First Day

Duncan at Sydney Opera House
Fishmonger at local grower's market

We arose on Saturday morning to do our shopping at the local growers’ market just down the street at the El Alamein fountain. It was small but well stocked, and we enjoyed walking around, talking to the locals. The fish monger gave us specific instructions on cooking the Dory and the butcher did the same for the steaks we bought. We loaded up and bought most of our food for the next few days. I love being able to shop for fresh ingredients locally and cook when on holiday, it’s a real treat.
We’d booked a backstage tour of the Sydney Opera House on Sun. at 7 a.m., the only time they do them, and wanted to work out our route as we thought we might be able to walk there. We headed off with the maps in the direction of Circular Quay across the amazing Botanical Gardens. Two very helpful volunteers in the garden talked to us about the route but to our chagrin, we found that the gates to the garden don’t open until 7 a.m. so we’d never make it in time.
Oh well, guess we’ll have to drive. But then we found that the parking garages don’t seem to open until 7 a.m. either. The opera tour planners don’t seem to have taken this into consideration. We went to the tourist information office and they told us that the parking garage closest to the opera house should be open that early but if not, we could pay $35 at the nearest hotel.
So we enjoyed the day walking about Circular Quay and The Rocks. It was sweltering, but we walked slowly enjoying the open air markets and the atmosphere, particularly at the beautiful opera house. A jazz band was accompanying a sultry soloist at the Opera Bar. We stopped to listen and all seemed right with the world.