photographer by spending your twenties and thirties churning out five kids.

In any case, the photographs were amazing.

That evening we went to a play at the Sydney Opera House.

We considered an actual opera, but my husband said he preferred to watch entertainment in English.

So we saw a show called "Love, Loss and What I Wore." It was readers' theater piece about five women giving the history of their lives through descriptions of their wardrobes.

Um, yeah. Pretty girly.

I enjoyed it quite a bit, actually.

My husband was about the only man in the place. I guess he knows how I felt back at that first X-Men movie now...

We dressed up for the show and took our own picture in the hotel mirror. Obviously, it's not exactly a Leibovitz-caliber portrait... but you get the idea. We were trying to look fancy for going to the Opera House. Putting on the dog, as we might say in Alabama. (Although I can't imagine why we do say THAT one...)