Arrived in Sydney on Monday (19th) at lunchtime. We had booked the Shangri-La Hotel in the Rocks area of Sydney. The view from the bedroom window is like a picture postcard with Darling Harbour to the left, the Sydney Harbour Bridge in the centre and the Opera House to the right. On Tuesday while you were all shivering in the snow Keith and I were paddling along the shoreline of Bondi Beach with temperatures reaching 28 degrees. At night we went to see Alcina by Handel at the Opera House. It was a bum numbing 4 hours and 10 minutes long but very enjoyable and the time went over quickly. Today we have been sightseeing round Sydney. We had a look around the aquarium. There was a glass covered walkway which housed all the sharks and stingrays some of which were huge. We also had a backstage tour of the Opera House courtesy of Keith's cousin Colin. He took us into the concert hall where the Sydney Symphony Orchestra had just finished rehearsals for their performance tomorrow night. Tomorrow is the day of the Harbour Bridge Climb - watch this space!!!!