Sydney with Guest Editor Jim Zimmerman, IMD

Arriving in Australia: Lisbeth and I decided to check up on the two "world travelers" and celebrate New Year's Eve with them. Our flight from San Francisco to Sydney landed at 8:00 in the morning. Steph and Chris were scheduled to arrive from Singapore 90 minutes ahead of us. When we emerged from the customs area they were there waiting for us! It was great to see them after more than four months!

Our suitcases included some cookies from home, "backpacking supplies" and a few items that Chris and Steph ordered using the DOD (Dear Old Dad) Worldwide Delivery Service. One of them was a new netbook computer for Stephanie. Yes, you are reading this correctly. Stephanie decided to get her own netbook which includes several improvements over the one Chris bought last summer. Needless to say, Chris was happy to check it out to make sure everything was working properly.

Exploring Sydney: We spent our first two days walking around the downtown area. Sydney is an amazing city with a beautiful harbour area, spectacular gardens, interesting old neighborhoods, great shops and friendly people. We especially enjoyed touring the Sydney Opera House – designed by Danish Architect Jørn Utzon.

Two Great Danes

Sun-worshipers

We also took a long walk through the Royal Botanic Gardens. The vegetation was fascinating. It is mid-summer in Australia (a big contrast for us visitors from the northern hemisphere) so the foliage was green and many flowers were blooming. The birds – and the bats – were also interesting to observe – sometimes close at hand.

Bird Boy

Royal Botonic Garden Bats

We enjoyed exploring some of the older neighborhoods of the city – including: Elizabeth Bay, Paddington, Surry Hills and the Rocks – and walking across the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Chris was our guide. He and Steph had a list of things they wanted to see. We managed to see most of them during our nine day stay.

The Lounge: The first and last days of our visit to Sydney were spent at the Marriott Hotel where we were able to use their Executive Lounge. We took full advantage of the free wireless connections, great views of the city along with snacks and wine in the evening and hot breakfasts each morning. Steph even got to have baked beans with her eggs.

Bonnet Bay: Thanks to our good friends Kaye and John Dalton we were able to spend the New Year's Eve period in the home of Sue and Peter Kenaly in Bonnet Bay in the southern suburbs of Sydney. Sue and Peter have a beautiful home with a barbeque which we put to good use during our stay.

We enjoyed the Kenaly's dog Patsy who quickly adopted us and took us on long tours around the neighborhood. We also made good use of the internet connection in Sue and Peter's office – where we set up our three computers.

Patsy and friends