Our home base is a two-story townhouse on Woods Lane, a narrow tree and plant-lined passage with two-story residences, some of which date back to the 1850’s. The colonial architecture features a lot of rough-cut limestone block exterior walls and metal roofs.

The townhouse is quite open, daylit and modern inside and we geek out a bit on the architectural bits…

Our mission is not to hang out, but to get out and explore Sydney, so that is the itinerary for the first full day.

Being architects, getting over to the Opera House is first on the checklist. We tried to book and architectural tour, but those are only available on Saturdays, so a regular tour is booked for Friday afternoon.

Along the way we are quite fortunate to pass through Hyde Park and the Royal Botanical Gardens.

Grabbing lunch along the waters edge at Circular Quay (the wharf piers for the ferries crossing the harbor to multiple destinations) it’s challenging not to overdo the photos of the Opera House and Harbor Bridge. They are both iconic and photogenic!

Unfortunately a lot of photos were taken with a Nikon 35mm setup at higher res than iPhone, which apparently Jetpack does not want to import (or there is some operator error going on).

We aren’t the only mammals hanging out at the Opera…

We stop into the aboriginal and early colonial Sydney museum in the Rocks section to the north of Circular Quay. Very interesting exhibits in a restored wharf building.

Fun fact: Apparently when the British lost the American Colonies following the revolution, the first ship of tradespeople, convicts and seafarers set out in 1788 to establish a colonial footing in Australia. As the narrative noted, the monarchy was feeling a bit vulnerable and needed to expand their claims in the South Pacific.