Finding Nemo
We did indeed find him today, as well as many other unusual animals at the Sydney Aquarium. Australia seems full of strange and dangerous things including jellyfish that can sting you, crocodiles that will eat you, and even platypuses that have a pois oned claw. We saw all of them plus 10 kinds of sharks that supposedly won’t eat you (I don’t want to have to find out if that‘s true), and huge bats at the Botanical Gardens that eat only fruit (I really hope so).
Our first few days in Sydney have been very exciting. In addition the sights above, we’ve been to the iconic Opera House, which is more beautiful than I expected. Pictures from a distance don’t do justice to the patterned tiles visible up close. We’ve also walked across the Harbour Bridge, taken several ferries, and had lunch at the Fish Market – mmmm!
All of it has been interesting, but the most fun has been in discovering the little differences here. For example, the weather forecast is not sunny, it’s “fine” or mostly fine,” possibly with winds that are “fresh.” Yesterday we were caught unaware that the whole city was going to be celebrating the “World’s Greatest Race,” the Melbourne Cup. It turns out that it’s a horse race, but is also an excuse to take the afternoon off, dress up, and drink (and when I say dress I mean men in suits and ties, and ladies in dresses and hats everywhere – bars, hotels, restaurants, the streets), all while betting and watching the race of course. Fantastic!
Finally, the US election is receiving a LOT of attention here. It was covered on all the TVs stations and everyone is talking about the new President-elect. A few parting shots of the trip so far:
halftime
November 7th, 2008 at 3:32 pm
Great pictures! Glad you made it there alright and the weather looks beautiful. How are you guys getting around? Just walking, bus, bikes? Can’t wait to hear more.
November 7th, 2008 at 7:24 pm
We got a weekly TravelPass that is good for all the city buses, trains, and ferries. It was $43 for a week and it turning out to be a great deal. The ferries go everywhere and give you amazing views of the bridge, opera house and the harbour!
November 10th, 2008 at 2:21 pm
We had a great time at the Melbourne Cup in 2006. Two friends working with the broadcasting industry got us press passes so we hung out in the top tier boxes area. Great for watching the race! The whole city shuts down and parties. Quite a lot of fun and so Australian.
A number of very good memories from the two months we spent in Oz. Have fun!