Posts Tagged With: Hop On Hop Off Bus

Down Under on the HO HO to Bondi

After our visit to Manly Beach, we were keen to see Bondi Beach in Sydney to compare the two. We decided the best way to make the 7 km trip from the Rocks to Bondi would be the Hop On Hop Off Bus, aka the HO HO Bus or the Big Bus Sydney. The $55 AUD ($38.50 USD) ticket for one day was pricey but we thought it was an efficient way to travel throughout the city and see all the highlights. We hadn’t yet ventured outside our neighborhood in the Rocks and the HO HO would rectify that situation. The map below shows the routes for the HO HO Bus with white circles at stop 1 where we boarded the bus and our destination at Bondi Beach.

IMG_0118

Map of HO HO Bus route

IMG_5822

Riding the HO HO Bus in Sydney CBD

IMG_5824

Sydney Tower Eye

To change from the red to the blue line, we got off the bus at stop 3. Spotting St. Mary’s Cathedral nearby, we decided to have a look before the next bus.

IMG_5827

St. Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney

IMG_5831

Interior of St. Mary’s Cathedral

Back on the bus, we listened to the narration about landmarks such as Victoria Barracks and Centennial Park until we “hopped off” at the stop for Bondi Beach on Campbell Parade, just a short walk to the beach.

Bondi, pronounced bond-eye, is an aboriginal word which means “water breaking over rocks” or “noise of water breaking over rocks.” The crescent-shaped beach is 1km (.62 mi) long and the largest beach in the Sydney area, attracting as many as 40,000 visitors on the hottest days in summer.

IMG_5858

Bondi from the boardwalk

IMG_5846

Bondi Beach

IMG_5841

Bondi Beach

IMG_5856

View of Bondi Pavillion from the beach

After a brief exploration of the Bondi Pavillion, we removed our shoes to walk through the sand and dip our toes in the warm water of the South Pacific.

So, how did Bondi stack up against Manly Beach? If you’re looking for a wide sandy beach with a broad boardwalk from which to enjoy the beach scene, Bondi is for you. On the other hand, if you prefer picturesque views with shade offered by pine trees surrounding the beach, you’ll choose Manly. (If you missed it, you can read my Manly Beach post here.) Both offer coastal walks through the area and plenty of shops and restaurants. I’m told surfers prefer the bigger waves at Bondi, but we watched surfers at both. In the end, Manly got my vote but, if you have the time, definitely visit both.

Back on the bus, we enjoyed views of the city skyline from Dudley Page Reserve in Dover Heights, an eastern suburb of Sydney. Many tourists flock here to photograph the city from this vantage point.

IMG_5866

View of the skyline from Dudley Page Reserve

Soon after we transferred from the blue line back to the red line at the Central Railway Station, we spied one of the most striking buildings at One Central Park, in the suburb of Chippendale. The tallest vertical garden in the world, this 34 story residential building with 623 apartments was completed in 2013, winning an international award the following year for the best tall building in the world.

IMG_5874

One Central Park

We got off the bus again at stop 14 for the Sydney Fish Market at Blackwattle Bay. The largest working fish market in the Southern Hemisphere, the SFM supplies and promotes sustainable seafood,  trading over 13,500 tons of fish annually. We wandered around the area looking at fish we had never seen before and watching tourists eat local seafood prepared onsite.

IMG_5880

IMG_5886

Sydney Fish Market

Frankly, we were out of our element and not everyone in my group enthusiastically embraced the idea of eating local seafood at the Sydney Fish Market so instead we had lunch at a nearby pub, the Dunkirk.

IMG_5892

Lunch at The Dunkirk

Following a leisurely lunch, we boarded the HO HO again to finish the route. We passed through the Darling Harbor area, China Town, and Dawes Point before ending our tour where we began in the Rocks.

IMG_5900

Darling Harbor

IMG_5907

Darling Harbor

IMG_5909

Dawes Point

Day 3 in Sydney ended satisfactorily at Lord Nelson, another pub just around the corner from our condo where we enjoyed a cold brew and discussed all we’d discovered on our tour of the city.

3363CE0E-1EF7-4F29-B8CF-5E844407D6B5

Scenes from the Lord Nelson

 

Based on events from February 2019.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Categories: Australia, Oceania (Australia & New Zealand), Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Baile Átha Cliath, aka Dublin, Day 1

I always say make a plan but be open to changes. We scheduled a free walking tour for our first morning in Dublin to orient us to the city and provide background information on the sights. As luck would have it, it was raining that first morning so a walking tour was thoroughly unappealing. Nonetheless, I strongly recommend this activity when the weather cooperates. You can check the website for Sandemans New Europe Dublin free walking tours here.

