Saturday, July 3 Brisbane to Sydney

Got Josh's stuff packed and hauled it, via bus, a few blocks of marching, and train, to the airport. Flew to Sydney, getting some photos of the Opera House a few minutes before we landed; Josh also saw a whale. Checked in at the Challis Lodge, which is two houses converted into a hotel. The rooms are quite small and there's one bathroom and two showers per floor; there's only one light per rooom, no reading lamp; and there's no internet access. On the other hand, it's a few minutes walk from the Botanical Gardens and perhaps half an hour from the Opera House.

So we set out around 3:30 and went to the Opera House, then walked around the Circular Quay--the tourist area. Most of the restaurants are offering dinner for $25-30 and there are shops for Australian souvenirs--mostly opals and bush clothing--as well as shot glasses and post cards and such. However...at 5:30, shops started closing and by 6:00, the restaurants were about the only thing open. Josh wanted Chinese food, but there were none there and none to be found on the march back to the hotel. We went past the State Library, Parliament House, Hyde Park Barracks Museum, and St Mary's Cathedral, which tried to be Gothic but failed. We got to Harry de Wheels shop and Josh gave in and got a chili dog. I wanted something more typically Australia, so got a meat pie with mushy peas and sauce (ketchup) and ginger beer. Then we walked the rest of the way home through dark, deserted streets, feeling completely safe. One of Josh's Australian buddies had once explained, "Sure we could mug you, but we'd rather just have another beer." Got back to the hotel around 7:30, read for an hour or so, and lights out.