Took the walk from the opera house to the royal botanic garden and we stopped to see the ruins…read more Cool spot.

Walking past I thought it looked like a strange art project. Love walking around all the different…read morepieces of the old architectural pieces from the city. This is just outside our hotel (Sir Stamford) on our way into the botanical garden

I literally passed by this museum on my way to the botanical gardens several days ago. Noting the…read morelimited hours I slightly rearranged my schedule to make the Tuesday hours work. I was expecting a small museum that would take 30 minutes max to go through. Thankfully I was so wrong. Before even opening the door of the museum I was greeted by one of the docents who was lovely throughout the tour. The entire tour lasted about 70 minutes and was fascinating. She explained the origins of the hospital and detailed history of the nursing staff who truly started the practice of nursing, as directed and sent by Florence Nightingale. While I was vaguely aware of the Nightingale connection I was surprised to find so many items that were either owned by Nightingale or given to the nurses from Florence Nightingale. With all the objects of the museum donated I think they have a truly remarkable collection, including old medical objects, photos of nursing staff, training uniforms, chemist set, to go bag of pharmaceuticals (for visiting rural areas), and medals received for service in the Crimea War. In general, I think it helps to have a medical background in order to understand how great this collection is and to be able to easily compare the collection to current medical practice. That being said, the docents ask prior to the tour if you have any medical knowledge. The only area of the museum that I didn't enjoy was part of the new wing and was two rooms of medical specimens, including the preserved fetus from an abortion. There were many different cancers (breast, ovarian, colorectal) also on display. I think generally people should be warned prior to going into those rooms. $5 Admission per person, cash only Photos are ok, no flash Will be asked to leave larger items (camera bags, backpacks) in the office Very limited hours! Martin Place metro stop

I have my suspicions that the Willoughy Leisure Centre logo depicts a parent and child hobbling in…read morediscomfort on the daggy old pebbles that provide floor covering in the pool area. They're aggressive wee stones that leave angry sores on little knees and make bottoms tender and dimply (no it is not cellulite thank you very much!). Turn your grimace upward from the floor covering however and this pool is a great family spot. There's a warm kids pool which I think is mechanically heated as well as being full of wee. The adult pool has plenty of lanes and is popular. There's an oddly cold spa and a heated one if you want to pay extra. Showers are hot and free of charge, which as a local of Mosman Pool where you pay for the pleasure of rinsing off chlorine, that's a welcome change. There's a café, free onsite parking, gym and crèche, so popular with mums and tums. Just what is with the pebbles?!

As your local leisure centre, Willoughby ranks pretty well - surrounded on three sides by parkland,…read moreit's hidden away in the 'burbs and remarkable for the sheer size of its facilities - dominated by up to 30 outdoor under-lights netball courts. Between players, umpires and officials, this must account for pretty much half the women of the northern suburbs on a game night! Sadly, the parking facilities reflect that and it can be tricky to find a space especially at the end of one game and start of the next. Indoors, the Centre has another two multi-purpose courts (also in high demand for netball, basketball, volleyball and badminton) plus racquet sports courts, a large gym and rooms for exercise classes, and a 25-metre indoor pool (I'm never a huge fan of indoor public swimming pools and their associated facilities but this one is as clean and pleasant as they can be ..) Willoughby Council owns the Leisure Centre so along with the independently run competitions, the facilities are also used for schools, older people's fitness classes, swim school and more, so it can be pretty busy. But then the cost of membership - or casual entry - is much more reasonable that you'd pay in a privately run club.

Small little pathway along the Rocks, nestling upward toward more modern looking buildings…read more Named the Suez because it used to be a Sewer of sorts; frequented by gangs of thugs out to trip you up, with prostitutes waiting to let-you-in whilst reaching for your purse strings. A little walk of history, leading to an archeological type dig at the top of a (rather impish) little climb, replete with information on the walls of this narrow lane about the history of the surrounding little bit of sydney. Blink and you'll miss it, but don't. This is a nice and lovely little path back into yesteryear

You know, for an old sewage canal this place doesn't smell half that bad…read more There's a history about this small canal, it's worth hearing. Just keep an eye out for sand filled socks and promises of knee tremblers! Avoid those and you'll be swept up by the various uses of this canal over the times... It's well worth a walk up here to where it opens up into a bigger area. Could just be that I love getting into nooks and crannies and feel like I'm getting a behind the scenes look at my own city!

Love this spot! I stumbled upon it purely by accident, wasn't looking for it or knew it was here. I…read morewas just taking a stroll around the Rocks with the folks. I was wondering why it was so clean and immaculate. I didn't realize it was an official State Heritages Site. The Battery looks like it is still functional and ready to go...no rust, the paint is clean and smooth, doesn't look like a historical artifact. The Dawes Point Battery remains and site are of State heritage significance for their historical and scientific cultural values. The site and building are also of State heritage significance for their contribution to The Rocks area which is of State Heritage significance in its own right. [1] Dawes Point maintains vestiges of all periods of its occupation. The Point has been terraced and filled with each successive land use. All of these land uses have been closely linked with the site's unique position, occupying as it does a prominent headland with vistas up and down the harbour. Dawes Point Park still encompasses more than 90% of the area set aside for military purposes in the 18th century. Very little of this area has been alienated from public use, allowing the potential for interpretation of this period of the site's history in particular. The layers of history at Dawes Point have great potential to be used as a rich educational, cultural and tourism resource. [2] [1][2] totally stolen from the New South Wales Office of Environment and Heritage site. Self explanatory, and a brilliant explanation of the significance of the Dawes Point Battery. Another thing I love about the Dawes Point Battery is the lack of tourists and crowds...at least when I went there...

My first thought?? What the heck are all those bird cages doing up there??!!…read moreI thought I was taking a short cut and found a place of interest and creativity. Daylight hours present well lit pics but the evening presents the soft lighting and nuanced pics that are quite beautiful. The area has hidden cafes, restaurants and bars. Really giving this place the life it needs to be a good find. Sort of like that alleyway in Harry Potter. Lol

Pinterest/Instagram paradise! This alleyway is a bit of a challenge to find, but it's surprisingly…read moreclean and well lit. What's not to love about fun adventures like this?

Used to watch North Sydney Bears vs Manly Sea Eagles footy matches here back in the day, we'd have…read morea mate on the outside throwing six-packs of beer over the fence to smuggle in. Ah, meeeeemories, light the corners of my mind. But I digress (sometimes I digress just so I can say I've digressed...). It's a beautiful oval, with a giant moreton bay fig tree at one end that kids climb in and watch sport from. It's a smallish ground so if you watch the cricket you'll see plenty of fireworks, 4s and 6s aplenty, a real slog-fest. They also do Starlight Cinema here in the summer with a giant inflatable movie screen that ripples gently when the wind blows as you laze on the springy green turf, it's major rancho relaxo.