Our week in Sydney was one of our best. We did all the things one has to, Bridge, Opera house, Harbor tour, Bondi, Manely, Palm Beach (AKA Summer bay, quite a religious moment for Zo), Olympic Village, Botanical gardens. Our highlight has to be the hours( and there were many) spent with Martin and Priscilla chatting laughing and, yes, drinking. We were also able to spend a night with my Uncle and Aunt, Rob and Carol, it was great to spend some time with family ...

We arrived in Auckland at the crack of dawn. Having nothing else to do before the taxis started running, we headed to the food court and listened to people speaking English. Glorious English. The next day we met up with Jim and Caroline, friends of Zoe from summer camp. They showed us around for two days. Auckland, The City of Sails, is the most amazing place. Boats, beaches and volcanoes in every direction. Much is made in New Zealand of what a big and busy c...