Sydney Day 3 - Circular Quay and The Rocks
We started Day 3 bright and early. Foops and I were getting a bit better at getting the kids ready so we didn't take as long as the day before to get ready. We took a short walk to the train station (Town Hall) and hopped on a train headed for Circular Quay.
Circular Quay is a vibrant, bustling place with many attractions all situated within walking distance around the harbour. We strolled along the harbour enjoying the cool breeze and sweeping views of the Sydney Harbour bridge and the iconic Opera House. The blue skies and gorgeous views of the harbour were exactly what I remembered about my last visit to Sydney ten years back and it was still every bit as beautiful :)
We stopped for a coffee (and to feed the kids) at one of the al fresco restaurants situated right next to the waterfront. I was hankering for some fresh oysters but apparently they don’t serve them before 11am. Pfft. Ry woke up from his morning nap and had a field day squawking at seagulls.
After breakfast, we made our way back to the ferry terminal and decided at the spur of the moment to take a Hop-On, Hop-Off cruise around the harbour. The harbour cruise is a fast, inexpensive way to see all the harbour-side attractions so I would highly recommend it!
Sean enjoyed the novelty of being aboard a ferry - the experience of trying to maintain our balance while the boat was zipping across water at high speed, seawater spray on our faces, billowy hair and all! We saw the Opera House in its full glory, itty-bitty people atop the Harbour Bridge (part of the Bridge Climb which I have tried before), a seaplane taking off and even the most expensive house in the whole of Sydney!
The ferry also stopped over at many interesting places like Shark Island, Watson’s Bay and Fort Denison. We were frankly quite tempted to hop off to check out Taronga Zoo (which looked a lot more exciting than Wildlife World where we were at the day before) but decided to stick to our original plan of returning to the harbour to explore the quay area.
We got back to the harbour an hour later and ventured over to the Rocks Market. We specially saved Circular Quay for the weekend just so we could check out the market.
It was buzzing with activity when we arrived. It was quite sunny by midday and I think both Ry and I got sunburnt just coz we were not wearing hats/caps!
We had a nice browse at the market. The stalls look like they haven't changed much in ten years - I even saw the same guy doing cool spray can art in the same corner! We stopped to watch a street contortionist fit herself into a tiny glass box suspended few metres off the ground - she was really flexible!
All I bought at the market was a pair of freshwater pearls earrings and bracelet for myself, wooden trains with the boys’ names and a big pretzel for Sean ;)
Later, we backtracked to a German restaurant called Loewenbrau for lunch because it looked like a fun place to eat. It was packed to the gills with patrons, everyone was in high spirits and I liked that the chirpy wait-staff were all dressed up in traditional Bavarian outfits (think suspenders, short breeches, high socks for men and tight bodice, frilly skirt, pigtails for women) which I found very amusing!
Once seated, we spied a small face-painting corner (which was free as long as you ate there). I asked Sean if he wanted to get his face painted (he has never tried it before). He pushed aside my suggestions: tiger, lion, Power Ranger, Spiderman (his favourite animals/characters) and decided on Batman (I don't think he really knew who Batman was).
It was very entertaining to watch him get his face painted. He was so ticklish and squirmy! He was very pleased with his simple blue mask in the shape of a bat - I thought suited him perfectly :)
I asked Foops to take him outside to take some pics because we were squashed in a tiny corner of the restaurant. He must have asked Sean to make a fierce face and roar for the camera and ROAR he did! Right in the middle of the street, stopping traffic and all. Nobody gave a hoot about the strange Chinese kid making such a huge racket. SO FUNNY. It was possibly my favourite moment of the entire Sydney trip :)
Oh, the crispy pork knuckle we ordered to share came in a hearty portion and was deliciously crackly on the outside and tender and tasty on the inside. Foops enjoyed his pint of beer too. I would highly recommend this place for a meal!
The kids had their lunch too and after that, they looked like they were ready to pass out from all the excitement from the day.
(I totally forgot to go to Pancake on the Rocks - one of our must-visit places in our list - when we were there! GAH!)
It was about 3pm by then and we thought we would take a slow walk to the Royal Botanical Gardens. Our little Batman soon dropped off to sleep in the stroller and so did Ry in the carrier. From where we were, it was a loooong trek to the gardens and we had a very good workout hauling both boys and our huge bag mostly uphill. OOF.
The gardens were well worth the journey. It is sprawling, tranquil and offered panoramic views of the harbour, the Opera House and Harbour Bridge. Being spring, most of the flowers were in full bloom (including the purple jacarandas) so they made for a very pretty sight.
We saw many bridal couples (and their entourage) taking wedding portraits there. We also did the touristy thing of locating Mrs Mcquarie's Chair Mrs McQuarie's chair.
The older boys were thrilled to find a small shop selling icecream on top of the hill. They shared a gelato. I was exhausted from carrying Ry and being on my feet all day. All I wanted to was put the kids down and lie down on the grass for a bit. Sean ran around happy as a lark and Ry explored the gardens on all fours.
Once again, Sean was really nervous about pooping in a public toilet. After several unsuccessful mad dashes to the toilet, we took it as our cue to go home.
