Lunchdate at Darling Harbour

Each of the times I've visited Sydney, I had my attention pointed to the direction of Darling Harbour and everytime I'd make a little wish that one day I'll get to actually explore and/or dine somewhere around the area.

Darling Harbour is one of the world's greatest waterfront destinations located on the western side of the Sydney central business district.  It extends towards the north from Chinatown, along both sides of Cockle Bay to King Street Wharf on the east, and to the suburb of Pyrmont on the west.  The place was named after Lieutenant-General Ralph Darling, who was the Governor of New South Wales during the early 1800s.  Darling Harbour was originally part of the commercial port of Sydney.  During the Great Depression, the eastern part of Darling Harbour, now known as Barangaroo, became knows as "The Hungry Mile". The Hungry Mile is a reference to the the waterside workers seeking jobs along the wharves.

One day, to may surprise and delight, I was told I am invited to a birthday celebration which was supposedly an exclusive family affair.  My heart was jumping with joy learning about the news although at the same time I was a bit apprehensive.  But I heard it right I was coming, yay!  I was apprehensive because I maybe the only person not related by blood that was invited to said affair.  Second, because a celebrity who's a member of the family was also coming.  Wow! So I was finally going to met the person for real.  Fortunately there were a few others who are not family members and that calmed me down a bit.  However, I didn't know what to expect.  Questions, like "Will everyone be nice?", "Won't it be awkward for me being there?"  I was assured I will be fine and so I was.

We dined at one of the steakhouses along the harbour, food selection was great.  And I was feeling fine but star strucked.  I regretted not having a photo of the group snapped while we were having dinner.  Instead I was so engrossed at having a photo op with the celebrity I forgot to grab the birthday celebrant in to the shot.  My bad.

After dinner the party split and six of us walked through the Pyrmont Bridge to get to the casino on the other side which I didn't know until that time was there right smack in the middle of the city.  The casino is called The Star which to my regret did not get a chance to photograph any of it's part or surrounding area.

The second time I had a chance to see Darling Harbour was in daylight so it was such a sweet opportunity to see the allure of the harbour under the sun.  That gave me the chance to compare the difference in atmosphere between the daylight activities and night time activities.  This was the destination of the Barangaroo walk that I had blogged about earlier.  Walk along the harbour through the boat lined wharves under a beatiful weather...what more could've a girl asked for.

Lunch was at the Blue Fish.  Although I wanted something else I was convinced to have fish and chips, Australian style with a glass of white wine.  While sipping wine and waiting for the food to arrive, I decided I would "people watch", which I think is a fun way to entertain one's self while enjoying the beautiful scenery and the hustle bustle of the surrounding all at the same time. All sorts of people coming from either way, a mix of tourists and locals who are going about their agenda for the day or just simply getting through their daily activities, were passing by.

Fish & Chips - beer battered fish, served with chips and tartare sauce - came but as expected for AUS$19.99, the serving was very generous so there was so much food left afterwards.  A 'take away' was very obvious as the saying goes "can't be wasting food when people somewhere in the world are starving to death".

I think a taxi was an alternative on the way back home as I cannot recall walking back carrying a doggie bag but overall it was a fabulous and fun experience. Funny that I cannot find the rest of the shots I took during this visit so I will add more photos and definitely more text at a later time. So with that I'll have to keep this hanging until I can get back to it and continue babbling...