Now that the hustle and bustle of hosting Thanksgiving at my home in Sacramento with my kids, parents, boyfriend and ex! is over and a success to boot (Thanksgiving video composed by Indigo), I want to get back to sharing my Australia trip.
While I was teaching in Sydney, I had one day free to explore the city, and with a limited amount of free time I decided to ask my students as well as post a question on Facebook for suggestions of what to see. Lucky me Lisa Walton sent me a note offering to pick me up and do the tourist thing.
The first thing on the list of suggestions was take the ferry across Sydney Harbor to ‘The Rocks’. So Lisa and I drove out to the far side of the harbor
to an area called Manly beach
and took the ferry towards the city to get the spectacular view of the city skyline.
The magnificent Opera House
The Customs House
The Rocks, an historic area of Sydney
If you are friends with Lisa on facebook or follow her blog you know she always finds great spots to eat. We had a delicious lunch at a Malaysian restaurant for curry and the best roti bread I’ve ever had.
After lunch we walked through downtown to see the sites including passing by a few aboriginal artists
Seeing large ibis walking in the parks the way we typically see pigeons was interesting.
The beautiful heritage Queen Victoria building was not to be missed, it’s now a huge posh shopping mall
Down the street from the QVB was another shopping mall in another beautiful old building. I love architecture, so it’s really fun to see the different styles and details.
I adored coming across this alley filled with bird cages floating in the breeze hanging over an outdoor cafe.
After the ferry ride back, we drove over to manly beach
and then back to Lisa’s to rest up a bit and go to dinner in Chinatown 
with Marcelle Clark, who I first met in Melbourne in April at the Australasian quilt convention.
What a great way to end a fabulous day in Sydney.