We opted instead to do the Hop On Hop Off bus tour. Tickets cost $22.50 for adults but only $20.50 for seniors over 60 and for about $10 more, you can get a combination ticket that includes admission to the Guinness Storehouse. The ticket was good for 2 consecutive days and accomplished our purpose, plus we stayed dry and it was more relaxing in our jet-lagged state. The narrated bus ride identified and provided details about all the main tourist attractions and we could get off at any of 28 stops. Buses came along about every 15 minutes so we could re-board.

Hop On Hop Off Bus Dublin

Hop On Hop Off Bus Dublin

Inside the Hop On Hop Off Bus Dublin

Inside the Hop On Hop Off Bus Dublin

In addition, our ticket entitled us to a free Irish coffee at O’Sullivan’s Pub which was just the thing to warm us up on a chilly wet day.

O'Sullivan's Pub

O’Sullivan’s Pub

Irish Coffee at O'Sullivan's Pub

Irish Coffee at O’Sullivan’s Pub

Remains of the Day at O'Sullivan's Pub

Remains of the Day at O’Sullivan’s Pub

O'Sullivan's Pub

Abi, Brian, and Jim at O’Sullivan’s Pub

We had planned to visit the Book of Kells first thing the following morning to beat the crowd, but when we saw the ticket line was short, probably due to the rain, we decided to alter our plan again. The Book of Kells is an illuminated manuscript in Latin of the four gospels from the New Testament created by monks during the early middle ages (circa 800 A.D.) and housed in the old library at Trinity College. Photography is not allowed in the exhibit but you can now view the manuscript online for free here. (When you click the link, be patient and wait a minute for the images to load. I promise it’s worth the wait.) Ireland’s most precious and famous artistic and religious treasure was definitely on my must-see list even though I saw it 10 years ago when we were last in Dublin. The exhibit consists of 2 of the 4 volumes on display, one to a double page or folio of text and the other to a decorated page.  The displayed pages change periodically but I’m unsure of the frequency. The room is dimly lit with special lighting on the manuscript to prevent fading.

A substantial amount of informational material about the history of the manuscript is also displayed from which I learned several interesting facts. The pages of the manuscript are made of vellum, that is calfskin, and some of the pages have holes because the skin actually contained flaws in some places. Three artists and 4 scribes probably completed the manuscript and while words appeared more than once, no design was repeated. Although the subject of much scholarly debate, current opinion holds that the book was created on Iona, an island off western Scotland but possibly completed at Kells in Ireland where the monastery was relocated after a Viking raid. Some reviews I’ve seen called the exhibit disappointing but to me it is incredibly beautiful and fascinating.

Trinity College

Trinity College

Book of Kells Exhibit at Trinity College, Dublin

Book of Kells Exhibit at Trinity College, Dublin

Queue for the Book of Kells Exhibit

Brian and Abi in Queue for the Book of Kells Exhibit

The Book of Kells

The Old Library at Trinity College, Dublin

The Long Room is located upstairs directly above the Book of Kells exhibit in the Old Library. For book lovers like myself, this repository is how we imagine heaven. Books line the walls in each alcove, 2 stories high. It has a somewhat musty library odor, with that old paper and binding scent that evokes memories of many other libraries for me. The Copyright Act of 1801 established Trinity College as the official repository entitled to a copy of every book published in Ireland and Britain to this day. Two hundred thousand of the oldest books are held here.

The Long Room, Old Library, Trinity College, Dublin

The Long Room, Old Library, Trinity College, Dublin

You may have also noticed the marble busts lining the Long Room in the photo. The 48 busts are of great western philosophers and writers such as Socrates, Plato, Shakespeare, and Jonathan Swift along with men (alas, no women) associated with Trinity College.

The Brian Boru harp, made of oak and willow in the 15th century, is the oldest of its kind and was used as the model for the emblem of Ireland. It is also on display in the Long Room.

Son Brian with the Brian Boru Harp

Son Brian with the Brian Boru Harp

The historic front gate at Trinity College was damaged a year ago when a 68 year old driver plowed into it, for reasons unknown. The new refurbished gate is what you see here.

The Front Gate at Trinity College

The Front Gate at Trinity College

The other major attraction that we visited that day was the National Museum of Ireland which is my number 1 favorite sight in Dublin. I’ll tell you more about it and other sights including St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the Dublin Castle, and the Guinness Storehouse in upcoming posts.

References:

The Book of Kells Exhibit, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland

The Long Room, the Old Library, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland

Based on events of April, 2015.

Categories: Ireland | Tags: , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Powered by WordPress.com.

%d bloggers like this: