Suffice to say, this place continues to be awesome. The Chapmans arrived on Friday to a spot of bad weather in the morning. It was upper 50s and rainy for a few hours, but has otherwise been in the low- to mid-70s and sunny. Regardless, we used that day to walk around The Rocks, Circular Quay, Sydney's Opera House and the Royal Botanical Gardens. It is a very vibrant part of the city filled with both modern beauty and history. One of the highlights is the Botanical Gardens, filled with Cockatoos, Fruit Bats, Spiders and amazing plants (for more pictures, etc: http://www.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/royal_botanic_gardens). Friday night we then went to a great Italian restaurant in Durlinghurst. I know I am getting old now that I am spending my days sightseeing in lieu of going out at night . . .

Anyway, Saturday was yet another great day. We traveled from Circular Quay by ferry to Taronga Zoo for a few hour tour. It is one of the nicer zoos I have visited, especially interesting because of their emphasis on Australian wildlife. We then went to Bondi Beach, which reminded me a lot of life in Southern California. One of the highlights of the day was the 1.5hr walk along the cliffs and beaches from Bondi to Coogee. It was amazingly beautiful. We finished Saturday night by making dinner with Chris in his flat in Coogee.

Yesterday we spent the day on a Wine/Reptile Park tour north of Sydney. The day was off to an interesting start when three of the four belts on the bus's engine burned up. Our driver, Robert, thought everything was OK so long as he drove without any headlights or other "extraneous" power drains (he was telling this proud fact as we were driving into Sydney well after sunset, using other vehicle's lights to guide us. Its great to travel in other countries . . .).

Anyway, the wine tour was great, but probably the best part of the day was stopping at the Reptile Park, believe it or not. We got to pet a Kuala Bear and Kangaroos. The Kangaroos were awesome. We even were lucky enough to see one of the Kangaroos buck back onto its strong tail, grab a goose's head with its front paws and kick its back legs into the goose's body during a squabble over some food. They look pretty powerful and not to be messed with, which is exactly what Chris' friend Matt thought while attempting to play patty-cake with one of them later (http://youtube.com/watch?v=CQdC4vWIxDw).

We finished last night with another great dinner in Darling Harbour, and then we headed to bed earlier in preparation for a big day today. We are traveling to Manly Beach for some hiking, beach time and surfing followed by the airport so we can make our flight to Melbourne. Until the next update . . .

written by  GoBlue on May 20, 2007 from Sydney, Australia
from the travel blog: Carl's Circuit
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glad to hear that you guys are tearing it up in sydney. look forward to catching up tomorrow. carl, please don't make everyone miss their flight... ;)

written by  GoBlue on May 20, 2007

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Sounds like a great time, keep the pictures and blogging coming for us local travelers! Oh, and please find Viv whenever you're supposed to, she is very small and can be lost easily!!!

written by  patrick timm-lyon on May 25, 2007

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