"Did you walk across the bridge?" people would ask when we told them we had been to Sydney. Well, we didn't actually walk across the entire bridge, but we did walk out to the first pylon with Mikala, and she and I climbed the 200 stairs to the observation deck at the top.
Construction of the bridge was a depression era project completed in 1932 by a small army of engineers and workers. It was modeled on the Hell's Gate Railway Bridge in New York.
The pylon we climbed is pictured on the right below.
If you look closely, you can see a group of people starting out on a climb up the girders.. These climbs are offered at various times of day - from dawn until after dark - for somewhat astonomical sums of money.
The pylons were closed for security reasons during World War II, but after the war the south east one was re-opened as a sort of entertainment center. There were dioramas, sideshows, a souvenier shop and, curiously, a cattery. Two or three cats were kept there at all times. They wandered at will during the day and were secured in cages at night. On the left below is a picture of a picture in the current pylon museum which shows one of the cats on a girder.
The picture on the right shows Walt and Mikala waving up to me on top of the pylon.
It's possible that Sydney has even more passenger ferries than Seattle. They come in several shapes and sizes and some, at least, travel at high speeds. Here's a shot of the ferries and opera house taken from the bridge.
We wandered through the narrow streets near the bridge in the neighborhood called The Rocks past children wearing period costumes to the oldest continuously licensed pub in Sydney called The Fortune of War. It was crowded, but the crowd readjusted itself and we managed to squeeze in and enjoy a glass of beer.
Then we walked over to that other much loved symbol of Sydney - the Opera House. There is a large restaurant area on the deck and on the level below. We sat in the sun and watched the dogs work at scaring the seagulls away so people can eat their meals in peace.
Our hotel was in Darling Harbour so Mikala suggested that it would be more fun to take a ferry to Barangaroo than to ride the commuter train. After passing the Opera House and going under the bridge, the ferry stops at an old amusement park built in 1935.
We must have passed a gazillion open-air bars and restaurants on the 20 minute walk from the wharf to our hotel, and each one was packed with people enjoying the beautiful weather and the happy hour prices. Sydneysiders certainly know how to enjoy life. Here's a picture taken the next evening when we returned to the area searching for a good place to eat dinner.
