We had a quick 8 hours in Sydney before our connector flight departed to Perth, so we checked our bags through and hopped a train into the city. Wandering through Circular Quay led us to The Rocks, an area that we recalled as being much more vibrant t thirty years earlier. There were shops of all sorts and plenty of small cafes, but without a guide, we felt a bit like we may have been missing the heart of things. When in doubt, always stop to eat! After a pricey lunch of sandwiches and coffees, we found The Rocks Museum and enjoyed an hour or so of learning the historical beginnings, Aboriginal roots, first contact and in to more recent developments. We all took the opportunity to catch 40 winks during the interpretive films! Although they were really interesting, we had been up at 4 am in Auckland and lost a day crossing the International Dateline. Time zone shifts and heat took a toll.
Our stroll around the Harbour Bridge and back to the Opera House left us thirsty, so we foolishly succumbed to the charm of a quayside restaurant, where we lightened our wallets on beverages that ought to have cost one third of that charged. To balance that expense, I admit that we used three times the megabytes of normal wifi users as we enjoyed skyping Edmonton and chatting with folks at home, while using the excellent free wifi inside the Sydney Opera House. With better planning, we could have gone on a tour or even watched a performance that evening. Marvelling at Street performers and watching the throngs of tourists kept us entertaines for a bit. Really, our thoughts were already on Perth and imaginings of our new life in WA. We all seemed a wee bit homesick as well, so the real charms of Sydney would have to wait.
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