Sydney Post

How many photos of the famous Sydney Opera House can we take? Haha, we took them all day and evening and we loved our tour which told us about the architect who designed this world class icon. And then it was on to famous Bondi Beach where - even on a cloudy morning - the surfers are in the water trying to catch a wave. And we stopped at The Gap with its harrowing cliff overlooking the bay.  Sydney is reputed to be the 3rd most expensive city in the world (behind Tokyo and Osaka) and we noticed this everywhere we shopped. But Steve did get him an Aussie hat that you'll see in some of the photos below. And Tom enjoyed loading his iPhone 5 with lots of new pictures, including shots of the original Sydney settlement known as "The Rocks". This name derived from when the British sent their convicts to the Colonies, including America, to relieve the over-crowded jails at home in England. Following the Revolutionary War, they needed another option and so they started sending them all the way to Australia and convicts built many of the buildings along the waterfront. Today these buildings contain trendy shops and restaurants and there are lots of new condominiums that surround the waterfront with real estate prices starting near $1 Million.

After two lovely days in Sydney we are sailing to Tasmania and its capital city of Hobart and we should arrive Monday, Feb. 18th. We will visit five (5) more ports before leaving Australia and so our next Post may not be until later in the week. or next week. Goo-day, mates!