Sydney at Night

Sydney Harbour in the evening is spectacular. Karen and I wandered around tonight after visiting the Sydney Food Festival. I wish I had a tripod to ensure clear pics at night. We did catch some nice images. As soon as we got back to the Vibe Hotel the skies opened up and rained. Our feet are sore, we covered lots of ground today; we'll sleep well tonight.

Sydney by Day

After a great sleep here in Sydney, Karen and I got the running gear on and headed for the water front. We ran down to the Opera House and then decided we had to run over the Sydney Bridge. That was work. It's higher and longer than we thought. Lots of office workers run to and from work. It's neat to see all the CBD workers getting their exercise and commuting simultaneously. We then hit MACCERS for breakfast and started our walking tour.

This is the bronze of Queen Elizabeth I dressed up for the the Art Festival. Doesn't she look divine?

This is Saint Mary's Cathederal. It is massively large. We went in for a look about 15 minutes prior to a mass. It holds mass 5 times a day on weekdays and more on weekends. The church bells rang out today at 3:00 p.m. and can be heard all over the area.

We found this really cool sculpture of a bicycle made out of bicycles. This is located in St. Martin's Square. It is very cool looking. Quite a clever design.

Here I am touching the nose of a warthog after making a donation to the Sydney hospital. Rubbing his nose and making a donation is supposed to bring good fortune.

Again, a statue that has been dressed for the day. This is a likeness of William Shakespeare that was gifted to the city of Sydney in 1848. Surrounding William are characters from his famous plays; Romeo and Juliet, Lady MacBeth, Hamlet and King Lear.

We took a wander through the Royal Botanic Gardens. They are very spectacular. The gardens are extensive. They are free to walk about and the signs at the entrances encourage you to walk on the grass, admire the flowers, hug the tress and picnic in the area. On a Friday afternoon, many people were in the area, walking, running, listening to music and, of course, sight seeing.

The rose garden was particularily spectacular. There was every colour of rose blooming and this particular variety was stunning. They are trying to use fewer and fewer chemicals and are in the process of replacing disease or fungus prone varieties with varieties that are more suited to the Sydney climate. These roses were all blooming in what is considered spring here.

We could not resist a picture of the kindies in their school uniforms, on an outing to the Sydney Opera House. There were four classes of them running around. Their teachers had their hands full. Don't let the uniforms fool you!

Along the walkway are the posters advertising upcoming events and activities at the Opera House. It always seems to be bustling with people and there is at least one performance there every day.

We Are in Sydney

Good bye Brisbane and many thanks to Mark and Mary for being such gracious hosts. It was time to head to the airport and after an hour flight we had arrived in a new city. Recognize this building? Yes, it is the Sydney Opera House. We are here in Sydney. What a beautiful city. It is very old and the buildings are impressive. After a quick trip from the airport to our hotel we set out to look around.

We found our way to the Opera House. It is a spectacular place -much larger in life than on television. Do you see tickets in my hand? Yes - we have tickets!!! We are attending a show at the Sydney Opera House on Saturday night. I will keep you posted about the details but I am excited. Any guesses on what we are attending?

It is a beautiful day here - warm and the air is not as humid. The Harbour is very busy and there is lots of action down here. It is about 25 minutes from our hotel to walk down here. The whole walk is park after park. We are near Hyde Park and the Royal Botanic Gardens. We are looking forward to a run in the morning and we are hoping that the weather will hold. It is supposed to be windy and rainy.

We are here during the Arts Festival and the city has many statues. One of the projects that was undertaken was artists were asked to design clothing for the statues. This is Queen Victoria. I think this dress would have freaked her out. Also on is the Crave Sydney International Food Festival and we had supper tonight in Hyde Park at the Noodle Night! It was great - spring rolls and pad Thai in a beautiful park.

We are back at the hotel, tired from our 5:00 a.m. get up ( thanks again, Mark) and from all the adventures of the day, sipping an evening drink and relaxing.

Stay tuned for more from the gorgeous city of Sydney!

Torrential Rain and Flooding, ...Joy

from Australian Broadcasting Corporation

We had been warned that when it rains, it really rains in this part of the world. Well the Brisbane area has been smoked by amazing amounts of rain. A new record was set for rain in October for a 24 hour period. North Brisbane recieved 225 mm of rain. Get a tape measure out and figure that one out. Amazing. We are high and dry so to speak here at Mark and Mary's place unless you go for a run or walk. The rain squalls are very impressive. The dams are full here. They just spent 9 billion dollars on a system to get water from other places in Australia when the local reservoir is near empty. They now say they have enough water for the next 10 years. Interestingly enough, they have not cancelled the water restrictions. The Aussie government want it to be a lifestyle. Not wasting water is a good thing. Take a look at this report:

...Flood
Brisbane Flooding

We found a Thanksgiving Turkey in Brisbane

What a shocker. After phoning grocery stores and meat markets everywhere in Brisbane, Mary found perhaps the one and only turkey to be had. It wasn't big perhaps 4.5 kg but it would do. Doris, it cost $11 per kg. That tiny bird better taste amazing. It did!

The stuffing was bought and pumpkin pies were made from scratch. It was an unexpected treat on Canadian Thanksgiving here in Brisbane. Mark and I gladly cleaned up while Karen and Mary served up an amazing supper. Mary's mom's sweet potatoes were on the menu. I think it was the first traditional Thanksgiving supper for the Low family here in Brisbane. Hey Doris, there were no turnips. Ha!!!!!!!!

That turkey wasn't cheap.


Yummmmmmmmmmmm!

Happy Thanksgiving Everybody

I took this picture of a sign with the bush turkey building a nest. It's hard to see in the background.

We are trying to celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving here in Brisbane today. Trying to find a turkey is next to impossible although there are bush turkeys everywhere. I wonder what they taste like. Nevertheless we will improvise and have a great day with Mark and Mary's family along with Glen and Julia. It will be fun. I think we will find some pumpkin pie filling so we hope to get a pie in the oven.

Flying Foxes aka Fruit Bats

Karen and I were on a run yesterday here in a suburb called Cooper's Plains. Karen asked me if I could smell a sewer type odor. I said no not really. There was quite a fuss going on in the treees that I assumed were birds. We looked more closely and realized the trees were full of megabats called flying foxes or fruit bats. They are big, I mean real big. I figure they had a wing span of about 60 cm or more. Amazingingly enough, they squabble in the trees with their mates. The bad odor was their droppings which apparently is very acidic and can take the paint off your car. Apparently they are great pollinators and of course they love to eat fruit of all sorts. They kept Karen and I entertained for a few hours yesterday.