I went into the city today on a ToyVoyager expedition with (Playmo)Bill, Boone Racoon, Twinette Kani and Alpina - who is staying with Bec's sister at the moment!
Our first stop was the city shops in the CBD so Alpina could check out the fashions.
Here is Sydney Tower, it is Sydney's tallest free-standing structure, and the second tallest in Australia (with the Q1 building on the Gold Coast being the tallest). It is also the second tallest observation tower in the Southern Hemisphere (after the Sky Tower in Auckland, New Zealand).
Our next stop was the Pitt Street Mall. It is Sydney's main shopping street and one of Australia's busiest and most cosmopolitan shopping areas. In it you see a mix of modern skyscrapers and heritage buildings.
One of these heritage buildings is the Strand Arcade. It opened in 1892 and is the only Victorian arcade in Sydney that is in it's original form. We couldn't afford to buy anything from the stores in here, as they are mainly designer stores, so after a little look around and some window shopping for Alpina we moved on to get some lunch someplace else!
After lunch we continued our sightseeing expedition and stopped to have a look at the flowers in Martin Place.
Martin Place is surrounded by many heritage buildings and it is very popular at lunchtime, often crowded with office workers and bicycle couriers. Sydney's largest Christmas tree stands in Martin Place every year. A Christmas concert is held in late November, when the tree is decorated.
(Playmo)Bill was very taken with these flower gardens as their designs celebrate the Year of the Surf Lifesaver
Martin Place is also the home of The ANZAC Cenotaph, commemorating the soldiers ("Diggers") who fought in World War One and all wars since. An ANZAC Day dawn service is held at the cenotaph every year on 25 April.
Continuing on our tour, we walked down George St towards the Harbour and Circular Quay, where we came across this interesting water feature (one our hosts / tour guides had never noticed before, seeing as they don't usually come to this side of Circular Quay station!) It marks where The Tank Stream once flowed. In the earliest days of White Settlement in Australia, the tank stream provided the colony with fresh water - until it was turned pretty much into an open sewer! To protect the settlers, Tank Stream was covered and now can't be seen at all.
