Our 2nd day in Sydney saw us heading out for Bondi in the morning. We went on the metro/railway for most of the journey. This was very efficient and easy to use - buy a ticket, locate a numbered platform, check the "wall map" for what station to change at, and check the overhead monitor for time of next train. We got off at the nearest station to Bondi and took a bus the rest of the way. The weather was very good and the sea was warm. The beach was a lot smaller than I had imagined but it was also a lot cleaner than I had heard. Swimming and watching the world Down Under go by was the order of the day for us here for a while. Later over a lunch we decided to take a boat trip around the harbour and so we headed back by the same route to Circular Quay, which with just a little imagination was just like I had imagined it from the song "The Band Played Waltzing Matilda".

The harbour cruise of nearly 2 hours was a real pleasure. We saw all sides from the affluent yacht marinas to the naval museum in Cockle Bay, with the Monorail scootin' overhead on Pyrmont Bridge, as well as the working docks around Darling Harbour into Walsh Bay, and we passed under the Big Bridge twice. Of interest also were the number of houses which had been damaged during a recent bad hail storm. I have to say it is far and away the most impressive and best looking harbour by a long shot that I've ever seen either from the air or from the water. This is despite the fact that like a growing number of towns and cities around the world today the main "central" buildings are cathedrals to the God of Mammon. The only truly "disappointing" aspect was that it got quite cold once the sun started to dip down low in the sky, shortly after 5 pm. We hardy creatures were still dressed just for the "summer".            

After we "landed" we walked over for a good look at the Hopper House up close. It's very impressive alright with its "fancy handwriting" shapes and clothing of small tiles. I heard that some of the latter are dislodged by the weather now and then and are sold off to the public regularly as souvenirs, although I'm not sure how easily you could remember they were from the Sydney wonder e.g. no specific markings.

As usual hunger and thirst soon beckoned again and so back with us to the hotel to change the clothes and run out to the pub like a pair of manic dipsos. Will we ever get sense?. Anyway after adequately feeding our habit as well as our faces, we eventually wound up in of all places an Irish pub up the road called the Shamrock, a good place with at last a reasonable pint of porter. The boy pulling the levers was from Dublin. The band, who were not playing "Waltzing Matilda" but were dispensing lots of other familiar stuff, travelled under the name of Finn Macool. Their forte was to invite someone from the audience to get up and sing with them. As you can imagine this was like heaven to all the drunken "wedding singers" present (why am I reminded of Billy Connolly again?). I hasten to add that this set did not include your two intrepid wanderers, as we had acquired a kind of serene "floating above it all" demeanor after our time spent in the glorious Red Centre. In fact I think the serene floating had a much more down to earth origin, but what's the point of livin' at all if ya can't dream, especially in the waking state? Either way we had another good night although maybe a little bit overdone in the drinks department.

The next morning heralded a touch of the flu for me, although my dysfunctional smart cells kept insisting it was just a hangover. Nevertheless we had planned to go out to Manly, and so to Manly we did go. Ferry riding tends to be "dicey" when you're in that state, but I got through it ok although I was hardly the best of company. It's a truism that every ordeal has something interesting to divert the introspective concentration which tends to accompany any form of travel sickness. In this case it was the sight of an inlet sign for Clontarf, also on the North East side just like Dublin.

Manly too had a nice beach which I promptly fell asleep on, or more like a coma according to Ber. As a result I missed all the excitement for which she had a ringside seat. I gather that a group of Japanese tourists arrived on the beach and started running into and around in the water, fully clothed and having a great time. Unfortunately they were frolicking in a section which the lifeguards had cordoned off because of unpredictable currents. They either ignored or didn't hear the tannoy urging them to get out of the water, with the inevitable result that a couple of >em got into difficulty and had to be hauled out by the Baywatch brigade. The strange thing is that I slept all through this drama even though we must have been in the front row. I'm just glad none of those rescuing types (all male) didn't mistake me for a drowning. I'm not sure I could depend on you know who to protect my honour where there was a good chance of a laugh.

After I awoke the world didn't seem such a great place any more and I felt I needed to go to bed soon. Very strange that just after a long sleep. We went into a pub for some grub for herself and a difficult spectator role for meself. Incidentally no matter how unwell Ber might be, it never seems to interfere with her appetite. I've always found that really strange.

For me the ferry journey back was the same as the one out but such is life. Next morning, as was becoming normal in our post Perth travels, we didn't have much time before going back to the Airport. We engaged in some further close up viewing of the Opera House, this time in a clearer light and combined this proper tourist behaviour with some gazing across the "Point to Point" view between Bennelong and Mrs.Macquarie's. Also I had a close look at a replica of the Bounty ship, used in the film with Mel Gibson and Anthony Hopkins. It's surprising how small the famous floater was, at least to our modern eyes.

And so our Oz adventure drew to a close. Next stop USA.