Fascinating historic house, very helpful docents, and you can't beat the price as admission is free!read more

I was all set to give this place all the stars it deserved, but a distasteful run in with someone…read moreon their security has dropped the stars here. You see, they offer a lovely tour of the house - with some great historical information passed down. Another lovely Yelper, Andrew H, even got to play the period piano for us while we swanned on the square couches and soaked in the history of this place. Climbing all those stairs in a corset was hard work and I was extremely happy that I had a fan. Let's not talk about getting down all those stairs in a corset either. Suffice to say we had a lovely lovely time here... Until we were taking some pictures before we left. The grounds shut at 4.30pm to the general public. It seemed like there was a party happening not too far away, which we didn't even give notice to. We were enjoying taking pictures and being a bit silly. As we gathered our things and started to head off as we noticed that the time was 4.30 the security guard came over to tell us we had to leave. We replied that we were obviously on our way off the grounds when he interjected that there's a private party and they paid to be here so therefore we couldn't stay. Wait, are you serious? You can't see that we have all our gear and are walking towards the gate that leads out?! He assumed that we were some kind of professional photographers because he kept asking what company we worked for and wouldn't take a "we don't work for anyone" answer very well. As you can imagine this was a really horrible way to end an otherwise fabulous day that we'd had starting with our high tea and then tour. And it's the reason why I've given it such a low rating. Being harrassed for no reason as we're leaving the grounds leaves a bitter taste in one's mouth.

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

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!

Cannon's Picnic area can be found to the left of Bradleys Head Road when you turn into Bradleys…read moreHead lookout. From a historical perspective it would be interesting for residents, visitors and families to have a look. A Cannon Battery runs along the top of the picnic area, this was built in 1871 along with a Rifle wall to strengthen the defences that were installed on Bradleys Head. Within the wall sat two 360 pound cannons one of which was moved down on to the picnic area which sits on top of a replica wooden slide. There is an inscription near the Cannon which says VR1871 which signifies the date of installation and the name of the ruling monarch at the time who was Victoria Regina. Both the Cannons and the Rifle wall were installed in response to the departure of British Garrison troops from the Colony as NSW has to rely on their own muscle for defence. The picnic area itself is a little bushy and for families its fun for older children to run around in the tunnels around the fortification though you would have to keep a close eye on younger children as the cavities of the tunnels are steep drops. There is not enough information such as the above around the are so a little research on the following website maybe useful should you be interested in finding out more information. http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au

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?