We landed in Sydney early in the morning after the airline crew was sure we knew we absolutely could not bring all sorts of food into the country and had us fill out declaration forms. Once we were off the plane we wandered through parts of the airport until we hit customs and out into the main airport. We are here for basically a long weekend and unfortunately it is supposed to be a rainy one. We took a cab into the city, and I saw a sign about road closures due to Vivid Sydney, so I asked the cab driver what it was. Seems we are here at the start of a big modern arts festival. There will be lighting up of buildings and special performances and fireworks on select nights. We are now looking forward to the lights show even though it is now raining hard when we get to our hotel.
QVB
One of the places we remember fondly from our visit 21 years ago was a Victorian shopping mall and plan on visiting it. Happily, it is directly across the street from one entrance of our hotel so we can get there and explore easily on a rainy day. The mall is the QVB Queen Victoria Building. As we enter, we are by a concierge desk that is advertising tours. We are able to take the afternoon tour and spend an educational and enjoyable 1 1/2 hours learning the up and down periods of this now protected building.
The clocks hang in the middle of the building and are quite large
The building started as a market with the ability to lift up horse carriages and the first floor was partially a butcher area so all very easily cleaned. That lasted just a few years. Future configurations included an office space which tore up some of the intricate internal areas of the building. One of the office occupants was the local power company who stayed there for a very long time that and the library took over a ballroom keeping the building alive until the late 70s when it was almost torn down for a skyscraper. In fact, parts of its roof were sold off at auction. Happily, it was marked as a historic building and a real estate development company from Malaysia took out a 99-year lease on the building and renovated it back to its original state. As you can see from the pictures, the building has lots of stained-glass windows with all but a couple being original and several large intricate clocks. The new windows are ones over one entrance that includes a reference to the Malaysian company and the gorgeous stained-glass dome in the middle. The dome was broken when they put an elevator in that area during the time of the office space.
Looking up at Dome from Ground Floor
Looking up at Dome from top floor
The Stained Glass Dome is located inside the large dome, light enters from side windows.
We also learned that the columns on the outside of the building are made from Australian marble and a large statute up on the roof area was pointed out to us. The statute has 3 people in it a woman and 2 men. The man on the left is surrounded by symbols of Australia's key products such as a sheep and fruits and vegetables. Just outside of one of the entrances is a large statute of Queen Victoria which would make you think she visited the site - nope she has never even been in Australia. Rather it seems that after Ireland became a republic, it removed many statutes that were reminders of England such as this statute. An Australian businessman bought and paid to have it placed in front of the building. Serendipity sometimes shows up in curious ways. When the building was built, they built a larger basement area for the transportation of goods. Today that has been turned into more shopping and importantly tunnels that connect some of their mass transit trains so that "street" is the busiest street in Sydney.
QVB, Queen Victoria Building
Queen Victoria Statue relocated from The Republic of Ireland
After our time there we head back across the street to the hotel to chill a little before our planned late afternoon tour of the Sydney Opera House. When it is time to go, it is raining hard and we are trying to understand if the light rail trains at the door will take us close to the Opera House - yes and would you like to borrow a large umbrella - oh yes please and thank you!
Sydney Opera House
When we had visited Sydney years ago, we had stayed nearby and had wandered around the outside but had not seen a show or anything. This time, we tried to see a show with no luck, but we were able to book a tour. Our tour starts in a lower covered level where there are ticket booths and several casual restaurants. Our tour guide tells us about the construction of the building and how it turned into a major financial fiasco and was almost not even finished. Seems the politicians wanted an impressive building since they had an international design contest but also wanted it up quickly and cheaply. Part of the problem was it took a long time to build and a new mayor, etc had new goals. When it first opened it was viewed more as a technology and engineering marvel than a beautiful building. Part of the "feats" was the use of concrete with post tension cables in it for strength. Well, that sure rang a bell with me. Our condo is built like that and if you drill a hole in the wrong place in the concrete you have big problems! Anyway, it is an impressive building, but Jeff and I agreed the outside is much nicer than the inside. We say that because it is all concrete, so it is kind of cold feeling. Now to be fair they did design a couple of great areas. Outside of each of the 2 main halls the mingling area is designed like a ship's stern, so it juts out towards the bay with clear glass so great views. One last thing to mention is that if you think of it as a white building - you're wrong. It is cream colored so that it would not be too stark against the sky.
Lobby on land side of Sydney Opera House
This theater is for Operas and Ballets, while the other hall focuses on shows not needing a backstage.
The bay side of the Opera House resembles the stern of a ship
Sydney Opera House consists of these cream-colored tiles
Secret Food Tour
Jeff and I enjoy doing walking food tours when we visit a city. You usually learn some things about the area and get to try foods you might not have even known about before the tour. We have chosen a tour starting at lunch time, so we eat a light breakfast. When it is time to head out, there is a light rain, so we again borrow umbrellas from the hotel and double check with them our route and head out. It is supposed to be a group of 7 people but the other group of 5 is a no show so we have a private tour. Our tour guide is originally from Hong Kong, grew up in Canada but has lived in Sydney for a couple of years. He lets us know we are in a part of town that is heavily LGBTQ and points out all the rainbow flags on light poles and I notice some interesting businesses as we walk up the street. Our first stop is a restaurant called The Winery. It is a popular site for parties and has an eclectic decor. We start with a glass of prosecco each and then move onto 2 appetizers. One is a raw oyster, and the other is a beef tartlet. Nice but nothing special. I had noticed a statute by the front door that seemed familiar when we entered and he happens to stop by it and tell us its history. It is a fox and hare dressed as people sitting on a moped. Apparently two artists, Gillie and Marc met and this has become their symbol and the basic design of Dogman and Rabbitwomen has been replicated in other cities to raise money for a charity.
