Prowling Paddy's Market
Most of this, our last day in Sydney, was free time so we could explore Sydney on our own. I spent some time working on the trip blog, and then took my camera over to Paddy's Market, just two blocks from our hotel.
The market has several floors and occupies a large building. The top two floors floors look like any other mall, but the fun part is down on the ground level. There are found dozens of stalls selling clothing, jewelry, small electronics, and an eclectic mix of stranger things.
The first shop I encountered sold athletic jerseys from teams around the world. Miami, Chicago, and New York I can understand, but Oklahoma City? In Sydney, Australia? In the second photo, I suspect that the green T-shirt isn't really made by Prada.
This was a typical stall, with every square inch, horizontal and vertical, covered with merchandise. The name "Paddy's Market" would imply some sort of Irish connection or history, but every single vendor that I saw there was oriental. Note that the proprietor is reading a Chinese newspaper.
This stall had Aussie-themed products.
Hats and hair pieces. The pink plaid hat is particularly fetching.
Not everything was (knockoff) merchandise. This portrait artist was drawing a sketch of his client.
For all your Rolex needs. At several stalls I was told not to take photos, probably because all the merchandise was counterfeit.
This stall had nothing but stockings and anything else that could be put on a leg.
Ah, the famed Aussie bluntness. I like the tongue-in-cheek fake Facebook logo, too.
How about a Diva Outlet? Everything here is a watch or clock.
Remember what I said about "eclectic"? This place sells campy plaques ("DAUGHTER - When I count my blessings, I count you twice"), weird-looking ceramic cats, knives, and Samurai swords.
Looks like they've sold one of these.
Lots of colorful patterns, and more hats. And colorful patterns of hats.
Wigs in every color of the rainbow.
I think a few of these mannequins were intended to model something other than wigs.
Refugees from Super Mario's world.
Turn the corner and, instead of more "licensed" clothing, there's a large fresh produce market.
Leaving Paddy's, I dodged around one of Sydney's trams on my walk back to the hotel.
After lunch, the bakery in Chinatown where I found breakfast the day before had lots of tempting things for dessert.
Our Farewell Dinner
Earthbound/All Classical tours always end with a memorable dinner (lunch in Prague, because of our travel schedule). The Sydney extension was no exception. Our farewell dinner was aboard a cruise vessel in Sydney Harbour.Here we're waiting for Jack to pick up our tickets at will-call. We're back at the Circular Quay, where the big cruise ships, smaller cruise boats, ferries, and water taxis all dock.
We all started with champagne. We had a big table right by the windows.
Once sailing time arrived, we headed out into Sydney Harbour. Our vessel didn't actually go anywhere, it just cruised around and passed by the sights of the harbour. We got to see some of the harbour traffic up close.
Notice that the driver of the water taxi has his head through a window, presumably for a better view. This wasn't just momentary, other photos show the same thing.
Now the view out our window is of Sydney Harbour Bridge.
The weather was changeable. It was cloudy when we arrived at Circular Quay, then turned even more gray and misty. Eventually it cleared up some and a bit of sun appeared, but not in these photos. The Opera House seen through the mist is an interesting sight, though.
As time passed, more and more sailboats appeared. I suppose people were getting home from work and heading out on their boats.
The sun is coming out a bit now, bringing some color with it.
Jack and Bob taking photos, as was everyone else.
Our boat made one last pass under the Harbour Bridge. The cruise ship in port now is from Carnival; the Royal Caribbean ship has sailed.
At the end of the dinner cruise, back onto the Circular Quay, back onto our bus, and the next day back to Auckland, San Francisco, and home.
We've had a marvelous and memorable time. Now, where was the next All Classical tour heading?
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