Sydney

Even though it is winter here ... the weather is absolutely PERFECT! We have had upper 60's and sunny every day. The first day we did not how long we would last after the long travels. We arrived around 10:30 a.m. Checked into our room and freshened up - and we were off - in search of lunch and the Sydney Harbour!!! We found a wonderful outdoor cafe and had a coffee (long black with cream) and fresh turkish while we watched the people bustle by. Veering over to Darling Harbour - King Street Wharf #8 - we walked up the docks/coast to the "Rocks" area. We learned about the history and architecture of the area as well as exploring the shops ... as we moved under the Sydney Harbour Bridge and caught sight of the Opera house! We took a lot of pictures, but it will never be as good as experiencing it in person! As we walked down into the harbour we heard the sounds of the didgeridoo - persons were in costume playing the Aborigine music and selling Cd's. It was nice to hear the different and calming sounds. We kind of pooped out - and ended up purchasing a few things from a grocer for a picnic dinner on the hotels rooftop before we zonked out - I think about 6 p.m. - when the sun went down.

We had an early start Saturday after a good night sleep. First stop, the Burke Street Bakery for their famous sausage rolls (now we know why), a great way to start the day! Walking again, we went east to the Paddington area - markets, shops and galleries. We did find it hard to find the galleries with the map we had ... but it was great seeing the cute houses and the overall area. Not to mention the Saturday Market - of mostly wearables and art. We stumbled into a designer event that was going on around town, so we kept getting side-tracked into various shops and furnishing stores, it was a lot fun and we saw a lot of interesting and fresh furnishings and designs.

We had an appointment with an artist of ours Daniela Turrin in the Glebe area. So we took a bus over that way and visited Glass Artists Gallery and Daniella's studio. It is always so impressive to see where the artists work and have time to talk with them in person. Daniella is really moving in new and different directions - we can'wait to see more!!! In returning to the hotel we were referred to a restaurant - Chat Thai - really great food, and atmosphere - only a few blocks away. We had a wonderful dinner, our favorite being the green curry chicken - and hit the sack early.

Our last day in Sydney we headed over to Potts Point - window shopping along the way. By the time we got there the city was waking up and we shared the streets with others, grabbing a morning coffee and shopping the market. We saw a couple of very nice galleries before heading back down the coast. We had to stop at Harries Cafe on Wheels for a Potato and Pea Meat Pie - at the end of Wooloomooloo Bay. We planned our walk thru the Royal Botanic Gardens seeing sculpture - fabulous gardens - and breathtaking views. It could not have been better weather for an afternoon in the park!!! Before our boat cruise we had a beer in Sydneys oldest bar - great people and atmosphere. We took the Harbour Express cruise - 4:30, which was the sunset cruise. We explored the harbour from views we could only see on the boat - after the sunset we exhited the boat in Darlington Harbour! Finishing the day with another Thai dinner at "Spice I Am".