Here we stayed at the Pier One Marriott in the prestigious Rocks Area (thanks to Jim’s points saved up from all of his work trips to Ohio). We were right next to the Sydney Harbor Bridge and enjoyed a happy hour watching the beautiful sunset from our hotel. We enjoyed a walk through the Botanical Gardens taking in Suzan’s favorite trees, the Banyans, a marvel with their extraordinary root structures. We also stopped in at the local art gallery (which is their museum and free of charge). There were works by the Masters (including statues by Rodin) and large paintings in gilded gold frames and also a modern art area which included an exhibit called, I forgive. There were maybe 100 different videos of people saying “I forgive you” over and over. Quite an emotion stirrer (for Suzan). We likely took 100 photos of the iconic Opera House and enjoyed people watching along the many harbor walks.

 Sydney was gearing up for their annual light festival, Vivid, so we saw lots of preparation going on and even a few sneak warm up peaks.  We missed the actual event by 1 day though.  Oh well, so much for planning.

We also took a bus to Coogie Beach to walk up to Bondi Beach, a must-see surfing area where Jim took the plunge  (75 degree water temp) so he could have his bragging rights! This journey seemed like a mix of La Jolla Cove with Cinque Terre in Italy.

One of our highlights in Sydney was a private tour by a childhood friend of Marianna Pinto’s (our close friend in San Diego). Marianna’s friend Susie took us, along with her helpers, Sallie from China and Tony and Leah from Germany, on a personal tour of the beaches along the North. Susie regularly offers room and board to young people in exchange for a certain number of hours of work in her home each week. We went to places like Manley Beach and Northhead where she took out an entire picnic she had made for us for lunch! (She even planned it around Suzan’s many food allergies, bless her). Kookaburra birds were prominent in this area and they attempted to steal our food on many occasions. They are quite aggressive. They did take off with a young woman’s sandwich who was seated near us! While out and about Jim took a photo of what we thought might have been a shark off the coast. Later Google informed us that it was more likely a lone dolphin (called the “solitary dolphin”) – a rarity! We took in the magnificent Sydney landscapes from about 12 noon until sunset, a brilliant one, and then Susie brought us to her home for a dinner she prepared, much like it was Christmas (so many courses). They live in a stately 1920’s home which had formerly been owned by a prime minister. Lovely place.  Met her husband, David, a genteel, delightful man and one of their daughters, Isabel, a jokester who kept us laughing (albeit some fun “corny” one liners). After relaxing with after-dinner drinks around their large fireplace, Susie drove us to the bridge close to midnight which we then crossed over making our way to our hotel and going to bed a bit later for us older folks.