Another view of the Sydney Opera House, this time with slightly nicer weather

The Rocks

Sydney Harbour Bridge

Transport, Aussie-style Saturday market at The Rocks, Sydney

Saturday market at The Rocks, Sydney

Lots of handicrafts on offer...

A glassblower goes about his work

I must have ‘tourist’ written all over my forehead.  With time to kill, I decided to head down to the Saturday market at The Rocks, near Circular Quay.  I was pretty impressed, because the quality of what was offered was pretty good as compared to most tourist markets.  Most of the handicrafts were genuinely hand-crafted, and although prices were high, I didn’t feel like I was being ripped off with the usual tourist-tat.

Which meant that I came home with quite a lot more than I intended to.  It drives Aude crazy, because getting me to buy souvenirs is usually like getting blood from a stone.  Unless it’s something really unusual, I simply won’t buy it.  Which is why I’m as surprised as anyone about coming home with quite a few things, and having my eye on even more things.

Maybe it’s because the things on offer here often crossed that thin line between ‘tourist souvenir’ and ‘art’.  They are souvenirs in the truest sense of the word: one-off creations by artisans that are unique to this place, and will help me remember my visit here.  I wish I could find more of these sorts of souvenirs elsewhere in my travels, but usually it’s just overpriced crappy trinkets.

I’m still on the look-out for one or two more souvenirs, though.  We have two puppets from Singapore on our stairs, and I’m still searching for the elusive counterpart to go with them.