Tuesday January 19th

Started the day with a visit to the fascinating Susannah Place Museum. These terraced houses were built in 1844 and inhabited until as recently as 1985.

 

 

They have been acquired by a museum trust and now stand as a picture of life  in Sydney through the ages. They are decorated to reflect different eras and are wildly evocative of times past. In the corner shop this theme is continued with all the forgotten (and not so forgotten )items on sale.

 

 

 

 

Some of the history was so recent as to bring back memories and the guided tour was one of the best I have ever been on. Really worth a visit.

 

 

Cadman's Cottage was built in 1816 for the government's coxswain and is the inner city's oldest house. The Sydney Water Police held criminals here and it later became a home for retired sea captains. Exactly opposite was the current cruise liner in dock.

 

 

 

I was fortunate in the Museum of Contemporary Art in that I was invited to join a group of people who were beige led by an artist who helped to explain some of the more complicated pieces!

 

I was keen to see Parliament House, the home to the NSW parliament since 1829 but, sadly for my photos, it is under restoration!

 

 

 

St Mary's RC Cathedral was built in an era when much larger congregations were order of the day. It is 106m long and was begun in 1868 although the spires were not added until 2000.

 



 

It is always surprising when walking round this very modern city when one comes across some of the older houses. These were in my present home in the area known as Kirribilli and are the only  ones left of their age.

 

 

Ended the day by watching Leyton Hewitt in his 20th and final Open.

 

Wednesday January 20th.

 

Brilliant start to the day when I saw that Portsmouth have beaten Ipswich and got through to the next round of the FA Cup!

 

Having given my knee rather too much to do over the last couple of days I decided to take a rest day so travelled by train to Cronulla to see one of the best surf beaches (according to my guide book!) Cronulla itself was unimpressive but spent a relaxed couple of hours reading Clive James Unreliable Memories set not too far away. The photo shows Cronulla looking down the beach to the infamous Botany Bay.