ANZAC Memorial, St. Mary's, and a Ferry ride

Photos:

• Top left: ANZAC Memorial statue
• Top right: outside ANZAC Memorial
  
• Middle left: inside St. Mary's Cathedral
• Middle right: outside St. Mary's Cathedral
• Bottom left: Harbour Bridge w/ Opera House in background, taken from ferry
• Bottom right: Boats in Sydney Harbour

Yesterday Carla and I started out at the ANZAC Memorial in Hyde Park...by accident. Our intent was to go to the Australian Museum (which, incidentally, we decided not to go to after we did find it), and we weren't sure which building it was. We picked the most "museum-looking" building and went inside only to find that it was something entirely different than expected, yet still interesting. The museum contained memorabilia from every major conflict that Australia and New Zealand have participated in. The statue in the photo shows the dead body of a soldier being supported by three women: his mother, his wife, and his sister. The statue was created to honor the war time sacrifices made by women, though they may have never fought in combat. In the arms of his wife is a baby, representing the impact the sacrifice would have on future generations.

Next, we walked further down the street where we saw St. Mary's Cathedral. If you look really closely at the picture, you can see a bride and groom on the front steps. This was an incredibly beautiful cathedral. I felt (almost) like I was back in Italy again. Right down to the Italian family in the gift shop that was arguing feverishly in their mother tongue over which rosary they were going to take home for their mother. No joke. If I have enough time, this is another one of the places I have added to my list of things worth seeing twice. Maybe I'll get better pictures next time. (P.S. I have no idea why my camera makes the windows look like they're on fire. For the record, they weren't.)

After the cathedral we walked down to Circular Quay where we caught a ferry to Darling Harbour (see my first post from Sydney). Didn't expect to get such a long ride--about 40 min.--but that was one of the best parts. The ferry took us all over the harbour and provided an opportunity to take some great pictures. Best viewpoint of the city I've had so far.