Day 5: Sydney Australia

Day 5 (7/14/2002): Sydney, Australia

We had a wonderful breakfast and had our first taste of Vegemite. It is a concentrated yeast extract that is usually put on toast, it's very salty. I guess it's also a good source of vitamin B. Most Australian's have this every day. 

The tour bus took us to Lady Macquarie's chair in Mrs. Macquarie's Point. It was a place that her husband the governor made for her to walk around. There was even a chair carved out of stone for her to sit in. 

From there, we left to go to the Sydney Opera house. We took a tour and saw the different sets (stages) and got a lecture on how the acoustics worked. The outside is made of concrete and glass, which covers another building inside.

The Fitzpatricks in front of the Sydney Opera House

Adam Newell and Joy Smith at the Sydney Opera House

We also went to the Sydney tower and got a great view from the tallest building South of the equator. It was the finale of a fine exhibit on the history of Australia, complete with rotating stages and holograms. It even had a ride with chairs that moved and delivered mist.

We had a couple of hours to shop in the Rocks area and eat lunch. Then we took a tour of Darling Harbor and got on a shop that took us around Sydney by boat. The trip was about an hour.

We went to a place afterwards that sold opals. They talked about how opals were mined and how they become expensive, based on the size of the silicon/water mixture. Of course, there was a chance for everyone to buy opals afterwards.

After the opal tour, the group split up and went towards the hotel, either by foot or monorail. We shopped and had supper also. Everyone stayed in the hotel to enjoy its amenities. The nice thing about going west instead of east is that everyone tends to get up earlier instead of later. They also get tired quicker in the day. Some packed tomorrow for our trip north.