Today was Sunday and a relatively free day. I had planned to work quietly at the conference center but our Caritas Australia hosts had plans for the three of us visitors.
At 8:00 AM I walked to a mass at the nearest parish, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, about a half mile away. I was surprised to see they had twelve candles lit on the old high altar, like it was in the old days–plus two more on the altar.At 10:00 AM Helen Walker picked us from the Centre and took us to Sydney Central along Sydney Harbor and the iconic Sydney Harbor Bridge.
An attraction at the harbor is the Harbor Bridge Walk, an expensive three-hour walk up along the top girders of the bridge.Across the harbor from the bridge is the famous Sydney Opera House, as daring and exciting as ever.Walking beyond the Opera House, we entered the Botanical Gardens. Here Eleanor (Caritas Australia staff) and Psyche Mae and Janak Sharma enjoy the walk along shore in the park.The walk back out of the park makes clear how this beautiful natural resource is in downtown Sydney.Then we boarded the Manley ferry for a half-hour ride to the Manley area on a peninsula north of Sydney.Manley is known for its variety of beaches which were well occupied on this Australian summer Sunday afternoon.For lunch we found a beach side table and enjoyed fish and chips.After a long day of touring, Kath Rosic picked us up and drove us to dinner in an Indonesian restaurant.
