Welcome to Sydney

Remember my friends Sara and Dave?  (They met me in Buenos Aires in March.)  Dave’s sister Melinda lives in Sydney, and she’s been kind enough to let me stay at her place while I’m here.

So last night when I arrived from Christchurch, Melinda gave me the “Official Sydney Welcome.”

We started with a walk across the Harbour Bridge, where we were treated to a fabulous view of the Opera House.  When we reached the other side, we walked down to “The Rocks” – one of the oldest areas in Sydney, chock full of bars and restaurants.

We stopped in at the Australian House for dinner, and ordered a very Aussie pizza: one half Peppered Kangaroo, one half BBQ’d Emu.

After getting over the initial guilt of eating a cute furry creature, I actually enjoyed the kangaroo (which had a mild venison-like flavor).  The emu was good too.  In Melinda’s words, “It’s like a beefy chicken,” – not beef, but not chicken either.

After dinner, we walked around the Circular Quay to get a full view of the Bridge.  We ended up on the opposite side of the harbour, close to the Opera House – so I also got a peek into its intimidating performance halls.

By then, it was after 10, so we took a ferry back across the harbour to Melinda’s apartment.  We sat out on the ship’s deck where the wind was brisk – to put it lightly – but the view was worth it.

On day 2, there was a little sunshine and a little rain.  I made another walk across the Harbour Bridge, and then wandered through the Royal Botanic Gardens toward the Sydney Naval Base.

I met up with Melinda for dinner in Darling Harbour, where we walked past some of the musicians performing at the Jazz & Blues Festival.

Just before we ordered dessert, fireworks started soaring over the water.
“You get fireworks on your first full day in Sydney,” Melinda said.
Not too shabby.