Sydney Part 1

Hi Everyone!

We have been out and about from morning to night everyday and have been so busy it's hard to make time to use the internet to add to our travel diary.

We are having such a wonderful time in this land of OZ. We have definitely traveled somewhere
over the rainbow! Sydney is an amazing city! There is an endless array of things to see and do for every budget from shopping to sightseeing to all forms of recreation! The architecture is an intricate combination of ultra modern and colonial structures. There are countless restaurants, cafes, pubs and small stores serving every type of food and beverage. Most have two or more floors. Australians seem to love their coffee and tea though so there are loads of coffee shops including Starbucks. Many places have outdoor, covered seating. The number of retail shops is unbelievable! Every name brand of clothing, perfume, jewelry, and accessories is represented many times over throughout the city in countless malls and boutiques.

Almost everyone walks in Sydney. When you are out and about, the streets look like a mix of every major US city; people of every nationality in suits, traditional dress, or everyday clothes are out in throngs! People seem very friendly and willing to answer our many questions. I lost my glasses and when we went to the restaurant where we thought they might be, the waitress offered to buy us a drink because they weren't there!

The transportation system is awesome! The train, bus and ferries are all accessible from the same place which makes travel a breeze whether you are going out to the country, or just shopping, or dining somewhere close. There are lots of access points, so you never seem to walk to far or feel crowded. We were surprised at how clean the city was as well.

WE LOVE SYDNEY!

OK, now I guess I better tell you what we have been doing since we arrived.

Day 1

When we arrived at our hotel at about 10:00 am our room was ready and waiting for us, which was great, because we were really ready for a shower and a little rest. We just unpacked and went out for something to eat and came back then went to bed.

We're staying at the Sydney Harbour Marriott and it is just lovely. We are on the 18^th floor and have a very nice view of the city and a partial view of the Harbour Bridge. The room is spacious and the bed is to die for! There is a 3 inch thick pillow top mattress cover, a luxurious, white down comforter and six very comfortable white down pillows. Ahhhh! J The hotel staff is friendly and very helpful with directions and suggestions. The hotel is only a couple of blocks from the harbor, so it is very convenient for us!

Day 2

We left our hotel early and set out to figure out the best way to get around. We had an agenda of things we wanted to see and do, but had not decided on the order in which we would see them. Sydney is arranged so that walking is actually enjoyable. We had no trouble at all finding our bearings.

We ended up going on a self-guided walking tour of the Rocks area. It is the oldest preserved colonial district in Sydney. It was really fascinating. One of the interesting places we saw was St Patricks- a 19^th century, Irish, Catholic church, which had 3 separate entrances – a main one for the priest and then one for the men and another for the women.

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We stopped for lunch and then walked to Hyde Park and under the Harbour Bridge. The Sydney Opera House sits across the harbor from the Bridge and it is awesome to see them both at the same time! There is a beautiful boardwalk around the harbor where the views over the water are spectacular. We stopped to listen to an Aborigine playing a didgeridoo for donations. It's a long hollow wooden instrument that looks very hard to play and produces an unusual musical sound.

Day 3

We wanted to see some of the outlying areas, so we took the train to Parramatta and back. When we returned we went shopping for a few necessities and then out to dinner at the Metropolitan Hotel. After dinner we went to see the view from the Summit Restaurant Bar, located on the 47^th floor of the Australia Square Building on George St. It is the world's largest revolving restaurant. Each revolution takes 105 minutes and offers sweeping views of Sydney Harbour. Totally breathtaking!

Day 4

Today traveled to Blacktown, which is about an hour by train from Circular Quay. There we caught a bus to Featherdale Zoo. They host over 2000 Native Australian animals, birds and reptiles. This is where Pat & I got to pet our first Kangaroos and Koalas!