I have been visiting Circular Quay quite regularly lately. It's an amazing place. It's such a hub of activity. You've got all the boats coming and going, of course. Then there are all the people spilling out of the train station to go sightseeing. On a crisp, clear midwinter's day it's quite something.

Was down there recently and a massive cruise liner was docked. Wasn't the Sun Princess this time. It was P&O's Pacific Explorer.

I'm always gobsmacked by these ships when they're docked here, and how they manage to fit into such a small space. Their size in relation to the Sydney Harbour Bridge (itself a massive structure) consistently amazes me.

The way they dwarf all the other boats that pass them is also quite a sight.

They even make the nearby buildings look small.

Take the Museum of Contemporary Art in The Rocks, for example.

I'm not a religious person. But in recent years I've become much more aware of places of worship. Maybe that's because you start to look at the world in a more spiritual way as you get older, or something ...

In any case I find these buildings intriguing. They are surprisingly varied in design and appearance.

Take the Mosman Baptist Church in Melrose St, Mosman. Just a small church but it has a distinctive facade nonetheless.

This popular LGBTI venue in Erskineville Rd was was closed down repeatedly a couple of years ago because of numerous infringements. Check out this article about these. Sounds like it was one helluva wild place!

It's now got new owners now, who seem to have solved those problems.

One key difference between commercial buildings in Sydney and those in Perth is just how many have been built on triangular blocks. This seems to apply to pubs and hotels in particular.

The Mortdale Hotel is a case in point. It's quite a sight from the train station, which is only metres away.

This bronze sculpture in Stevenson's Reserve in Five Dock. It honours the contribution of Italians in Australia.