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.

Our tour of the Sydney Opera House was interesting, but we were not able to take pictures of the indoor sights, like the theatres. There were craftsmen at work in the theaters. More importantly, I suspect, Ryan Gosling was filming a movie somewhere in the complex. (Well, excuse the heck of the rest of us Ryan.) However, I did manage to pull one shot off the internet. The theaters are acoustically amazing. The seats are comfortable with sufficient leg room to imagine a pleasant evening at a concert or opera.

The history of the construction of the iconic building was fascinating to hear. It began with a group of renowned designers and architects rejecting the design until Eero Saarinen convinced his colleagues that it was the winner. The designer, a relatively unknown young Danish architect named Jørn Utzon who envisioned a sculptural curved building on the harbor. His vision for the exterior of the building was completed, but political intervention over costs led to his resignation from the project and another architect was brought in to finish the project. In the end, however, Utzon was asked by a later, perhaps more artistically sensitive government to develop a set of design principals regarding the building which now govern how it must be maintained.  In 2007 the Sydney Opera House was formally recognized as one of the most outstanding places on Earth with its inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage List under the World Heritage Convention. Sadly, Mr. Utzon never returned to Australia, but our tour guide told us that he had the honor of having Mr. Utson grandson on one of his tours last year.

Another touching fact that was mentioned during the tour was Dame Joan Sutherland’s devotion to the Opera House. At a time in her career when she did not need to take the time away from singing in the great established houses of the world, she made room for this new venue in her homeland and brought her fame and friends to it. After her death the opera theater was named for her, and this lovely portrait (best picture I could find) hangs outside its doors.

A few interesting shots from outside the Opera House, one shows a close-up of one of the iconic “shells” and another shows the famous harbor bridge.

That evening, we went to dinner at Darling Harbor. Steve had learned of a series of fireworks displays and water shows in commemoration of Lunar New Year. We hoped to finish dinner and try to find a spot to see the fireworks over the water. We found a spot at one of the many restaurants that line the harbor, but because of the crowds present, were unable to get seated, served, and complete our meals before the fireworks started. I was able to find a spot between two bushes to get some shots of the fireworks-not great quality, but I hope it gives you an idea of the spectacular,

It was quite a night and, as the old saying goes, “my dogs were barking” by the time we got back to our apartment that night.