Sydney created a terrible first impression. It is very unfriendly for cyclists as there is no road-margin to cycle in due to the narrow car lanes. Bike lanes disappear into nowhere leaving cyclists totally stranded on busy highways with cars hurtling past at 100kph. Getting on the pavement often doesn’t help as they too can disappear or be very narrow in the outer-suburbs. It is not a good thing in this more environmentally sensitive age if cyclists have to commute in packs in the early hours of the morning just to be road-safe. If I was a dad with responsibilities I’m not sure that I would consider the chances worth taking. I was aware of these issues but it was pretty shocking to experience them. Then, I saw the women and my attitude to the place totally changed; they are stunning. I was definitely looking forward to people-watching.
My very generous hosts Eoin and Eilish made my life in Sydney quite simple. They live beside Darling Harbour which is a major tourist hang-out and is right on the door-step of the CBD. Within 24 hours I had pretty much seen everything there is to see in Sydney; the Opera House, the Harbour Bridge, the skyline, Bondi and the Royal National Park. Variety for the tourist is achieved by seeing the Opera House, the Harbour Bridge and the skyline from different vantage points such as Bradley Heads, Waverton and the Royal Botanic Gardens. The Harbour Bridge is just a bridge and the skyline seems to be made up of a fairly standard bunch on buildings. However, the longer I stayed in Sydney the more I started to realise how pretty the whole place is. The tranquility of the centrally located Royal Botanic Gardens is something special. Intially it seemd that the skyscrapers were dominating the period architecture, however, individually there are some really fine buildings here. The Opera House is the most impressive but the gold Sydney Tower perched like a nest atop the skyline is my favourite with the period QV being stunning both inside and out.
Unlike Melbourne Sydney is weak when it comes to town-planning. Of course, the large network of waterways between the heads does not make urban planning easy but getting around the place in a car makes planning seem an after-thought. As the harbour is visible from so many different places it must make a large number of districts desirable and so spread the cost of housing. Still, Sydney is a money-centre and feels very much like any other city where money is king. Restaurants and retailers rely heavily on the spending power of bankers, accountants, lawyers and insurers and so there is certainly a London feel to the place as the city-buzz is a function of the success of the Australian economy. Thus, Sydney caters more for mainstream interests and is really just a regular international city built on an interesting network of wharves and quays with superb weather and great beaches. Certainly Sydney in the sunshine is a pretty place with its shimmering waterways. Is it fair to say that it is London in the sun? Like Melbourne, the longer I stayed the more I started to love the place.
To be continued ...