Think you know the answer to this question? It's brilliant white, right? Wrong. Sydney Opera House is actually a mushy cream colour. It's a concrete building, covered with what seems to be cracked bathroom tiles. If you've not seen if for yourself, we're sorry to break it to you, but we were pretty stunned too. In fact, we initially wondered whether the only reason this building has become one of the world's most iconic, is due to its magic ability to change colour when photographed. You see it on television, in magazines, and books, standing brightly as a proud Australian, WHITE, icon. But in close-up reality it left us a little bewildered by how 'off-white' and - dare we say it? - 'tired', it looked. Our first sight of the Opera House was from our Qantas plane as we came down to land in the city. Sure enough, from the sky, it was a glistening gem in the infamous Harbour. But as we saw it from the ground later that day, we were a little surprised by the lack of sparkle. The thing is though, Sydney Opera House has a second magic power. It has the ability to make people fall in love with it (and its mushy bathroom tiles). You just have to hang around long enough for the magic to work, and you realise why this building is so important to independent Australia today - and what it represents in a migrant nation that until not so long ago was dependent on Britain and Europe. Before it worked its magic on us though, we caught a train from the airport to the QVB - that's the Queen Victoria Building to non-Australians - in the centre of town. (It turns out the Australian's just love acronyms and abbreviations.) The city was a tad grey and drizzly when we arrived, and we wondered if Australia in Autumn had caught up with us as we wandered between the gorgeous Victorian architecture to catch a bus to Balmain. The city wasn't at all what we expected. For some reason, we'd wrongly assumed Sydney would be a modern city. It's not. But it does ooze a certain sophistication and self-confidence… To be honest, at first glance, it reminded us both of London. (But that's no bad thing!) Anyway, after a short bus ride, we were in Balmain - a lovely little suburb West of the city where our lovely hosts lived. We were to stay with Bret's friend and ex-colleague, Warren, and his family for a few nights. While Warren was still at work, we were welcomed by Savi, Warren's mother-in-law, and his beautiful baby boy, Ethan. Oh how good it felt to be shown into someone's home, to relax on a sofa, and have a cup of tea. For two weary travellers, it was pure bliss. We chatted to Savi about Sydney, and she told us how they'd been living here since shortly after one-year-old Ethan was born. After a natter about how the South African family have settled in the city, we went to explore it for ourselves. A 15-minute bus journey took us back to the QVB and after another failed hunt for a suitable hair salon, we looked for the tourist information centre for more of those wonderful tips on doing things on the cheap. Along the way, we bumped into a free walking tour that was about to depart - how's that for good timing…?! The tour lasted three hours, and took us to all the main sights in the CBD, including The Rocks, (where European settlers landed in 1788), and of course the famous Harbour. The city is built around this natural harbour, so it's pretty hard to miss... Our guide pointed out some things that we probably would have missed though. For one, he explained how the word Eternity was a graffiti tag which kept cropping up around the streets of Sydney from the 1940s through to the 1960s. No one knew who was responsible, and locals were convinced it was a special message from above, or, at least, from a very noble soul. Eventually though, it was discovered that the culprit was Arthur Stace - an illiterate former soldier, petty criminal and alcoholic who became a devout Christian in the late 1940s. Basically, he was a bit of a nutter and for years he'd walk the streets at night, writing the single word "Eternity" on walls and footpaths. This guy apparently wrote the word over half a million times… It's now a bit of talking point of the city, and it's referred to and recreated in all sorts of artworks. …Anyway, it sounded pretty cool the way the guide explained it! The tour came to an end at a viewing platform with what should have provided fantastic views of Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. Only, a huge cruise ship was moored in the harbour blocking the Opera House from view. Oh well - standing on tip toes, and peering around the ship we could just about make it out. We caught the ferry back to Balmain after the tour and did the dutiful tourist thing by posing for photos as we sailed by the Opera House. It's out on the water that Sydney really comes into it's own. There can't be many cities in the world quite like it. Back home Warren and Niv greeted us with open arms, and spoiled us with a fish and chips take-away. It felt like any other Friday night, chilling out with a glass of wine and a takeaway on the sofa. We're sure Warren and Niv have no idea just how much we appreciated it, but it really meant a lot! After a lovely night's sleep, we headed to the