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THE PLACES BEYOND THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES

 This is the first place I sat and people-watched in Sydney.  

It's the El Alamein fountain just up the street from my hotel in King's Cross. 

 It looks lovely at night - and the cafe on the right makes a very good cup of coffee

for tired travellers

This journey is starting to pass much quicker than I thought.  It's already Day 15 - I'm a third of the way through my adventure and there's so much I haven't told you...

As usual, I'm afraid, a sprinkling of photographs will have to serve as an update of my Grandest Tour Of All.

 Next morning I looked around King's Cross.  It has a reputation for being seedy, sleazy and disreputable - a reputation which, from my observations, it entirely deserves.

These lovely colonial houses are the other side of the story, though.  I loved King's Cross for its liveliness and honesty - it's what modern travel writers call 'cosmopolitan and bohemian'.

 These exotic-looking birds are Australian White Ibises - and they're as common as pigeons in Sydney.  The size of large gulls, they fuss around anyone who's eating or drinking on a park bench.

Strangely, not much is known about their lifestyle; the Botanic Garden Trust is carrying out research as I type.

 Speaking of the Botanic Garden...

My first view of Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House was from the air - the plane from Perth flew in over the city.  But that doesn't really count.  This was where I first caught sight of one of the world's most photographed structures.  It's inside the Royal Botanic Garden and the profusion of palms reminds you of how sub-tropical Sydney's climate is.

 15 different types of grass...

 A lunchtime office-worker doing some tai-chi in the Garden.  

I joined him for 10 minutes or so but felt far too self-conscious to stay...

 When you first see the Opera House in all its glory, you have no choice but to stand and stare.  That's how heart-stopping it is.  And then you stare some more.

The little jetty below the Opera House is Man O'War Quay...

 ...which is where I met the amazing Mark.

Every lunchtime, he runs across the Botanic Garden to the Quay, strips down to his trunks and jumps into Sydney Harbour for 10 minutes or so.  And then he runs back through the Garden to his office.

Everyone under about 35 seems to be involved in some sort of strenuous exercise for most of the time in Sydney - a truly pleasurable thing to observe, specially as short shorts are still worn by Sydney's menfolk...

 It's impossible to be anywhere near the Opera House without needing to look at it again and again, from every angle...

 If you look very, very carefully at this picture, you may be able to see - on the upper arch of the bridge, about centre-photo - what look like tiny bits of fluff sticking up.  They are people; and they're doing the Bridge Climb - 'the climb of your life'.  It takes a whole morning to climb all the way to the top and back again.  My nephew's done it and says it's awesome and I've decided to take his word for it.

 The Opera House roof shimmers and sparkles and glitters in the afternoon sunshine.

 This is where I rounded off my first day in Sydney - at the Circular Quay Oyster Bar.  I had a barramundiburger...

Oh dear.  I'll have to go now.  My flight to New Zealand has just been called....

Watch this space...