Goodbye Gold Coast Hello Sydney (for a minute)

Well, hello to Sydney for a day.  We caught a flight to Sydney to be ready for our cruise to New Zealand that leaves tomorrow.  We've only been here six hours or so and we already know we are going to like it when we come back to stay a week.  We're in a very nice place in the China Town area of Sydney tonight and will actually return to this condo after the cruise.   It's a safe area with a lot happening on a Friday night.  And good sake.  At least I think it was because it didn't burn going down or cause me to shudder.

Let's back up a couple of days. 

We wanted to see Brisbane before we left that area so took a drive (about an hour) into the city.  We went to the city center and it was a busy, happening place!  It's a very alive city during the day -- full of business people and shoppers.  Just what you'd like Cinci to be.  They have the biggest shopping area I have ever seen (over 1,000 stores and restaurants, including farmer markets and anything else you can think of) in the heart of the city with several blocks paved for pedestrians only.  Where are my girlfriends when I need then??  We listened to carolers singing actual Christmas songs.  It was the hottest day we've had so far -- somewhere in the high 80's -- so the carolers were in red t-shirts and white shorts.

We decided to take what they call the City Cat which is a system of motorized catamarans that transport people up and down and across the river surrounding Brisbane.  It's not just a tourist attraction but actual working public transportation.  Imagine that!  Using a river to bring commuters, shoppers, visitors, and locals on a night out into a downtown area.  And it doesn't even require trolley tracks.  We were feeling kind of lazy so just stayed on the Cat and cruised the river.  Kind of like an outdoor bus ride without the fumes.  It was our lucky day because the ticket machine on board wasn't working so we had a two hour free ride.  That kind of made up for the $45 we had to pay for 4 hours and 15 minutes of parking!










On our last full day we followed the call of nature and explored another rain forest and hiked to a waterfall. It was another beautiful drive through lush green mountains and valleys.  We are suckers for the natural beauty of an area.  We learned more about the local flora and fauna.  There was a three foot eel in the pool beneath the waterfall.  That didn't make sense to us until we read that they swim in from the Coral Sea when they are young and stay until they feel like seeking a mate -- up to 16 years.  Now, I know that info will come in handy when I appear on Jeopardy.  By the way, I learned that we are staying by the Coral Sea though I'm not clear on when it changes from the Pacific.  Whatever it is, it is beautiful.

 

 

 

 

And this is where we ended our day.  We needed one more dose of our new favorite beach (Coolangatta) before we went home to pack.  Ernie got in some water time dreaming of wind-surfing while I made myself comfortable backed up to a lava rock reading while the sun was still shining.  We could have spent another day just beaching it, but it was not to be.  We grabbed some post cards to send to the grandkids and today I stopped at a post office to get stamps.  I cavalierly said, "oh, give me 3 for these post cards and 8 more for later".  Sure.  I paid my $28 Australian (which is about the same as American $).  Why don't I ask questions first??  Like, "how much is it to send a post card to the U.S.?"

 

It's now the morning we jump ship -- jump ON.  If you never see me again it means I had an overboard "accident" at sea.  (all evidence leads to Ernie -- even in my death I will have the last word).  I don't know how much we'll get on-line for awhile but we have some fun stuff planned so hope we can stay in contact.

Ohio people -- enjoy the weather :)  Here the sun is shining and the windows are open and the bad weather at home makes this trip tall the more wonderful.  Oh, Lord forgive me for rubbing it in.