Penina is one of those amiable souls that makes everyone feel she has been their friend forever. It was quite sad to 
have her leave us this morning, so Kay and I managed to convince her to come out to breakfast with us before Kay's bridge climb. I do feel that I made a friend and am hoping to convince her and Cam to come visit Chicago in the not-too-distant future.
The sky was blue, but the weather was cold and windy today when we left the hotel. (We later found out that winds were
gusting at 78 km/hour) As I saw Kay off for her Harbor Bridge climb, I morbidly wondered what I would tell Elliott if she got blown off! I took the opportunity to walk 20 minutes across the bridge and around the North side of the bay and experienced a neighborhood that had the hills of San Francisco and the iron-work of New Orleans, it was pretty cool.
On the walk back I went up one of the pylons (the towers at the corners of the bridge) and got to see the view from there - not quite as adventurous as Kay, but not bad considering the wind. After Kay's triumphant return (she highly recommends it, btw) we bummed around a street market for a bit and then took a ferry across the bay to Manly Beach, which is actually on the ocean itself. Despite the temperature and the winds there were many people surfing - crazy. Heading back to the hotel, we stopped in the Botanic Gardens and saw giant fruit bats (!) hanging from the trees before meeting up with Katherine for dinner. (Incidentally, Katherine was able to see a production of Our Town at the Sydney Opera House - not bad!)
It was tough to only have one free day in a city as fabulous as Sydney, but I feel like I at least got a taste of several neighborhoods and not-to-be-missed opportunities. Tomorrow morning we have enough time to walk and see the inside of the Opera House before checking out of the hotel and coming home! (Did you know I will time travel tomorrow? I will land in L.A. several hours BEFORE leaving Sydney!)
have her leave us this morning, so Kay and I managed to convince her to come out to breakfast with us before Kay's bridge climb. I do feel that I made a friend and am hoping to convince her and Cam to come visit Chicago in the not-too-distant future.The sky was blue, but the weather was cold and windy today when we left the hotel. (We later found out that winds were
gusting at 78 km/hour) As I saw Kay off for her Harbor Bridge climb, I morbidly wondered what I would tell Elliott if she got blown off! I took the opportunity to walk 20 minutes across the bridge and around the North side of the bay and experienced a neighborhood that had the hills of San Francisco and the iron-work of New Orleans, it was pretty cool.On the walk back I went up one of the pylons (the towers at the corners of the bridge) and got to see the view from there - not quite as adventurous as Kay, but not bad considering the wind. After Kay's triumphant return (she highly recommends it, btw) we bummed around a street market for a bit and then took a ferry across the bay to Manly Beach, which is actually on the ocean itself. Despite the temperature and the winds there were many people surfing - crazy. Heading back to the hotel, we stopped in the Botanic Gardens and saw giant fruit bats (!) hanging from the trees before meeting up with Katherine for dinner. (Incidentally, Katherine was able to see a production of Our Town at the Sydney Opera House - not bad!)
It was tough to only have one free day in a city as fabulous as Sydney, but I feel like I at least got a taste of several neighborhoods and not-to-be-missed opportunities. Tomorrow morning we have enough time to walk and see the inside of the Opera House before checking out of the hotel and coming home! (Did you know I will time travel tomorrow? I will land in L.A. several hours BEFORE leaving Sydney!)