We took the train from Sydney to Canberra, but an early check out time, meant we had a bit of a wait at the Central Train Station in Sydney. It has a lovely cafe called ‘Eternity.’ That is where we chose to wait. We found a table next to three lovely Australian

ladies of a certain age who were finishing their meal and returned my greeting with big smiles and “hellos.” One only can wonder where this encounter might have led if two footloose and fancy-free American gentlemen had arrived 20 minutes earlier. My college pal Duke always said I had a way with the older ladies. Now that I am an older man (scratch the ‘er’) he might be right.

The train was well-appointed, even in the economy section where we had assigned seats in the first row that allowed us access to a small moveable table. There was a cafe care ahead of us just in front of the sold-out first-class car for our four-hour journey. There was a young woman sitting across the aisle from us with a lady who she just me and for four hours she told this very kind woman the story of her life. It was quite a tale, and I was amazed at how patient her new friend was at listening and getting a few words in every once in a while.

Once outside Sydney, the countryside was beautiful. These few shots out the train windows do not do it justice.

Our journey ended in the late afternoon and a cab rid took us to a rather lovely condominium apartment within walking distance of Australia’s Parliament building. Below is a picture of the spire of the building taken from our living room.

Wikipedia describes Canberra this way:  On 1 January 1901, federation of the colonies of Australia was achieved. Following a long dispute over whether Sydney or Melbourne should be the national capital,^[14] a compromise was reached: the new capital would be built in New South Wales, so long as it was at least 100 mi (160 km) from Sydney. The capital city was founded and formally named as Canberra in 1913. A blueprint by American architects Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin was selected after an international design contest, and construction commenced in 1913.^[15] Unusual among Australian cities, it is an entirely planned city. The Griffins’ plan featured geometric motifs and was centred on axes aligned with significant topographical landmarks such as Black Mountain, Mount Ainslie, Capital Hill and City Hill. Canberra’s mountainous location makes it the only mainland Australian city where snow-capped mountains can be seen in winter; although snow in the city itself is uncommon. This is me again. The city does have a very modern feel to it. The streets are wide and there is a lot of green space. Its population of about half a million makes it seem both extremely livable and very quiet at most times, except as we found, when there are protests going on near Parliament.

On our first evening, Steve and I took a walk to the National Australian Press Club and saw a delightful Jazz Duo perform. The press club had an excellent 18-year-old Lagavulin and a nice food menu.

We ended the night with a walk to a supermarket to stock up on some basics and luckily found a cab to take us back home for a good night’s sleep. I was going to need it for the next day’s adventures.

Sydney, this wonderful cosmopolitan city, also has many suburban communities that are a ferry ride from the Central Business District (abbreviated as CBD which always had me looking for a good pain relief cream). We took a 15-minute ferry trip out to Taronga Zoo Sydney at Bradley’s Head, a spit of land across the harbor from the Opera House and other familiar sights.

In order to reach the zoo, one takes a bus ride from the ferry dock up a winding hill road. The zoo entrance is at the top of the hill. Visitors work their way down the hill to the inevitable gift shop and then a short walk back to the ferry.

If you look really closely at the two pictures above, you will find a Koala.

Two of my favorite groups to visit. The monkeys were mostly chilling on this hot day. The giraffes, as always, we just “hanging out.” The zoo staff at the Naples Zoo once told me that male giraffes are like adolescent boys, always bumping into each other, gangly and getting into mischief. I always enjoy seeing these giants.

The zoo has an incredible aviary (left). See the bird standing calmly on the first level of the rocks. On the right is a Tasmanian Devil with a fake kill behind it. These little creatures are endangered, and the zoo is trying to save and restore them.

And of course, the Kangaroos. These bad boys-red or grey, are amazing and a bit scary. They were free within a caged “family fun” area with a lot of keepers around. I was a bit spooked by having them hop past me. All in all, it was a fun day at the zoo.

Our final cultural visit in Sydney was to the Australian Museum Sydney to see its permanent exhibit on the history and crafts and life of the many aboriginal and island people of Australia.

Baskets on the left and a ritual carrier used in dances on the right.

A bark canoe, one of several on display and on the right, one of several representations of the story of creation, life, and death.

On the left, a picture for my geology-inclined friends, on the right, me and some other interesting creatures. I thoroughly enjoyed the city of Sydney. The people here are friendly, kind and seem to live a low stress life. There is green space everywhere and the architecture is beautiful. It is the kind of place that one hopes to return to and that makes one sad to leave. Now it is on the Canberra, this island continent’s capital.

I can’t get enough of good churches, so after our visit to the Anglican Cathedral, we embarked on a morning visit to Saint Mary’s Roman Catholic Cathedral.

Let me tell you, folks, with all due respect to the Blessed Mother, that joint was jumpin’! There was a special mass for the girls’ parochial schools in Sydney still going on when we arrived. There were literally hundreds of Catholic school girls in a myriad of uniforms, with teachers, in the cathedral and a growing number of tourists and parishioners waiting to get inside. I took a few exterior shots while waiting.

This Cathedral is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is a beautiful and peaceful place. I noticed that it seems to be a place where the Catholic community embraces both the old and the new. For instance it has embraced the terminology of “Reconciliation” over “Confession” for the sacrament that many will remember as an encounter with a priest in a darkened box. After the Second Vatican Council, this terminology was changed in many progressive Catholic communities, and the process was made more welcoming. Yet, I am sure more traditional leaning Catholics are comforted by the stature of Saint John Paul II (known as John Paul the Great) who did much to bring back a more conservative way of practicing the faith.

I have, of course, some pictures of a few of the lovely stained-glass windows inside this beautiful edifice.

Just across the road from the Cathedral we found a familiar royal pair immortalized in “statuary form.”

And then, it was off to the Sydney Botanical Gardens. These gardens are huge and lovely to stroll through. It was a very warm day and these few photos do not do the gardens progress, but we had one more stop to make, so here we go!

After a brief ferry ride, we arrived at Manley for an afternoon at the beach. Manley is a beach town that has a small town feel to it. The beachfront has a promenade with plenty of space for walkers and bikers, a wide swathe of sand and some great waves hitting the shore. On the day we were there, there were some people hang gliding and landing on the beach!

Regular readers of this blog know I cannot pass a good church. When Steve and I came across Saint Andrew’s Anglican Cathedral, we had to check it out. And, what a good choice it was. As I walked in, I was met by a lay minister with a big smile who welcomed me and asked me where I was from, how long I was in Australia for and where else I was going. He greeted my travelling companion, Steve and then answered some questions about the cathedral and introduced us to a colleague who was also very helpful. Both gents checked in with us several times and pointed out more interesting features of the place to us. With my interest in the similarities and differences between the Anglican and Roman traditions as well as the many variations in Anglican modes of worship, I found these gentlemen’s availability great.

The cathedral’s stained-glass windows may look traditional, but they also speak of this community’s missionary efforts to people of the Pacific to bring the words of the Jesus to them. It has been interesting during this first week of my visit to this continent and this wonderful city of Sydney, so familiar, yet so different to the American and British places I know and love, to hear and read about the ways in which the First Nations of Australia and its neighbors have found peace, reconciliation and even joy in their own ways of knowing the Creator and finding that these in-comers were not bringing anything new to them, but simply using different words. I have had many wonderful discussions with dear Anglican friends about similar things when I try to understand how our traditions remain so close to reconciliation, yet our leaders seem so unable to bring us fully together. This visit certainly gave me plenty more “food for the journey” as a dear Catholic friend of mine might say.

I want to add a few more pictures of some relics donated to this Cathedral.

Finally, I would like to share this picture of the lovely organ in the Cathedral.