Monday morning had nothing scheduled until 9AM, so I took advantage of the time to go for a morning run. I was able to make my way through the Domain and the Botanical Gardens, out near the Opera House, under the Harbor Bridge, and along Darling Harbor before returning to the hotel. There were plenty of others out getting a morning workout, which was nice to see.
The rest of the early morning was breakfast and more failed attempts at getting low-cost internet access, which is like pulling teeth in Australia. Today, Susan and I had our own morning plans. The science and technology museum, The Powerhouse, had a Harry Potter exhibit that was very popular. We toured the (no cameras allowed) exhibit, which included a huge selection of actual movie props and costumes. Pretty much any and every object of importance to the plot-lines were included in the exhibit, so it was a lot of fun for fans of the HP series. With already being in the museum, the two of us quickly toured some of the other exhibits before making our way back to the Circular Quay to meet Jen and Darin for lunch.
Susan with the exhibit ad; A picture just outside the exhibit 
Looking down into the museum 
Me with an ancient bicycle
The plan for the day was to take advantage of the well-developed public transportation system and see whatever we had time for. For this reason, we invested in the MyMulti day pass, which gave us access to all rail, bus, and ferry options for 24 hours. So after taking trains to and from the Powerhouse, we hopped a ferry with Jen and Darin and headed out along the eastern harbor to Watson’s Bay. Doyle’s, a seafood restaurant renowned for their fish n chips was the plan for lunch. They have a take-away hut on the wharf with picnic seating nearby and reasonably priced food, but this option was cash only, something we were short of on our last day in Australia. The other option was the original hotel restaurant along the beach. We grabbed a table at the hotel, and after looking at the menu ($40+ per person for fish n chips was the lowest cost item) decided we better find an ATM. Now we know why the locals recommend getting carry out from Doyle’s. In the end, the take-away had delicious fish n chips and we were able to enjoy it in the park next to the shore, so it was worth the ferry ride.
Two of our transportation options 
Doyle’s Fisherman’s Wharf Takaway
The four of us caught the ferry back to the Circular Quay after lunch before immediately boarding another ferry to cross the harbor. This time we landed near Luna Park, a small amusement park just near the base of the northern side of the harbor bridge. Not really interested in the park, the plan here was to walk along the bridge. After a short uphill hike through the Kiribilli neighborhood, we ascended onto the pedestrian potion of the bridge (they also have a dedicated bike lane, 2 way train traffic, and 8 lanes of car traffic…for a bridge built in the 1930’s) and crossed back into Sydney. The walk was enjoyable offering a different view of the skyline and some of the other harbor bays and neighborhoods. There were also a lot of runners and walkers on the bridge and we could see some tourists participating in the bridge climb (up the archway) and getting views from atop one of the bridge towers.
A shot of the bridge/opera house from the ferry 
Us along the bridge 
The best part: the Luna Park man’s ‘stache was just for Movember
Once we left the bridge, again in the Rocks neighborhood, we came off just next to the old Australian Hotel Susan and I had stopped in a few nights prior, so hopped in for an afternoon drink…a quick pit-stop on the return to the hotel. At the hotel, we met Susan’s parents again, who had an adventure all their own, taking trains out of town to the Blue Mountains for the day. This is an area, among many others, that I would have loved to visit given more time. I think we left much unexplored in Sydney since has so much to offer.
Anyways, once completely regrouped and cleaned up for the evening. We returned to Circular Quay and caught yet another ferry to McMahon’s Point on the north shore of the harbor, but further inland (west of downtown). From here we watched the sunset and got a view of the opera house below the harbor bridge, a new perspective. Exhausted from the days’ excursions, we then returned to the Quay via ferry and grabbed dinner near the wharves at a casual café-style restaurant before returning to the hotel for bed. We had an early pick-up for the airport since we will be leaving Australia tomorrow and beginning on our New Zealand portion of the vacation.
A pirate ship in Sydney Harbor? 
The bridge at sunset 
Us with the bridge and opera house
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