Sydney City TourJan 28, 2009
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The whole group at the Sydney Opera House
Ocean view from Sydney Harbor National Park
Jan, Joella, & Carmaleta take a break at Bondi Beach
Bondi Beach
We started today with our tour of Sydney. The city is very cosmopolitan and diverse, and the people we've met so far are extremely friendly and helpful. It is summer here, so it is the tourist season and many Australians are on vacation here too.
Our first stop on the tour was to the Harbor Bridge and the Sydney Opera House. The Opera House is sort of the "defining" image the world has of Sydney, so we thought it fitting to have a group picture made there. Our group consists of (not in any particular order): Dale, Sandy, Kathie & Kellie Stanley, Joella Matthews, and Beverly & Gene Coleman, all from Anton; Erlene Stolk from Levelland; Vadarae Gohlke, Jan McCrary, Tommy & Gene Patterson, and Cecilia McCamish, all from Littlefield; and Vernon & Carmaleta Wesley from Rochester, NY.
We made other stops at the Sydney Harbor National Park and the world-famous Bondi Beach. We find it hard to remember to look for traffic from the opposite direction first before crossing the street. It seems odd to us to see traffic driving on the "wrong" side, steering wheels are on the "wrong" side, and we enter the bus on the "wrong" side. Some things have different names or terms are different; such as elevators being "lifts" and take out food is "take away" here. But, the Aussies just smile. They seem to enjoy the tourists as much as we enjoy being here.
There is already lots of shopping being done and lots of food eaten (and we haven't even gotten on the ship yet)! But that happens tomorrow!!
