4 Continents in 21 Days Part 3: In and around Sydney

Our last 5 days in Australia were to be in Sydney, meeting an old friend, visiting places with Coté, and exploring solo.

Wednesday morning, June 17th, Ann and Dom drove us to Sydney and joined us for lunch at our hotel, where me met Claire. She is married to Steve, Artie's childhood friend from Brooklyn NY. Artie had not seen Steve for nearly 50 years! We had never met Claire, and were so happy that she arranged to meet us, take us on a tour of Steve's University (he is Vice Chancellor of Macquarie University), and coordinate our first day in Sydney for us. She became an instant friend and was a delightful guide.

Touring the campus was fun and educational. It is an impressive University, with 38,000 students, with over 25% of these from foreign countries. The staff we met were outstanding: passionate about their work, interesting and inspired. All were proud of their leader, Steve!

We toured the existing library, and saw plans for the new library. Then we visited the on-site archeology museum, enjoying its innovative and fun professor.

		At left, Steve and Claire. Above, one of several creative walls in the office area, decorated with the covers of text books used at the University. We had afternoon tea at Steve's office. A great reunion after nearly 50 years since childhood!

Speaking of childhood, here are a couple of photos from when Artie and Steve were neighbors, taken in 1959 and 1961.
July 1959: Artie, age 12, centered between Dave (at left in photo) and Steve (at right). This was in the back yard of Artie's house on 62nd Street in Brooklyn, NY. Now, at six foot three inches, Steve is still taller than Artie!		February 1961: Steve and Artie stand in front of Artie's house, after a snow storm, with the front "garden" piled high with snow that had been shoveled off the sidewalk and driveway. Steve lived 4 houses down the street from Artie.

We ended the day with a wonderful dinner in Darling Harbour, behind our hotel and near where Claire and Steve live. Coté joined us after work. We look forward to seeing Claire and Steve, more often than once every 50 years!

		Our hotel was well located, near both the Aquarium and harbor, and in walking distance from the famous bridge, local shopping and downtown.

Margy planned our walks with a photo of the street map in her camera, in case we got lost.

		Sydney offers a unique blend of old and new. These downtown views were only a few blocks from our hotel. Shown above is Sydney's Tower, with its rotating restaurant 80 stories above street level. The monorail system can be seen winding through and above the city streets. The grand old-style architecture below, the Queen Victoria Building, is a stately structure for a popular multi-story mall and central rail station.

The mall had ornate stained glass windows, wrought iron railings and beautiful tile floors. A magnificent place to shop.

Next: A train ride to Coté.

The train took us to her work neighborhood, near lots of Chinese stores, and then we headed to her house (above). At right, her bedroom.

		Located in a safe and quiet residential area, the house is shared by Coté and four other professionals (all guys). Pete (left) was working at home when we dropped by.

Off to the beaches again. After stopping briefly at Coté's house, she showed us how close (10 minutes) she is by car from her house to one of several beautiful beaches. This particular day we were challenged with the rain and wind, but that did not stop the surfers!

A quaint and colorful coastal town, even in the rain.

Off to the Zoo! The next day we took advantage of sunny weather to take the ferry across the bay to visit Sydney's beautiful Zoo. Even the trip there was spectacular, passing under the bridge and alongside the Opera House.

The Zoo surpassed our expectations. We got up-close to koalas and kangaroos, marveled at grand gorillas, laughed at some of the strange faces and antics of various animals, and loved the opportunity to see and photograph such a variety of birds, animals and species in one place. And all of this with the backdrop of the Sydney skyline just across the bay.

This lazy looking kangaroo was one of dozens that were in a walk-though area where the animals roamed freely among the visitors.

Imagine our fun, being able to pet this little kangaroo mama, with her "joey" poking its head outside every now and then to check out the surroundings!

		Enclosed and well designed aviaries allowed the opportunity to quietly observe birds of all colors, shapes and sizes.

Faces only a mother could love? We saw the strangest sights that afternoon.

		Feeding time for the giraffes, across from the Sydney Tower.

An interesting contrast of scenery.

The giant male below watched over his family outside, and then rested inside when all seemed to be OK.

The afternoon ferry ride back to our hotel offered yet more wonderful views of the city.

		Dinner out with Coté's house mates.

Coté surprised us with an anniversary celebration dinner, including romantic serenading music at our table by the owner.

Coté, Pete and Toby		Artie, Coté and Margy (in case the hats fooled you)

		Saturday, June 20, we walked in the rain with Coté to see more of the city. Notice the spots on the bridge top? They are people taking the high tour!

Coté took us to "The Rocks," a part of town near the bridge, where artisans sell their products under a big tent on Saturday mornings. She also brought us to "Pancakes on the Rocks," for a yummy brunch.

		The next day we walked on our own through downtown, between the mighty skyscrapers, on mostly empty streets, on a quiet Sunday morning.

At the bridge entrance, for access to cross over the bridge by foot, we ran across this scenic lookout, within view of the Opera House. The recent rain and this puddle framed Margy in a unique and memorable setting.

		We must have photographed the Opera House from every possible angle!

A colorful neighborhood awaited us on the other side of the bridge, with autumn leaves on the trees.

		Sunday afternoon Coté showed us one last beach north of Sydney where we lunched on fish-n-chips.

Sunday evening we met briefly with Javiera and her boyfriend Ronny, who just began graduate studies in Australia. Javiera worked with Artie in Chile - small world!
Although we departed early the next morning, our photo summary of Australia would not be complete without sharing our views of birds, neighborhoods and flowers. Please check these out before continuing on to Chile and the wedding of Larry and Elaine in the USA, our last stops on this four-continent journey.