Day 3 in Sydney & I was already ready to explore the entire city by myself. The day’s chosen destination was Milsons Point.

If you want to have a mental picture of how beautiful Milsons Point is, take a look at these aerial photographs, which show Milsons Point, Lavendar Bay & Kirribilli (home to the Prime Minister)

Milsons Point is the western side of the Harbour Bridge approaches on the northern side. It is the home of Luna Park and is a adjacent to Kirribilli

I had decided to get there by train. From Central, which is the largest railway station in Sydney, it’s only three stations away on the North Shore Line.

I had all my instructions down to a T before I leave - and was more than somewhat amused at Sim & Ally’s worries that I would get lost / I would not be able to manage the crowds at Central!!

Especially since I come from the land of Victoria Terminus. Seriously people!

Getting there was a breeze, as I predicted. The station, though at rush hour, was not (even half) as crowded as Sim & Ally made out it to be. I got a place to sit - which as any Mumbaikar knows, on a train, is a luxury!

While waiting for the train, I memorized the stations in the North Shore Line:
Central
Town Hall
Wynyard
Milsons Point
North Sydney
Waverton
Wollstonecraft
St Leonards

I memorized upto St. Leonards since that was the plan for the next day & I thought I might as well get the hang of things.

Milsons Point supports the northern end of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and as such you can imagine is a very beautiful place. It was had many Restaurants, Cafes, Bars and Pubs as far as I could make out.

I walked around the place for quite a bit, taking in the architecture - though I do not understand it all (i.e. I’m not one of those people who’d be able to tell you which era & what style) - but it all still fascinates me. And you must admit, ignorant or not, the houses are beautiful!

I even found a lovely old church with a beautiful antiquated bell - ah, so so very pretty. It was unfortunately closed - so instead at the end of a lovely long walk, I found a nice little pier where I settled in for a nice time of quite & prayer. The atmosphere was just so conducive to meditation & prayer - I couldn’t help feeling close to God next to all the beauty I was seeing!

Finally it was time for dinner with Ally. Ally & I have been friends since we were of single digit age. And probably before that. Seriously, I have some very funny home videos to prove that! I don’t remember when she last came to India - but it was a looong while since I had seen her —- and I cannot begin to put into words how happy I was to see her!!!

Dinner was super fun.

It’s amazing how one automatically regresses into a little girl when with old friends! We chatted like two high school girls - I found it very hard to finish my huge fish & chips dinner I had ordered.

Al had taken me to ‘Ripples’, a multi-award winning restaurant & a really lovely place which is just outside at the North Sydney pool. So in the night, we could see the beautiful Harbour Bridge all lit up above us & the Opera House just a little bit beyond that! Such a great view!

We decided to walk home - dual reasons - first to digest our food! - and second to have more time to keeping yapping! We went around & even saw the Luna Park, which is brilliantly lit up in the nights!

Back home at Ally’s, I caught up with her hubby Bres who was also a friend of mine from school days. And when I say, caught up, I mean caught up! We literally discussed EVERY person I know - and then some (!!!) - I think Bres made a list before I arrive & then just quizzed me, lol. Stayed really late into the night & was so happy to spend time with them both - and yes, baby made three