Grand Tour Revisited 2016 : Kuala Lumpur, Australia - along the bottom edge.: Sydney

Thu 25th February

Here we are in Sydney, with an internet so slow Google keeps thinking it has disappeared and gives me dire warnings - it's making upload of any photos very difficult.

We arrived on Tuesday, escaping the heat wave in Melbourne to find that Sydney was just about to experience the end of the hottest 20 day period ever recorded, over 25C every day, and it's getting hotter. Today 41C was forecast for the Western Suburbs, we're close to the harbour and the sea breeze though so it should only reach 38.

We're in the posh bit of Woolloomooloo (know any other words with 8 Os in them?) called Potts Point. It's next door to the notorious Kings Cross, our advice is to avoid straying into that bit as we did the first evening - definitely very seedy. However, we're right next to the extremely upmarket Woolloommooloo Finger Wharf. The construction union prevented it being demolished a few years ago and it has now been restored and converted into very expensive apartments, ditto restaurants, and ditto moorings for millionaire's playthings - sample names Seaduction and Seaduced. Probably to the chagrin of the owners of said apartments and moorings ordinary mortals are allowed to walk along it and peer at them - we felt it was our duty to do so on the first evening. We then wandered over to a recommended veggie place where the birds wandering around the outdoor area clearing up crumbs were Ibis rather than sparrows.

Another advantage of our location is that is only 5 minutes walk from the Royal Botanic Garden, which is on the way to Circular Quay where you catch the ferries which work like buses and carry people all round the harbour. Yesterday we walked over and picked up Sydney's Oyster Card equivalent called Opal, this doesn't cost anything, you just load it up with money which is deducted when you touch on and off, and is capped at $15 a day. We set off up the Parramatta River, first landmarks on the way were going round the Opera House and under the Harbour Bridge, then stopped at Cockatoo Island for a coffee and a look at the former prison and naval dockyard. The trip further up to the Olympic Park was interesting but the destination was disappointing - the nature reserve walk was in full 30C plus sun and all the wildlife was hiding, so we scampered (slowly) back to the ferry.

We then jumped on a Sydney institution, the ferry to Manly, which is pointed at both ends and goes backwards and forwards every 30 mins. It travels fast but it's a big harbour so the journey takes half an hour, passing moored naval vessels and huge cruise liners. We had by now reached our $15 cap, so this trip was free. Manly is a laid-back surfer dude sort of place, with apparently the second best beach, after Bondi, so we fitted right in. I think they were quite glad when we moved on after a drink at a beachfront bar as we raised the average clientele age by a fair amount. We sat by the beach and watched some learner surfers (Louise is now keen to give it a go!) as well as some more experienced ones, who still managed to fall off a lot, and an impressive kite-boarder who shot along the beach. This all going on despite a lot of "Beach Closed" signs. We had tea at Hugos, the "Best Pizza Parlour NSW 2015", it was very good and not too expensive, but it means that any other pizza we may have must be less good. By chance we managed to pick the return ferry that did the westbound trip just as the sun was setting, despite the open front deck being packed with surfer guys and gals with their mobiles held aloft I was able to get a nice shot of the Opera House silhouetted against the setting sun.

Today we decided to visit the Art Gallery of NSW, not only because it was free and air-conditioned. They have an impressive collection, two Picassos, Monet, Pissaro, Cezanne and Van Gogh among the Europeans; Lucien Freud and Francis Bacon if you like that sort of thing, I don't. We liked the 19th century Australian artists, who managed to convey the feel of the country very well, and much enjoyed a guided tour explaining about Aboriginal art, which dates back up to 40,000 years - this gallery was the first in the world to recognise it as art rather than artefacts. On the way out we started chatting to an attendant while waiting for large school party to file in - his accent gave away the fact that he was from Sheffield, via Barnsley and Holmfirth, and came out 15 years ago. He recommended Coopers Original Pale Ale as the only Aussie thing worth drinking - I'm enjoying some now.

This evening we've got our tea from another Sydney institution, Harry's Cafe de Wheels - a pie hut which opened in 1938, and is two minutes from the hotel - we had a veggie and a seafood with mushy peas and chips. They were not bad, but not the same without Hendo's.

Woolloomooloo Finger Wharf

Rich boy's toy

Ten minutes walk through the Botanic Garden from the hotel

Ibis taking the duck role in the Royal Botanic

Circular Quay - where the migrants arrived, now the cruise ships tie up (2,500 passengers on this one), and the ferries start from - that's the double-ended Manly one