My final afternoon and evening in Sydney were mellow. I walked around some of the places I hadn't had a chance to see yet. Meandered through Paddington, known for its upscale shops and its correspondingly high percentage of gay couples. Got a wonderful outdoor head and neck massage at the Paddington market. Sat on the wall at Bondi beach and watched the surfers fight the rather impressive waves for a while. Strolled down Darlinghurst Road in King's Cross, th...

Thursday, still in Tasmania, I drove up the east coast towards Freycinet National Park (pronounced fray-se-nay), with a 2 night stay booked in Swansea, a small town on Great Oyster Bay, just an hour from the park. Unfortunatey, it was cloudy and rainy all day, and Tasmania is not as warm as Sydney (only ~60F with the clouds). So my sightseeing hopes for the first day were somewhat dampened. Even more unfortunate, I have learned too late that Australians ar...

Yesterday was busy as I rented a car and drove from Hobart down to the Tasman peninsula, home to two sights I really wanted to see: Port Arthur and the Tasmanian Devil Park. I was happy to get out of Hobart (capital of Tasmania). It's a small city, but it feels almost desolate compared to Sydney. If I'm going to be in a place with little energy and nothing to do, I'd much rather be out in nature! The Tasman peninsula, in the southeast, is spectacular....

The weekend in Sydney was pretty low key. It rained off and on most of the time (our lucky weather streak had to end some time). Went on the one-hour Opera House tour. The concert hall (the one with the tallest exterior "sail") is truly stunning. There are 5 separate theatres in the opera house, hosting some 6,000 people every night, making it the busiest opera house in the world. And it ain't cheap. A non-obstructed seat in the opera hall costs > $20...

Yesterday I rented a car and drove from Sydney down the eastern coast with Chloe and Chantelle. We stayed overnight at Bateman's Bay after sunning at Surf Beach, and explored Jervis Bay today (or, rather, they sunned while *I* explored some great hiking trails). Then we hit a quaint winery on the drive back. The beaches were really spectacular, and we (yet again) lucked out with beautiful weather. On the drive home it rained just a bit, but at that point ...