Day 45

Day 45 Sydney

Opera House

Opera House

I am going to have to take some comments back from a previous blog, no Margaret, not the bit about Queensland roads. No I have to retract some of my comments about our hotel. After going down to breakfast, Maureen went to the front desk to check out the room we are supposed to be moved into this morning. We had discussed our situation of our room. We are on the top floor but because the buildings are so close together, we cannot see lower than 3 floors, so Maureen was saying she was able to cope with the height issue. The room is big enough for me to drive the gopher in but there is one really skinny door that I have problems with. We had decided if the other room was smaller, we would stay. Well, when she got to the reception the Manager suggested she see the room first, so off they went. Well the room is about half the size of our room with just enough room for the bed. Problem solved we are staying in the penthouse room.

Maureen at the house

Maureen and the ship

From there, we decided to walk down and see the Opera House. The walk down to the harbour is very interesting and we had a great time wandering around. There is a huge ship Radiance of the Seas, in harbour and taking on passengers. From across the way we were able to get a good view as she slowly took on passengers. We walked over to the Opera

Me and the bridge

House. It is a lovely building that was designed and built before disabled people were invented. There are steps everywhere and disabled people can only see about ¼ of the building. We had to split up so that Maureen was able to see it all.

When we were there, we saw adverts for a concert – Handels Messiah, so we booked tickets for the Saturday night show. Again we wandered around and at the end we went to the coffee shop there. To do so, we had to split up as I

under the bridge

Blimp

had to go to one side of the building where there was a lift. It is a nice big lift and it is large, but it is very popular as it is the only lift. I lined up to get in to go down to the basement but when it opened, it was full of oldies who wandered out and stood around the door until it closed, but the button to call the lift is situated behind a chair and is impossible to reach by anyone in a wheel chair or gopher like me. I sat around and waited for the next time it came and the smaller group of oldies walked out fast enough for me to get in. the controls are only on one side and in the middle. I got in and hit the down arrow, others then

Banksia

The bridge at night

packed in around me and off we went. The lift hit the basement and I held the door open button whilst everyone discussed why we had gone down, whilst I am going, I did, I did and I need to get out. It eventually got through and then it was a major operation where people held the door open and 5 did crowd control on the people waiting to get in and 3 gave me steering directions, all going different ways!

At the basement level I was able to get to the disabled toilets and the first one I went to was so narrow a person would need to turn sideways to get in. I gave that a miss and found a second one way down the end of the corridor right at the base of the escalators bringing people up and down so I had to block the entrance for everyone so I could get into the toilet. I did and eventually met up with Maureen and we had a bite eat and watched the harbour and the bridge. Everytime we looked at the bridge there were at least 3 tour groups on it.

The Artwork

 

From the opera house, where I had to go back up the lift where when I got there, there was no one around at any floor. We walked past the cruise ship and on under the bridge and then along the harbour side until we made it near to where we could get to our hotel. They have created a lovely park area there and it is beautiful. Grassed and with lovely sandstone blocks and walls made from rocks that were there from the old quarry that was there prior. They have converted old harbour buildings into spectacular apartments with boat moorings. I was feeling a little tired and we went back to the hotel and I had a rest.

Party Group

park

Maureen went for another walk, I think she is enjoying being able to walk around in the cool weather, and watched the cruise ship back out and head off. Sydney is in Christmas mode and especially Christmas party mode. Everywhere you go there are groups of party goers having office do’s. Maureen came back and we went off to dinner at Buckleys restaurant and chatted about what to do tomorrow. So far we have decided that Maureen will go and watch Sunrise TV show and then we would look at going to Darling Harbour.