There are seven of us staying in Rob and Anne's two bedroom apartment. It is a tight fit but we all did very well. We had the sliding glass doors open on both sides which created a heavenly breeze during the night. We were all so exhausted by the time we went to bed at 1am that we all just fell into bed and pretty much passed out.

This morning Anne cooked us all breakfast and then we walked across the street to catch the boat that goes to Sydney. It is about a 25 minute ferry ride. It was raining and a little windy so it was actually a rough ride for the first half. Once we came around the corner into Sydney Harbor the seas quieted down and we were able to go out on deck and take pictures of the Harbor Bridge, The Opera House, Fort Denison and Center Point Tower.

The famous Sydney Opera House was a spectacular sight to see in person. The opera House was designed to mimic a ship at full sail. It has been open since 1973. Ray said they had an awful time with the famous roof. It kept collapsing during construction and they almost bagged the project before they completed it. It ended up going three times over budget. Aren’t we all glad they didn’t give up and that they figured out how make it work.

Second only to The Opera House is the iconic Harbor Bridge. The Arched Bridge connects the business district with the North Shore of the Harbor. The design was based on the Tyne Bridge in Newcastle, England. It is the world's widest long-span bridge, the fifth longest spanning arch bridge in the world and is the tallest steel arch bridge, measuring 134 meters (440 ft) from top to water level and opened in 1932.

Sydney is the capitol of New South Wales and was established in 1788 by Arthur Phillip, commodore of the First Fleet as a penal colony. The city is built on hills surrounding Sydney Harbor. Located on the southern shore of Sydney is a historic region known as "The Rocks." The original buildings were made mostly of sandstone and were carved out of the rocks. We strolled through this area admiring some of the older architecture. Unfortunately there have been a lot of renovations and upgrades and you can clearly see where some of the original charm has been lost.

Fort Dennison was built as a small prison shortly after the first fleet arrived. It was built by the convicts and looks a lot like a small Alcatraz. Kind of sucks to build a prison on a rock in the middle of a harbor knowing that once it is complete you would be spending the rest of your life there.

Ray did a great job as our tour guide. He knows a lot of History of Sydney and he used to be a school teacher so he explained everything to us in detail. We wandered around on foot for hours, stopping in pubs, admiring the architecture and taking in Ray’s knowledge. Sydney is a very quiet and clean city. There is no trash. We heard no sirens or honking horns. The people stroll instead of rush around. Everyone is polite and no one yells. There was no construction. In those respects it was very pleasant but in the end it was a lot like any American City with McDonalds, Payless Shoes, drug stores and banks. Lots of buildings and people just like at home. It was great to see Sydney but I am looking forward to seeing the quieter towns as we travel up the coast.

We had lunch in China town and strolled through the markets. On our way back to the Ferry we stopped in the Victoria Building which was recently restored and absolutely beautiful. There were big dragons hanging from the ceiling and people celebrating Chinese New Year. The ferry ride back to Manly was a much smoother ride.

We enjoyed sunset and happy hour from Rob and Anne’s deck and then walked across the street to The Wharf for a dinner of pizza and salad. After dinner we had drinks on the beach and chased the seagulls around. Rob and Anne have been wonderful hosts. We are all laughing a lot and having a great time getting to know each other.