Warning: this post contains close-up photos of spiders, because I think they're neat.
We walked down to Darling Harbor again and got a lovely Holiday photo.
Our goal today is the Chinese Garden of Friendship.
This guy had spines on his abdomen.
Similar spider as above, but the underside.
I think this one is a St. Andrew's Cross spider.
A Chinese Fu dog guarding the garden.
"New South Wales - Guangdong Sister State Relationship
20th Anniversary, 1979-1999"
I have written out what the obelisk says, and since it describes different parts of the garden, I'll use those for photo descriptions.
Garden of Friendship
The Garden of Friendship is a Chinese garden proposed by the Chinese Community in Sydney to celebrate the Bicentenary of Australia.
A little bonsai collection in the Courtyard of Welcoming Fragrance.
"Off the entry vestibule for the Garden this courtyard has no direct views to the body of the Garden. To welcome and excite the visitor this courtyard is an "overture;" it presents samples of what is to be expected on the walk through."
As part of wandering through the garden, we're going to look for the 12 signs of the Chinese Zodiac.
The New South Wales Government accepted this proposal and funded its construction. The Guangdong Provincial Government of the People's Republic of China, holding in high esteem the friendship between Australia and China, strongly endorsed the project and actively participated in it.
Commemorative Pavilion
This engraved green granite tablet describes and commemorates the creation of the Garden of Friendship.
The Guangzhou Bureau of Parks and Gardens designed and supervised the project and worked in co-operation with the New South Wales Darling Harbour Authority to bring the Garden into being.
The Garden is situated in Darling Harbour. Set alongside the reflections of sails and gull-crested waves of water rippling out into the distance, the Garden captures the mood of a forest refuge in the bustling city.
The techniques employed are intricately manifested over the whole area of the Garden, revealing numerous variations within its confined space.
Dragon Wall
"This ceramic wall is special in that it may be viewed from two sides and it is a three dimensional sculpture. It is formed from hundreds of individually crafted and glazed pieces."
The Double-sided and Through-carved Dragon Wall depicts two dragons frolicking in the water, racing to fetch the pearl.
Wax Rock
One of the many rock types in the Garden, this is a feature rock which has been imported from China. It is said that the rocks are the bones, the water is the blood, and the soil and plants are the flesh of a Chinese Garden.
Tai Hue Rock
A rare weathered and naturally sculpted limestone rock from China.
You can really appreciate the lovely garden nestled in the city.
So...those could be considered similar things.
There it is!
The trees are intentionally planted to lean towards the water.
The Wandering Gallery is a protected pathway that is separate from other buildings and emphasizes the significance of the experience of the climb to the pine covered mountain.
Flowers!
Enhance!
I'm pretty sure these are some kind of orchid.
I like the crow in the middle and the city being framed by the plants of garden.
The large carved panels depict the three friends of winter (plum, pine, and bamboo) together with other garden flowers including the lotus
Artsy shot of the ceiling!
The rivulets and the lights, the trees, rocks, birds, and flowers, the setting for viewing platforms by ponds, the shelter of covered walkways and pavilions, are all creations of craftsmen who have extracted the essence of true inherent beauty.
I had to backtrack to get the next Zodiac animal.
I went up into the mountains instead of along the river.
Our Fourth Zodiac: Year of the Rabbit.
Can you spot the Rabbit?
There it is!
The other side of the Moon Gate.
Our Fifth Zodiac: Year of the Dragon.
Can you spot the Dragon?
There it is!
Rocks nestled amid bamboos and huts among the hills await the music of lutes to invite in the phoenix. The peony couplets executed in fine calligraphy are infused with brilliance, then superb composition enhances the vibrant colours of the Garden .
Stone steps up to the Mountain area.
It had the good fortune to "land" in this garden and on top of another rock.
I have now traversed past the river and the mountain areas.
Sleeping Boy Buddha. The inscription is dated 28 1 1987.
I wonder if the stripe makes him faster.
The Mountain Gate is a small pavilion wide enough for a single person to take shelter.
It marks the beginning or end of a mountain path.
The Rock Forest has towering limestone rocks depicting the characters Ashima and Landlord.
At the end of the story everyone gets turned to stone.
Our Seventh Zodiac: Year of the Horse.
Can you spot the Horse?
Our Eighth Zodiac: Year of the Sheep.
*The Sheep can also be known as the Ram or the Goat.
Can you spot the Monkey?
There it is!
Since it's hard to read the laminated disk, it says "1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017, You male good friends with those born in the year of the Ox, Snake, or Dragon.
You are a symbol of courage and ...." I can't make out the rest of it. Sorry.
Can you spot the Rooster?
There it is!
Little flowers have fallen into the water lily leaves.
I believe these are Plumeria and they smell amazing.
Our Eleventh Zodiac: Year of the Dog.
Can you spot the Dog?
There it is!
Its head is a little sad right now.
Another view of the Dragon of the lake and the Gurr.
This lizard is getting some sun. I would just turn red.
The foretold Peace Boat Pavilion.
Our Twelfth Zodiac: Year of the Pig.
Can you spot the Pig?
There it is!
The pavilion dumped out into a Rock Arch.
It's a little more interesting on this side.
The Tea House!
It was hot, we all wanted cold beverages, not hot.
Found all the Zodiac - Check.
Had a great time in the Chinese garden of Friendship - Check.
Onto other adventures!
Like street art.
And lunch. Which had this cool art nouveau fireplace.
And a little chart of all the Australian flags.
An area of The Rocks is for Nurses.
We had wandered over to The Rocks, and saw more of the Sydney Opera House.
We were there!
I was amused by the name Trollope.
Look at these tiny bowler and top hats! I asked if the were for sale. Sadly, no.
Jim is in a tiny alley!
There's a ton of glare so you can't see how fabulous these sport coats are, but you can check them out here: https://www.joebananas.com.au/
We thought we'd check out The Rocks Museum.
A camouflaged tunnel!
History!
Things that have been in the ground.
People who used to live here.
Back through the tunnel.
And then there were stairs.
And neat flowers.
We thought we should pay the Sydney Harbor Bridge a visit, even it we didn't want to climb the top of it.
Oh hey, what's that thing with the white roof over there? I don't think we've seen that before.
There was a family playing on the cannons down below.
We looked out at the pylons.
Yeah....no thank you.
The walk alone the bridge is fenced in.
A view from the pylon lookout.
Dan's contrast/saturation adjusted photo.
We had walked quite a bit at this point and decided it was time to go home.
We took an Uber back to the apartment, had ice cream and hung out.
This concludes our adventures for today.
