In photos: Luna Park, Sydney

Sydney and I feels like a long time ago.

We lasted over two weeks but thanks to New Year, a long list of long lost friends (of NewMan's) to visit and my best tourist impression yet the time flew by because yes, I was having fun. Over the next few weeks I'll happily share some of this fun with you and today I start this with some photos of a place that I was not actually allowed to be a tourist in.

NewMan and I stayed in a small village-esque suburb called Waverton on the North Shore of Sydney. It was quiet, homely and old enough to have the character I always crave and enjoy in a city. It was also strategically positioned to allow us some of the best views of the instantly recognisable and loved Sydney Harbour.

Seeing as most days the sun shone over this new and attractive city I had in front of me to explore, many of my adventures as a tourist began with a healthy and hearty walk towards Milsons Point, where the Harbour Bridge sets out from the north via Lavender Bay and along through Luna Park.For those not in the know Luna Park is an amusement park, which sits along the northern banks of Sydney Harbour immediately before Milsons Point. The park was originally opened in the mid-1930s and remained popular for decades until sadly in the 1970s a horrific fire on the Ghost Train ride claimed the lives of six children and an adult and the park closed down. After reopening a few years later under a new name, there were subsequent closures in the 1980s and the 1990s (due to urgently required engineering repairs and noise pollution complaints respectively) but since it's reopening in 2004 it has remained a popular place for locals and tourists alike. It is also now famous for it's original design and artwork by Arthur Barton, the style of which remains in today's park, in particular "The Face", which greets visitors with as much grimace as smile.Sydney-sider born and bred NewMan made it clear from the outset that I would gain little from actually paying for a ticket to experience a ride or two at Luna Park. I suppose in some ways it's like me taking a complete foreigner straight to Chessington World of Adventures on the first day of their very first visit in London. And in some ways he was absolutely right but in others I don't think a ride or two or a look around the old-school style Coney Island "Funny Land". Either way I enjoyed soaking up the joviality which flowed through Luna Park and I hope my pictures capture this.  It lightened my mood and my slightly aching feet seeing as I was very unused to Sydney's hills.
P.S. I recently wrote an article for the fabulous Travelettes about my love for the Sydney Harbour Bridge, and when I say love, I really do mean LOVE. It's a bit weird, I know. But please do have a read and/or a butchers at the photos I took because it is a bridge worthy of my love.