Sydney, Australia - Part 5

This is the fifth - and final - post of my time in Sydney, Australia.  I decided to keep things quiet today, after two days of exploration outside of Sydney.  The day was cloudy, with a big chance of rain, so I didn't want to venture too far out.  I started the day at Sydney's Hyde Park.  It's located right in the heart of downtown, and is a peaceful and beautiful place to wander through.  The centerpiece is Archibald Fountain, commemorating Australia's participation in WWI.  It's a wonderful structure that attracts a lot of tourists:

The length of the park is lined with giant trees, gentling sloping together to provide a shady walkway:

Flowers can be found everywhere, but it was some of the jungle-like plants that fascinated me.  I put my hand into the shot, to give you some idea how large these leaves were:

Also in the park, I found the Sandringham Gardens - a tribute to some of the past British monarchs.

Next to Hyde Park is another popular spot in Sydney, St. Mary's Cathedral.  It's a magnificent, traditional gothic-styled Catholic cathedral, built in the 1820s:

I walked through the interior, but wasn't allowed to take any photographs.  Many of the statues and paintings were covered in purple material.  Since there wasn't any construction going on, I asked about the covers.  Apparently, it's in preparation for Good Friday.  The church feels that in relation to the crucifixion of Christ, that people shouldn't be so light-hearted when inside the cathedral, and that they would be uncovered on Good Friday, to help celebrate Easter.  Interesting tradition.

Outside, I found a really nice statue of Pope John Paul II, based on a visit to Australia several years ago: 

I had a very spiritual moment inside St. Mary's, as I walked past several stained-glass windows depicting the life and mission of the Savior.  With both Easter and General Conference around the corner, it was a special moment.  At that moment, I decided to figure out where the Sydney Temple is located.  After a little bit of research, I found that the temple was located about 20 miles north of Sydney.  I figured out how to get there by train, but the trip would take over an hour, with changing trains at several stations.  To top it all off, the rain started pouring on me, as I walked for about 25 minutes from the nearest train station.  It was all worth it, as I love to see temples around the world:

I made my way back to Sydney, heading all the way to Circular Quay.  The hotel is actually located right between the Quay and an area called The Rocks. This is location of the earliest settlements of Sydney, back in the 1780s. Once a slum, it now houses some awesome shops and restaurants.  At the dock, they created a restaurant that looks like one of the old ships...

I get to stare at this restaurant from my room...it's really cool.  The Rocks has two markets that open on the weekends.  They have hand-made items for sale.  Just walking through the streets and alleyways feels like old Europe.

I found this seller's goods a little interesting.  As you may know, the Australian Outback has some of the most poisonous spiders and snakes in the entire world.  Fortunately, these guys are already dead.  I put my hand in the photo, to give you some scale...

I'm lucky enough to have a balcony that looks out onto the harbor.  I've even been using this to write this blog.  I'm one lucky guy...

One final note on some additional food in Australia.  While here, I tried a couple of candy bars, while I was walking so much. One of my favorites is the Cadbury Crunchie:

It's a sort of honeycomb that's covered in chocolate.  It's very light, but quite tasty.  The local McDonald's even have a McFlurry ice cream dessert based on it.  I'm glad I won't be able to find them easily back in the U.S. ; ) 

For those that remember the 80s song from Men At Work called "I Come From A Land Down Under", you may remember a reference to something called Vegamite:

It's a vegetable "spread" that you can put on bread or crackers.  In my humble opinion, it tastes disgusting.  I had to try it, however, in the hopes of learning more about Australian culture ; )

That's it for Australia.  Tomorrow, I'm heading to the airport for the 14 hour flight back to the U.S. I can't wait to see my family.  I'll have a 4-hour layover in SF, but will be able to see my daughter while there.  Bonus!

Thanks for sharing my adventure in Australia!