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NZ reminded me of the little boy at school, quietly waiting to be noticed, desperately wanting to be liked, then when he eventually does get the nod, his determination to prove himself propels him to score a completely unexpected but brilliant try.
Congratulate him and he will just thrust his hands in his pocket, kick the dirt and say, 'ah, it was nothing'.
Conversely, Australia, as judged by my brief experience of Sydney, is the confident, outgoing kid, who jumps wildly up and down, hand in the air shouting, 'me, me, me'. The expectation being that his try will be brilliant and celebrated with an air-punching lap of honour.
So it was, that we arrived in vibrant and showy Sydney on Thursday 27th October, with a list of things to see and do and only a short time to do them in.
First on the list was a pre-booked tour of Sydney Opera House.
As well as seeing the Drama Studio, catching a snippet of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and an Opera in rehearsal, we also learnt about the history of this iconic building. Not least, that the original design by Jorn Utzon, having arrived late for a competition launched by the government to find the best and most appropriate building, was originally discarded.
During the construction the project hit financial problems and time delays and Utson eventually parted company with the government and returned to Denmark. Sadly, he never did return to see his finished creation 'in the flesh'.
A stroll around the Botanic Gardens, just behind 'the house', afforded us a wonderful array of flora and fauna; unusual trees and plants, flying foxes roosting in the trees, Ibis and the odd cockatoo, swooping over our heads.
After a whistle stop 'red bus' tour around the city, we alighted at Darling Harbour and enjoyed a a glass or two in the sunshine, followed by dinner in the quay.
The following morning we took a leisurely stroll around The Rocks, a tourist precinct and historic area of the city centre. There was a market bursting with stalls selling locally made craft items, some of which were very tempting, but would have added substantially to our luggage allowance.
In the afternoon we did the bridge walk!
Going through the lengthy safety procedures and donning the jump suits with their various attachments, led to the apprehension for Ian, where as I just wanted to get up there.
It was fantastic to be so high up and with such a view!
Ian was a tad 'wobbly', but I attempted it with the alacrity and fearlessness of a mountain goat!
That evening we met up with an old friend and his family and had a lovely dinner on Circular Quay.
On our last day we took the ferry to Manly, a beach resort that is apparently far less commercial than Bondi
We watched the 'buff' bodies skate, run, surf or play volley ball.
We ended our trip with lunch at a restaurant highly recommended to us called 'Garfish' . It certainly didn't disappoint. It was a superb meal enjoyed in a great setting and a perfect way to end our tour down under.
Monday 31/10/11
Arrived home, jet lagged and full of post holiday blues.
Here endeth my blogeth.
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