Dog Man and Rabbit Women
As we continue walking, he says we are on Crown Street which is an upscale area for restaurants and points out a Taylor Swift mural on a wall someone has painted and says she ate on this street when she was in town. Kamala Harris was in town while we were, wonder if she ate on this street too? Our restaurants have been changed up for the day since one of the no shows was a vegetarian. Thus, we stop at a vegetarian restaurant and at one stop where we are to order an actual meal each. The vegetarian place was small and we had stuffed zucchini blossoms and Jeff had a beer. Then on to Kinsella's.
Kinsella's is well known in Sydney and has an interesting history. It started life as a hotel, but along the way it failed a safety standard. Then part of it became a mortuary and where we ate was the chapel - it did have a cross over the entrance, but that is the end of anything you would think of as a mortuary. The room is full on art deco and comes across almost like a small movie theater. We chose a dish each and learn more about the area. The street kind of dead ends where we are and the corner is a huge rainbow in the roadway. Seems this is the place to be during Sydney's big gay pride parade which they call Mardi Gras. Anyway, the rainbow started out as temporary for the parade then others wanted to keep it and a big political fight came up with someone tearing up the concrete at night to end the rainbow - obviously they lost since it's still there.
Top photo has ceiling of "Chapel" at Kinsella's
Happily, we walk for a little way before we have more food. Our next stop is a Greek bakery, but by the name you would not think it was Greek -Christopher's Bakery. Seems there is a large Greek population in Sydney with many coming during the Greek-Turkey wars in the early 1900s. Jeff and I each pick out a traditional Greek cookie - sorry can't tell the names which are both quite good. Then we walk on to another bakery where we pick up a ginger cream tart to take home for later. It is a local bakery that is so small only a couple of customers can be in it at a time. From there we walk up the hill to the corner where we will end at an Irish pub. We have a choice of a drink that is similar to a lemonade (which is like Sprite or 7UP in this country) made with bitters and tonic water or a ginger beer. We chose one of each. This part of the food tour was in a residential neighborhood so that was nice to see versus the big skyscrapers.
Extensive beer offering
Wonderful Zucchini blossom stuffed with a beet mixture
Irish Pub
Vivid Sydney and harbor tour
After seeing all that was being set up for Vivid Sydney the night before, we had decided to book a 1 hour boat ride harbor tour during the lights so we can see both Circle Quay where the Opera House is and Darling Harbor where more lights are set up. Jeff has several gorgeous photos to share. We were glad we did the boat because we saw both areas and it was slow enough that we could appreciate the different scenes they did on various buildings.
Vivid 2025 projections on Sydney Opera House
Watch the Video below to see more of the Opera House
Click above to watch the animations projected on Sydney Opera House and others
Live animation projected on this building
Following another tour boat
Sydney Operate House in forefront
Hunter Valley Wine Tour
Okay, I have to say this upfront. Jeff and I were both surprised and dismayed at the quality of the wineries we visited. Our tour guide was great and the people at the wineries were all nice, our fellow tourists were nice, the scenery was nice, but the wines were lacking. Our first winery was Saddler's Creek where I tasted the least effervescent sparkling wine ever that was not flat - that was the first wine of the day. At this winery, we did get to taste a varietal of grape we had never heard of before - a piquepoul which is a white wine supposedly similar to a Riesling.
From there we went around the corner to the Hanging Tree Wines whose name does imply what you are thinking. Like the other winery this one has a nice setting and would be a good place to hang out with friends (kind of like the wineries in Missouri). Again, we start with a sparkling wine and happily this time it sparkles! We ended with a tawny port which we did like and bought a bottle with plans to slowly drink it on our second and longer cruise. From there we went to a nearby country club/golf course/resort for lunch. The meal was nice and the complimentary house wines were the best we had all day.
Fun shop at Hanging Tree Winery
From there we went to a cheesery. We tasted about 6 different cheeses with the last being a very smooth blue cheese. Jeff tolerated most of them and actually liked one. The other 2 couples each bought some cheese which I wondered how they planned on keeping them. From there we were going to a chocolate maker or so it was described. It was a store that had put a bunch of little nibbles into a small muffin paper for us (yeah, I was a bit unimpressed with the tasting). However, the chocolate was pretty good, so we bought some chocolate covered cherries to go with the port wine we bought earlier.
On to our final stop - winery number 3. Earnest Hill whose tasting room is an old house. As we drove up their driveway through the grape wines, we saw a large Mob of kangaroos. Let me tell you a couple of these guys were huge!! Our guide said they were eastern grey kangaroos and yes those 2 were much larger than normal. We learned more about kangaroos during our tasting. Seems they are as bad as rabbits for reproducing; the mother has one in the womb, one in the pouch and one still nursing at the same time and is quite often in this state. Our winery tasting leader told us their front claws are like broken glass and their back paws are raptor claws. They will kill dogs. Seems that cars are their major predator these days and farmers, etc are not allowed to kill them. Oh, kangaroos love dusk and dawn. Back to the wine. Nothing spectacular here either although Jeff and I did like the chardonnay enough to buy a bottle. Then it was in the van for the 2-hour ride back into the city. Happily, our hotel was one of the last places you could drive to at night during the festival because they close off many streets to cars and vans for safety reasons. Time for us to figure out dinner and pack for our flight in the morning to Darwin.
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