March 26

Awoke to a beautiful sunny morning  of mild temps.  We breakfast at the hotel and then board the bus for the Opera House.  We get to visit the small theaters and the largest theater as well.  Interesting history of the architecture and construction and explanation of the various ways the theaters are used to create the many kinds of productions.  Most of the operations are done underground which is actually below sea level as it sits on a peninsula that juts into the harbor.  The exterior iconic sails design is covered with ceramic tiles of light gray and cream colors.  The surface is self-cleaning with heavy rainfall.  The acoustics are the best as they use all kinds of Australian wood for it.  We stop at the Opal World that includes a movie to explain the formation and mining of opals.  Reminds us of petrified wood found in the southwest USA.  We walk to the Queen Victoria Building so Chuck can see the incredible interior and then we walk down to the oldest area of the Sydney settlement, The Rocks.  Beautiful old buildings line the streets and a huge street market is going on. A cruise ship is in the harbor next to it and dwarfs the area.  We stop at Phillip’s Foot, one of the oldest pub’s in the area.  We have a local microbrew called three sheets to the wind, a kind of wit beer. Very good.  We sit in the extended levels of garden off the main street.  We skype Brenna and she is slowly recovering from her URI, now on antibiotics.  Baby is doing fine.  Board the bus to go to Darling Harbor for our farewell to Australia harbor dinner cruise.  The food is okay with champagne and wines served.  The views are of the areas we have seen from land and now see from the water.  Back to the hotel for packing and prep for an early morning flight to New Zealand.  Long day and lots of walking, all good.