famous Manly Beach the next day on the ferry. The sun was shining brightly, and the sun cream was piled on, as we walked along the beach. Surfers battled for the best swell, life guards stood on watch, and sun worshippers constantly hopped up to move their towels away from the waves as they it came crashing into the sand. Welcome to Australia… Welcome to Sydney. It fit every sun-kissed stereotype, and we loved it. There were even free electric barbeques along the beach for anyone to use. Now where did we put those shrimps…? There's a mighty 10km coastal walk from Manly which we were told was nice, so we decided to do just part of it. But as we walked into the Sydney Harbour National Park, we couldn't resist going further and further. The landscape was beautiful, as we walked through the bush, with plenty of plants unique to the country. Eventually we came across a tourist office, where the staff encouraged us to walk further and complete the walk. Why not? We thought. Unfortunately, our chosen attire of beachwear and flip flops wasn't exactly appropriate, and our sunscreen was wearing dangerously thin, but we persevered and it was worth it. Back on the ferry, it was a tad windy as we made our way back to Balmain and the boat was rocking so much we could barely stand up. Luckily, though, we made it home in time for the most incredible Biryani that took us right back to India. Savi had made it herself, and we've vowed to learn to cook food like this when we get home. In the meantime, we spent the rest of the evening at one of Niv and Warren's favourite locals for a drink. Ahh, how nice it felt to be out for a drink amongst friends at the weekend! The next day we left our travel cards in our pockets and rather smugly boarded Warren's speedboat. Yep, that's right… private speedboat is the new backpacker's choice of transport, don't ya know!? Together with his mate, Mike, we were escorted up the Harbour and dropped off right next to the entrance to the Opera House. How's that for arriving in style? It turns out that unless you buy a badly reviewed ticket for tours, or a mega expensive concert ticket, the only thing you can do inside the Opera House for free is use the loos… so we did just that! (At least we can say we've been inside!) It was Paddy's Day, and there was a big parade planned in the city - so we thought of our favourite Dubliner's, (you know who you are!), as we headed over to enjoy it. Irish expats led the parade, before continuing the day in true Irish style - getting rather sloshed. Alas, there was no Guinness for us, as we still wanted to do more sightseeing (we can hear the sighs from Carl and Ciara from here….), but we had a mini picnic in Hyde Park, before heading off to the Botanical Gardens. We arrived just in time for a free tour of Government House. It was quite interesting, but the best thing about it was the Canadian guy who showed us around. He seemed to have a very peculiar fascination with the female Australian Leader which was a little creepy, so we spent most of the tour sniggering at his stalker-ish enthusiasm. On the way back to Balmain, we stopped off at Luna Park. This is a really quaint little theme park right beside the Harbour Bridge. It was bit too pricey to go on any of the rides, but we bought some big lollies to eat as the sun set over the harbour. Back at Warren's flat, a huge bowl of Spag Bol was being served just as we walked through the door, (some more good timing!) so we sat down and enjoyed more home cooked goodness before heading to bed feeling utterly spoiled. Today is our last day in Sydney, and we couldn't leave without going to Bondi Beach. This place is definitely up there among the city's main icons. With treacherous rips, huge crowds, and a crass boardwalk, it pretty much lords it over Manly - and probably all of Sydney's beaches. Luckily for us, today is Monday, so it was nowhere near as manic as it can be, which might be why we loved it so much. We had fish and chips on the beach, sunbathed on the sand, and walked part of the Bondi to Coogee Clifftop walk. On the way we passed some exercise platforms. Nat put Bret through his paces on the pull-up bars… He stuck at it long enough for Nat to take a photo before collapsing in a heap after the camera shutter closed! Hrmm… perhaps we need a few more months heaving our backpacks to build up some strength! The best thing about this place is that backpackers, bronzed locals, and Botoxed mini-celebs all fit in here - the only pre-requisite is swimwear. It was a great place to spend our last day, before heading back to the Harbour to wave farewell to the city. Being a Monday, the boat was mostly full of commuters heading back to Balmain. We realised, then, just how lucky Sydney folk are. We'd take Sydney Harbour boats over the London Underground crush any day. Anyway, back in Balmain, Savi has impressed yet again with the most fantastic home-cooked fish and chicken curries. We've savoured every last bite, as we are now preparing to start a road trip up the East Coast to Brisbane, so who knows when we'll eat this well again….

P.S. Warren.. If you're only going to have one piece of rope on a speedboat, make sure it's more than two foot long :-)