Australian Holiday - Sydney - 23 Oct 2006

After a good night’s sleep, we showered (briefly, to save water), dropped off our luggage with the concierge, and hopped the train for downtown Sydney. We got off at the Circle Quay (pronounced “key”) station with skyscrapers to the south, ferry docks to the north, the Opera House to the east, and Sydney Harbor Bridge to the west – a very beautiful spot. We ate breakfast at McDonald’s. Dan wasn’t sure whether to go with the long black or flat white coffee. The flat white turned out to be a good choice (espresso with steamed milk) and Rhonda had black tea, which is regular tea without milk. A pigeon walked around the dining area picking up crumbs – nobody paid him much attention.

We proceeded to the Opera House, through the Royal Botanic Gardens and Government House grounds (very sweet, and very strange vegetation!), through downtown, up to The Rocks (old waterfront shops), under Harbor Bridge, and back to the train station. We listened to a man playing steel drums and ate Royal Copenhagen ice cream by the Quay. What fun!

Beatles Tunes on the Steel Drums

The Sydney Opera House

Downtown Sydney

Obvious Tourists