Australia

I've left Australia for my last continent, I think, for one reason. I've had some sort of fear of flying so far across an ocean. Other Asiantrips involved going over the pole. guess I thought we stood some sort of chance landing or crashing on ice than five mile deep ocean. anyhow we made it to Sydney via Washington and San Francisco, about 40 hours total. during the last stretch we had a lovely 31 year old woman from SFwho was moving to Australia for a year with a new job. Economy here is better than the US as evidenced by the prices which are astoundingly high. IU have seen $5 for a chocolate bar, al McDonalds is double, other prices I couldn't even believe. 
     after landing we walked to the next village, Wolli Creek thereby saving $25 on the train. From Central Station we walked the 5 blocks to the Vibe Hotel. nice big room. we dropped o,ur bags, showered and hit the streets. There is a tourist bus ,the 555, which is free and took us to Circular Quay which is the heart of the harbor, the Opera House and the Harbor Bridge are here. we took a ferry to Manly Beach which crossed the harbor giving us spectacular views of the skyline. Sydney has 4 million people, many are Asian and yo,u hear so many different l a gauges. it is extremely clean, vibrant, easy to navigate. Manly was a 30 minute ride and we walked along the Corso, the main pedestrian way to the surfing beach. Very picturesque framed on each end by rocks. We walked along for a short while before taking the ferry back .Dinner at Maloney Hotel and bed at 7 PM. 
   December 21,2011. Sydney
       After 12 hours sleep I feel much refreshed. Today we will join a tour of downtown Sydney starting at the Town Hall. there were about 50 people and our guide was Evan a university students who just works for tips. He was so energetic and we walked for 7 km all over learning so many anecdotes . Sydney was settled about 200 years ago by convicts sent from England. We saw large Cathedrals, the rum hospital, Hyde park, the Victoria mall. outside this was a statue of Queen Victoria and her dog. the dog actually speaks when you put a coin in front of him, a charity thing, so funny though. We ended the tour at The Rocks, the original seedy section which now is the cool area with cafes and shops and cobbled streets. I learned so much and really loved Evans' lively presentation. After a short rest we headed over to inspect the Opera House. this iconic building was a bit disappointing. I thought it would be white but it is a dull butter color and kind of ugly up close. the harbor with all its ferries and  boats was wonderful to watch. there were aborigine buskers who played their digeridoos . a warm sunny day at about 72 degrees, just perfect.