Royal visit

My return to the UK is imminent and next month I will be arriving in England to pleasant spring weather (fingers crossed).

During my stay in Sydney I have been getting most of my grocery needs using online shopping and thus avoiding the problem of carrying heavy or bulky items. It has been a mixed experience. I mainly used Woolworth's but found that almost every delivery was late. Maybe that is less of a concern for me as I have plenty of free time and I was compensated for the inconvenience by having the delivery fee refunded.
However, eventually Woolworth's started to provide me with a credit instead of a refund and make excuses about their terms and conditions allowing late delivery.
Time for a change then. So I switched to Coles, and guess what, no more late deliveries. However, I often have a number of items that I had ordered, replaced with substituted alternatives or just plain missing. So I have to say neither company meet my needs and by returning to England I will not be having to concern my self with grocery deliveries.

I went for a walk in the Botanical Gardens recently and there was this bamboo tree.

Also a banana tree

I did see a Preying Mantis in some begonias but my camera would insist on focussing on a spiders web and not my intended subject so I did not get the picture.

A day or so later, I walked over the Harbour Bridge.

The Opera House was it's usual stunning self.

A sailing ship that they use for taking tourists around the harbour, although they only put up a scrap of sail which looks odd and unlike the sales brochure.

On my walk down Observatory Hill I saw this charming little residence, however I later learned that someone paid over a million dollars for it.

Flags in Darling Harbour, although the majority of the place is one ernomous demolition site. Even the monorail has gone.

Old and new, looking across to the increasingly horrific Barangaroo building site.

The royal visit to Sydney by William, Cate and new son George caused a buzz in Sydney. Cate (in yellow) was arriving next door at Admiralty House after a short boat trip from the Opera House.

The gates of Admiralty House.

I took a couple videos of the royals when they were in the vicinity and you can see them here.

Crossing the harbour after visiting the Opera House.

Motor cavalcade returning from a trip to the Blue Mountains.

I even got a wave from Prince William.

Being a royalist, I was happy to have them staying next door for a few days. However they never did come round to borrow a cup of sugar.

You can see their live view of Sydney Harbour here (or at least you can for the next few weeks before I take down the webcam)

Some of the police escort.

Early this morning, the sun was reflecting from this office block.

Well the royals have left Sydney now, and we have had a sunny Easter. I must make the most of my remaining time here.

Peewit