SYDNEY:
What a beautiful city this is -- we could very easily live here! We were very fortunate because our cousin, Helene and her husband Luciano have lived here for 30 years and know the city intimately. They spent our two days here giving us the ‘Insider’s Tour’ driving us through many of the local neighborhoods and districts (including the Red Light District!), and around many of the hundreds of beautiful beaches including the famous Bondi surfing beach. They 
pointed out the many rock pools -- rectangular swimming pools built at the shore with rocks, that are filled naturally by the tides and are a good protected place to swim laps. There are footpaths along the beaches and 
shoreline for everyone to enjoy.
The heritage society is very strong here and has preserved many of the early buildings. One of the things they’ve done to blend the old and the new is to keep the façade of the building intact, but put up a modern skyscraper five or six feet behind it. Some of the older “federation” homes have elaborate iron railings similar to those in New Orleans. Because the natural harbor has many fingers (like an open hand) hom
es have been built on both sides of the spits of land giving them marvelous views of the bay and/or ocean. Many movie stars and sports figures have condos here, with their yachts parked in front. People take pride in their homes and almost all of them are very well maintained. It’s a very green city with lots of trees, many of them flowering, lining the streets. There are hundreds of beaches, boats and marinas everywhere, as well as high, rocky cliffs. The scenery is spectacular!
We were treated to a private tour of the Taronga Zoo and in spite of the rain, we went into the walk-through area and interacted with kangaroos, wallabes and an emu. What fun!
The signature landmarks like the sails of the Opera House, the Sydney Bridge, affectionately nicknamed ‘the coat hanger’ and the ‘Madonna’s bra’ bridge (a bridge held up at the center by a series of cables coming to a point), were visible on the skyline from almost everywhere in the city. And the Victoria Building was unbelievable! It was originally a stable, and the slightly slanted floor has been kept. It later became a market and is now a beautiful enclosed shopping area -- mall isn’t an adequate description -- populated with lots of boutiques, cafes and specialty shops. Special colored tiles were made for the floors, and there are several beautiful stained glass windows
, along with two huge clocks, one with changing marionette tableaux and the other with a ship sailing around the equator. Needless to say, in spit
e of the showers, we thoroughly enjoyed our visit with our relatives, and are very impressed with Sydney.
pointed out the many rock pools -- rectangular swimming pools built at the shore with rocks, that are filled naturally by the tides and are a good protected place to swim laps. There are footpaths along the beaches and 
shoreline for everyone to enjoy.The heritage society is very strong here and has preserved many of the early buildings. One of the things they’ve done to blend the old and the new is to keep the façade of the building intact, but put up a modern skyscraper five or six feet behind it. Some of the older “federation” homes have elaborate iron railings similar to those in New Orleans. Because the natural harbor has many fingers (like an open hand) hom
es have been built on both sides of the spits of land giving them marvelous views of the bay and/or ocean. Many movie stars and sports figures have condos here, with their yachts parked in front. People take pride in their homes and almost all of them are very well maintained. It’s a very green city with lots of trees, many of them flowering, lining the streets. There are hundreds of beaches, boats and marinas everywhere, as well as high, rocky cliffs. The scenery is spectacular!
We were treated to a private tour of the Taronga Zoo and in spite of the rain, we went into the walk-through area and interacted with kangaroos, wallabes and an emu. What fun!
The signature landmarks like the sails of the Opera House, the Sydney Bridge, affectionately nicknamed ‘the coat hanger’ and the ‘Madonna’s bra’ bridge (a bridge held up at the center by a series of cables coming to a point), were visible on the skyline from almost everywhere in the city. And the Victoria Building was unbelievable! It was originally a stable, and the slightly slanted floor has been kept. It later became a market and is now a beautiful enclosed shopping area -- mall isn’t an adequate description -- populated with lots of boutiques, cafes and specialty shops. Special colored tiles were made for the floors, and there are several beautiful stained glass windows
, along with two huge clocks, one with changing marionette tableaux and the other with a ship sailing around the equator. Needless to say, in spit
e of the showers, we thoroughly enjoyed our visit with our relatives, and are very impressed with Sydney.
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