This was our sunrise, the day our Hawaiian homeowners were to return. After two weeks with lots of rain, it brightened up in time for us to leave. Never mind, we thought, we're off to Australia.
After a short island-hop flight, we did our flight to Sydney, Australia. At 10.5 hours, it was our longest flight, and I was a little concerned. I shouldn't have worried though, as Qantas airlines made it into a constant foodfest, with meals, snacks, and drinks that just kept on coming. Add to that comfortable economy seating, two movies and six TV-show episodes, and the time just flew by!
Here's where the rain god followed us. We started out for a walk early this morning and the skies just opened up. As you can see, it was too much for both the gutters on the buildings and the street. We returned to the hotel for a while.
When it eased up we walked to Darlington Harbour, which is a hive of activity - restaurants, bars, boat tours, and family activities. We decided on a 2-hour boat tour of the Sydney harbour.
As you can see from this photo, it was still overcast and at times looked as if it might rain. Thankfully the weather held for the rest of the day, with no more rain. The above photo is part of the Sydney skyline closest to the harbour. A well-known landmark can be seen on the right.
This photo of the Sydney Opera House was taken near the end of the tour. As you can see from the sky, the weather improved. We enjoyed a sunny warm afternoon.
This is the Sydney Harbour bridge. As we went by it, Greg asked if I wanted to climb it. I gave little attention to his question, as I didn't think he was serious. Then he explained that it is somewhat unique in that climbers are allowed on the structure. Apparently they get training beforehand and have safety equipment that tethers them to the bridge structure as they make their climb to the top.
The irregular markings below and to the sides of the flags at the top of the bridge are people who have completed the bridge climb. At similar prices, I'll opt for the helicopter rides over a physical climb any day!
This man was working on a sand sculpture at the harbour. Much of the other side was incomplete, so I'm hoping to go back tomorrow to see the difference.
I have a t-shirt that reflects this sculpture. It has a VW vanagon on it, with surf boards on top. I have it with me, so I'll probably wear it tomorrow.
When I recently wore that t-shirt in Hawaii, I had my first experience of struggling with Aussie lingo. A surfer said "nice kombi" to me. I explained I had no idea what he meant, and he said it was the t-shirt. I then just smiled and said thanks, but didn't really understand. I've since learned it's the word for this type of vehicle in Australia, and because it had the surfboard on it, I guess it made it more appealing. He said the shirt would be admired by surfers in Australia.
We're expecting lots of other words and phrases that will puzzle us. All part of the cultural experience. Although it's an English-speaking country, sometimes we just don't speak the same lingo!
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Location: Sydney, NSW, Australia
Weather: High 24ºC (75ºF), low 21ºC (70ºF), no rain in the forecast!
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