So ends Day 3. What a great day. Two more days left in the city! Bondi up next!
Read about our previous days here: Days 1 and 2.
Circular Quay is a vibrant, bustling place with many attractions all situated within walking distance around the harbour. We strolled along the harbour enjoying the cool breeze and sweeping views of the Sydney Harbour bridge and the iconic Opera House. The blue skies and gorgeous views of the harbour were exactly what I remembered about my last visit to Sydney ten years back and it was still every bit as beautiful :)
We stopped for a coffee (and to feed the kids) at one of the al fresco restaurants situated right next to the waterfront. I was hankering for some fresh oysters but apparently they don’t serve them before 11am. Pfft. Ry woke up from his morning nap and had a field day squawking at seagulls.
After breakfast, we made our way back to the ferry terminal and decided at the spur of the moment to take a Hop-On, Hop-Off cruise around the harbour. The harbour cruise is a fast, inexpensive way to see all the harbour-side attractions so I would highly recommend it!
Sean enjoyed the novelty of being aboard a ferry - the experience of trying to maintain our balance while the boat was zipping across water at high speed, seawater spray on our faces, billowy hair and all! We saw the Opera House in its full glory, itty-bitty people atop the Harbour Bridge (part of the Bridge Climb which I have tried before), a seaplane taking off and even the most expensive house in the whole of Sydney!
The ferry also stopped over at many interesting places like Shark Island, Watson’s Bay and Fort Denison. We were frankly quite tempted to hop off to check out Taronga Zoo (which looked a lot more exciting than Wildlife World where we were at the day before) but decided to stick to our original plan of returning to the harbour to explore the quay area.
We got back to the harbour an hour later and ventured over to the Rocks Market. We specially saved Circular Quay for the weekend just so we could check out the market.
It was buzzing with activity when we arrived. It was quite sunny by midday and I think both Ry and I got sunburnt just coz we were not wearing hats/caps!
We had a nice browse at the market. The stalls look like they haven't changed much in ten years - I even saw the same guy doing cool spray can art in the same corner! We stopped to watch a street contortionist fit herself into a tiny glass box suspended few metres off the ground - she was really flexible!
All I bought at the market was a pair of freshwater pearls earrings and bracelet for myself, wooden trains with the boys’ names and a big pretzel for Sean ;)
Later, we backtracked to a German restaurant called Loewenbrau for lunch because it looked like a fun place to eat. It was packed to the gills with patrons, everyone was in high spirits and I liked that the chirpy wait-staff were all dressed up in traditional Bavarian outfits (think suspenders, short breeches, high socks for men and tight bodice, frilly skirt, pigtails for women) which I found very amusing!
Once seated, we spied a small face-painting corner (which was free as long as you ate there). I asked Sean if he wanted to get his face painted (he has never tried it before). He pushed aside my suggestions: tiger, lion, Power Ranger, Spiderman (his favourite animals/characters) and decided on Batman (I don't think he really knew who Batman was).
It was very entertaining to watch him get his face painted. He was so ticklish and squirmy! He was very pleased with his simple blue mask in the shape of a bat - I thought suited him perfectly :)
I asked Foops to take him outside to take some pics because we were squashed in a tiny corner of the restaurant. He must have asked Sean to make a fierce face and roar for the camera and ROAR he did! Right in the middle of the street, stopping traffic and all. Nobody gave a hoot about the strange Chinese kid making such a huge racket. SO FUNNY. It was possibly my favourite moment of the entire Sydney trip :)
Oh, the crispy pork knuckle we ordered to share came in a hearty portion and was deliciously crackly on the outside and tender and tasty on the inside. Foops enjoyed his pint of beer too. I would highly recommend this place for a meal!
The kids had their lunch too and after that, they looked like they were ready to pass out from all the excitement from the day.
(I totally forgot to go to Pancake on the Rocks - one of our must-visit places in our list - when we were there! GAH!)
It was about 3pm by then and we thought we would take a slow walk to the Royal Botanical Gardens. Our little Batman soon dropped off to sleep in the stroller and so did Ry in the carrier. From where we were, it was a loooong trek to the gardens and we had a very good workout hauling both boys and our huge bag mostly uphill. OOF.
The gardens were well worth the journey. It is sprawling, tranquil and offered panoramic views of the harbour, the Opera House and Harbour Bridge. Being spring, most of the flowers were in full bloom (including the purple jacarandas) so they made for a very pretty sight.
We saw many bridal couples (and their entourage) taking wedding portraits there. We also did the touristy thing of locating Mrs Mcquarie's Chair Mrs McQuarie's chair.
The older boys were thrilled to find a small shop selling icecream on top of the hill. They shared a gelato. I was exhausted from carrying Ry and being on my feet all day. All I wanted to was put the kids down and lie down on the grass for a bit. Sean ran around happy as a lark and Ry explored the gardens on all fours.
Once again, Sean was really nervous about pooping in a public toilet. After several unsuccessful mad dashes to the toilet, we took it as our cue to go home.
So ends Day 3. What a great day. Two more days left in the city! Bondi up next!
Read about our previous days here: Days 1 and 2.