March 4

Good night’s sleep.  We go to the Club for breakfast, excellent variety and delicious.  Not too crazy about the smoked mackerel!  Set off for the day with our pre-booked bus tour tics.  It is hop on and off all around Sydney.  The boarding area is just a short walk from our hotel at Circular Quay. The day is very warm but breezy and sunny, pleasant.  The commuters are in the street going to work.  Lots of young people dressed very smartly.  The dress is a bit more casual in general but very stylish.  The weather here is mostly tropical so no need for boots and down coats!  We go to the top of the double decker and get a narrated tour with ear phones.  Sydney is a bustling and growing city.  The streets, even among the high rises, are tree lined and very clean.  Even though there is a lot of very cool new architecture, they have conserved some of the older structures and they are protected.  So lots of new and then there is much that is reminiscent of older Great Britain buildings.  Even the names of the streets remind us of their connection.  Sydney’s early days, late 1700’s, were pioneered by the convicts that England sent there.  It was a tough life and many died in the swamp land that surrounded the area.  We pass through King’s Cross area and really like it; tiny shops in old buildings line the streets. Although after dark it becomes ‘adult entertainment’ so would probably avoid it then. There are many beautiful parks and monuments scattered throughout the city.  We would love to see the Royal Botanical Gardens at some point.  We stop at the Sydney Fish Market late in the day and the variety of everything ‘sea’ is for sale.  We saw creatures we didn’t know existed.  Asians were eating sea urchin and it looked disgusting!  We take the alternative route bus to Bondi Beach and southeast suburbs.  Bondi is Aboriginal for place where water breaks over rock.  It’s a very beautiful place.  A wide crescent of deep white sand beach between two rocky headlands.  Expensive beach property surrounds it.  Pat dips her feet in the water and it’s very cold.  Some very revealing bathing suits and then some topless girls; Australians are pretty liberal! There is a nude beach not far away.  We get off the bus near the line of beach shops and walk the beach from one end to the other.  Helicopters fly over the water and the life guards are a very serious bunch.  Don’t know if they are watching for sharks (big ones here) or warning about the dangerous tides that come in.  Stop at The Rocks, another little quaint area, and go to a local pub.  Good local IPA!  Chuck has decided not to meet with Rob Martin, so we are missing him.  We stop at the club for excellent appetizer and dessert dinner and drinks.  Set off walking for sunset along the Opera House.  The huge waterside bar and restaurant along the entrance is packed.  Live music and lively crowd.  There is a performance tonight and the opera goers are showing up in their fancy dress.  We walk around the Opera house for views of the Harbor and the Harbor Bridge (we did not climb the bridge but see the people who are doing it).  Head back for an early night.  We’re beat.  Phyllis and Ray are picking us up tomorrow.  We’ve been gone for 3 weeks but we’re just getting started!