We hopped on the ferry at the Luna Park Wharf and headed over to Circular Quay, where we boarded the ferry to the Pyrmont Bay Wharf, just across from Darling Harbour. When we arrived, we walked a few blocks toward the Anzac Bridge where we found the largest fish market in the Southern Hemisphere, the Sydney Fish Market.
The market begins business, everyday, at 5:30, when the day’s catch, prior to going to auction, is examined by the buyers. We didn’t get there that early, but it would have been interesting to see the auction. The only other fish auctions, larger than the one in Sydney, are, of course, in Japan.
After walking around the market to each of the different seafood companies’ stalls, we decided to buy a dozen oysters at Nicholas Seafoods along with a seafood platter, which we shared at a table right next to the oyster shucking station. The oysters we had were from the Tasman Sea and were the best that I had ever had! At $15 for the dozen, they may have also been some of the least expensive! I would imagine the oysters would have fetched $40 or more at a restaurant in the city. The seafood platter was huge, and the three of us struggled to finish it.
After stuffing our faces with the freshest seafood in Sydney, we headed to Paddy’s Market via the Light Rail. I was really keen to get a second didgeridoo at the market and, after a quick look around, I found the one that I wanted! It is beautiful and is so different from the first one that I got! I’m still trying to figure out the circular breathing technique but my plan is to master the instrument by the end of this summer!
Even though it was overcast, we decided to head back to Circular Quay to take the ferry out towards Parramatta. We headed west passing a lot of residential areas as well as the Olympic Park, where there was still an Easter show going on. Deciding not to go all the way to Parramatta, we disembarked the ferry at the Rydalmere wharf; this was the biggest mistake we made all day.
We knew that we would have an hour in Rydalmere before the next ferry would take us back to the city, so we figured we would walk around for a bit, and maybe have a cup of coffee before taking our time getting back to the wharf. Little did we know that Rydalmere is a residential area and home to just about every car repair shop in Australia. We walked for a couple kilometers before coming across a coffee shop. By the time we arrived, it was time to head back to the Wharf.
We picked up a coffee to go and quickly walked back to the wharf. We arrived 20 minutes prior to the next ferry arriving but we didn’t want to have to wait any longer if for some reason we missed this one. We were pretty much ready to leave this part of town as soon as we could; there was just not much happening. We may have found a place more boring than Wagga…
The trip back on the ferry was great and made the trip out west on the river worth it. We went under bridge after bridge and island after island as we headed back into the city. After twenty or so minutes after leaving the wharf, we turned a corner to see the beautiful Sydney skyline in the distance. Soon after, we saw the Harbour Bridge. We took a few pictures if you could imagine.
For dinner, we decided to try the other Thai restaurant around the corner from our apartment in Kirribilli. It was hard to compare the meal to the other night since they were both great! I had duck again but this time it wasn’t at spicy as the other night!
After dinner, we decided to cross the street and walk up the steps to the Harbour Bridge. We started the bridge crossing while it was still light out and by the time we made it to the other side, the sun had completely gone down, only leaving the beautiful orange and yellow colors in the western sky. The sunsets have been quite amazing the last few nights.
Rather than walking back across the bridge, we took the train back across the river to Kirribilli, where we got off and walked the last few blocks back to the apartment. We stopped just outside the train station to grab a Magnum ice cream bar to finish up our day. A great end to another great day!
Tomorrow, we are planning to head north to the many towns and beaches on the Pacific Ocean.