Sunday 1st March – A nice sunny day in Sydney.

Sunday 1st March 2015.

Absolutely glorious blue skies this morning, the forecast is for it to be hot – but for afternoon thunderstorms. We were up by 8am and went up for the usual lounge breakfast – a good way to set up the day. Before we went out we went down to the fourth floor to have a look at the pool and gym – all the times we have stayed here,we had never seen it before – always something more exciting to do – it is very impressive, with a big spa pool.

After this we had walk out to in the hot sunshine to Circular Quay, there was a P&O cruise liner moored up – not as big as yesterday’s. the Quay is very busy, as normal we walked along and round the back of the Opera House, where we paused to watch a lone seal, that appeared to be performing in the water.

Our destination this morning is the Botanical Gardens – a wonderful place that I could visit again and again without getting bored – there is so much to see, be it plants, animals, birds or just people watching – we went in through the Queen Elizabeth II gates, and just wandered . We took photos of trees, plants and lots of other things, including suck in a tree, fish in the pond and parrots on a fountain. Eventually went exited the gardens through the Woolloomooloo Gate and walked down to look out over Woolloomooloo Bay to Finger Wharf. This is a fabulous development of condos which each have parking for boat outside and great views – when I win the lottery I am buying one!

Making our way round the bay, we went past the Andrew (Boy) Charlton Swimming pool and the Navy ships moored on the other side of the Bay to Mrs Macquarie’s Point and Chair. We have never walked this far round and we were rewarded with another fantastic angle giving views of the Bridge and Opera House. We then walked back through the gardens out to Macquarie Street and then into the city through Martin Place which last time were here was lined with motor cycles in a display to celebrate Australia Day, but has since gained infamy as the scene of the siege and shooting earlier this year.

Clouds have started too appear so we decided to stick with plan A, which is a shopping afternoon. We walked to George Street and managed to grab some wi-fi then used the Opal Bus app to work out the one we wanted to catch – after a couple of false starts we eventually got a bus at the corner of George Street and Park Street out to Birkenhead Point shopping mall. We christened our Opal cards and were charged $2.50 for the ride.

The mall was clear to see as we crossed over a big river bridge, but we needn’t have worried as most of the bus’s passengers had the same intention and there was a mass exodus. We crossed the road and walked to the Mall, the entrance was slightly convoluted, as it had us going into the car park and down two levels, but we made it eventually. It is a good big mall and we made our way to the food court overlooking the river. The views over river were very familiar and we recognised them from our ferry trip to the Olympic Stadium on the last trip. We went to Coles for salads and a drink. I had a nice Lamb salad and Sue had chicken.

After we had eaten, we split up and wandered the big mall – I went to the Asic’s Outlet and got and Aussie cricket polo shirt, as I was wandering it clouded over some more, then rained very heavily, so it had been a good move to get indoors. I even bought a lottery ticket, so that I can buy the condo on Finger Wharf. It is a luck dip for two draws – Monday and Wednesday. There are some really good shops and some real bargains but nothing I had to have. Sue did get a long skirt. When we met up we headed for a bakery near Coles and had a cake and a coffee.

At 5.30pm we walked for the bus and just as we got to the stop it started to RAIN, and boy! did it rain? We dived on the bus and had a good run back through town, occasionally hitting a mega puddle. All the people who got one were soaked – a lot in their evening finery ready for a night on the town. Where the bus stopped, we were able to run to a back door into the hotel, even though it had eased off a fair bit by then.

In the lounge, the hot dishes are pork in breadcrumbs and spinach ricotta, plus the usual salads meats and cheese. We had our food and drink but it was still naff weather, so we decided to go down to spa on the fourth floor for a jacuzzi, to ease our weary bones.