We walked to our nearest train station, Town Hall to catch a train to Circular Quay. However, upon arriving at Circular Quay, I realised that I forgot to bring the pre-paid cruise tickets. :( Oh well, we now have more time to explore The Rocks lol. :)
First, we went to The Rocks Weekend Market. The girls enjoyed looking at the many different stalls. They were most enthralled by the stall selling crystals. I was pretty surprised lol. I told them that they could each buy a crystal of their choosing since they were so interested in the crystals. :) The girls also bought a handmade pouch for their handphone. The girls also enjoyed strawberries and marshmallow dipped in chocolate at the weekend market.
After the weekend market, we went to The Rocks Discovery Museum. The girls found the exhibits really interesting and informative as they learned about the history of The Rocks from pre-1788 till present. They enjoyed playing "archaeologists" by piecing broken pieces of crockery together.
Initially I wanted to have lunch at Orient Hotel (from my list of restaurants lol) but it was full. So I brought the girls to the next option, Harbour View Hotel. Due to my "superb" map reading skills, we took a long, scenic route to Harbour View Hotel. :P But hey, we did find the Sydney Observatory on the way, which was our next destination lol. However, the restaurant was closed. But the bar was open lol. We were too tired to walk so we had bar food which was really delicious. :) Marieann had Pasta of the Day with mushroom and squash in tomato sauce (A$10.50), Juliane had Pancakes with bacon, banana, strawberries and ice cream (A$13.50) and I had Big Breakfast - eggs, bacon, sausages, roasted tomato, mushroom, hash brown and toast (A$13.50).
After lunch, we took a slow walk up to Observatory Hill where the Sydney Observatory is situated. The scenery from Observatory Hill was amazing. We could see the Harbour Bridge, and The Rocks. We had time to look at the exhibition before the 3D Space Theatre movie started at 2.30pm. After the movie, we had a day telescope viewing session. However as the sky was overcast, we used the telescope for a real close up view of the bridge. The girls enjoyed the telescope viewing session. :)
On the way to Observatory Hill where the Sydney Observatory is
On Observatory Hill
View from Observatory Hill
The Sydney Observatory
Outside the observatory
Telescope viewing
We were hungry after the walk up and down Observatory Hill lol. I took the girls to Tara Tea Room (on my restaurant list lol) or soon to be known as The Tea Cosy for afternoon tea. The Tea Cosy is situated at the rear courtyard of the Irish Design Shop. We had the Tasting Basket for 2 (A$26) - 1 Plain, 1 Cheese and Onion, 1 Date and Apricot, 2 Apple Strudel scones, clotted cream, double-thick cream, butter and 3 jams (strawberry, fig, almond & ginger and paw paw, lime & passion fruit) and 2 drinks. The scones were scrumptious with the clotted cream, double-thick cream and jam! :) While we were enjoying our tea, it started raining heavily around 4.30pm. We stayed at the tea house till 5+pm. However the rain didn't let up. We had no choice but to venture into the rain to make our way back to Circular Quay. The girls, although they had their NorthFace jackets that are water resistant, shared an umbrella while I had my trusty Mountain Designs waterproof jacket.
It was close to 6pm when we arrived at Circular Quay. Vivid Sydney, held from 27 May to 13 June, would transform the city into a canvas of light, music and ideas after 6pm. There would be light projections on the iconic Sydney Opera House sails, performances from local and international musicians as part of Vivid LIVE and a free outdoor exhibition of interactive light sculptures all over The Rocks. Since we were in no hurry to go anywhere (besides it was still drizzling), we stayed to watch the light projections on the Sydney Opera House. The light show was spectacular and breathtaking, not just on the Sydney Opera House, but on the other buildings too such as the Customs House, Museum of Contemporary Art and other office buildings around Circular Quay.
Marieann's shot of me taking photos of the light show on Sydney Opera House
Light show at the Museum of Contemporary Art
Light show at the Customs House
We watched the light show till around 6.30pm when Marieann asked if we could go back to The Rocks to look at the VIvid Sydney Night Markets. Always one for such markets, I didn't mind lol. Juliane was the only one who complained about having to walk back to The Rocks area and pulled a long face during the entire time at the night market. :P
By 8pm, we were back at World Square Shopping Centre. We went to Coles supermarket and bought some goodies that we can't find/ see in Singapore lol. :P Since Day 1, the girls have been asking me to let them soak in the tub. I finally relented tonight and they enjoyed themselves even though it was only for 15 minutes lol. :)
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