Sightseeing in Sydney

Did you think the endless Australia pictures were done?? No such luck for you! After the Blue Mountains we had a day in the city checking out the sights and some history at the Hyde Park Barracks.

This was a beautifully restored Victorian Shopping Mall. Just stunning and very high end.

We didn't go up the Sydney Tower Eye but, like The Shard in London, I found it lurking in every other photo. It makes a good focal point and a pleasing contrast between old and new.

We spent a happy and informative few hours in the Hyde Park Barracks Museum. It is one of the oldest buildings in Sydney and was originally built to house the convicts and immigrants when they first arrived before being sent out to their work details. It was fascinating reading the varied stories.

One of the trouble with the building is that it has been used for dozens of purposes since its construction so had to tell many stories. As Sydney has historically been ashamed of its convict past, the building's incredible value was not recognised. It was a Department of Work and Pensions office in the 1950s and 60s! And nearly demolished in the 1970s!! Only a newspaper and public campaign saved it. Truly incredible.

Parts of the building were left in their more recent incarnations but the top floor had been set up as it was originally with bunks and room

This is The Mint next door to the Barracks housed in another of the oldest buildings in the city, the Old Plantation House.

Then to the more recognisable vistas of a modern city. Canyons.