Sydney

We arrived on a Saturday night and on Sunday Tim took me to Manly beach (above), a spot he had already visited on a previous trip.  The weather was gorgeous and we found a cute little restaurant, white-washed walls and views of the sea, for lunch.  As we sat people-watching, we were amazed at how impossibly good-looking Sydneysiders are - hot bods, not a pick of fat in sight, tiny bikinis, sun-kissed tresses.  We found out later that this was the first 'hot' weekend of Spring and the population of Sydney had poured out onto the various beaches along the coast.  Many of the people we saw, apparently, spend winter getting ready for summer so they can proudly bare (nearly) all and strut their stuff along the beach.  It was good to get that perspective, because otherwise I think we would have left thinking Sydney was the best-looking city in the world.

After that initial excitement, Tim spent his days working and I spent mine exploring the city.  I can see how pleasant life in Sydney would be, with the water, the parks and the beaches just a stone's throw away.  The only problem is being so far away from the rest of the world.

Three things in particular stand out:

1) getting up early and jogging through the Botanical Gardens to the Opera House.  The light was so clear and bright that early in the morning and we had such gorgeous views of the Bridge and the Opera House.

2) walking from Bondi beach to Coogee beach in the rain.  The weather put all but the hardiest of runners and walkers off but the views were spectacular and we arrived in Coogee just as the sun was setting.  It was magical and when we got to the end I wanted to turn around and do it all over again.

3) visiting the beautiful art deco inspired ANZAC war memorial in Hyde Park.  It got a red star in my guide book (a good thing) but I wasn't expecting it to be such a special place.  I found it very moving, particularly the sculpture 'Sacrifice' (see here for a pic: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:ANZACWarMemorial3_gobeirne.jpg).  It is the only war memorial that represents a soldier naked, in death. 

Here are a few pics of the obvious sights:

Early morning view of the bridge and opera house, with that special light I was talking about

More to follow!