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So it's it's a return to blue skies today as I'm back in Melbourne!

Had a quick look around the small ANZ Banking Museum. Situated in the Gothic-styled ANZ bank the museum provides a brief history of the bank, along with various examples of early banking machines (mainframe consoles, manual adding machines, etc) and many of the piggy banks issued by the bank over time. Quite good for a quick visit as it can be done easily in about 30 minutes, and entry is free.

So last morning in Brisbane and it's the first one with no rain and some sunshine! Spent the day seeing a couple of friends from the Secret Location.

Not really a lot to report today. Had a bit of a lie in this morning before heading into Brisbane for a quick lunch then a wander up to the Roma Street Parkland.

Well so much for the walking today! Woke up to rain, so had a wander around the Museum of Brisbane. It's not really a museum in the usual sense. It has no permanent exhibits. Instead it acts as a space for temporary exhibitions. Currently they have an exhibition on skateboarding in Brisbane and on one the telegraph system.

Then had a wander around the CBD, including a while in a music/technology shop that started playing REM's new album; so that passed most of an hour!

Urgh! Brisbane is far too hot and sticky. Plus it's raining. Bit of a storm earlier; which I think caused a brief power failure on the train!

So I'm 4 hours out from Sydney. I'm not sure this train has gone in a straight line since we set off! I seem to spend most of the time looking forward out tje window at the front engine... I could wave at the driver if these bends were any tighter! Currently somewhere between Dungog and Gloucester climbing up into the hills. The cloud is getting very low to us. If we climb much further we'll be right inside them.

Last day in Sydney at an end! Another day spent mostly on foot. My MyMulti bus/train/ferry ticket ran out yesterday. 7-day ticket is $41 for the 1 zone. A day ticket is $20! Had a walk up to Hyde Park to visit the Australia Museum, then the Australian Currency and Banknote Museum (or some name like that) and finally the Crime and Justice Museum. Had a walk through the Royal Botanic Gardens hoping to get sunset at the Opera House and Harbour Bridge. Lots of bats in the gardens, and pretty active in daylight too!

Another day with far too much walking! Had a day out at the Blue Mountains; mainly around Katoomba and Leura. Had originally planned to do one of the organised coach trips, but instead did the 2 hour train journey from Sydney to Katoomba. Quite a pleasant train ride; surprising how much urbanisation there is along the way. Also means the train stops quite a few times, so it could be done in less. One of the good things about most of Sydney's suburban and InterCity trains is that they are double-deckers, so you get a pretty good view from upstairs.

Pretty quiet day today. Went over to Bondi Beach. Have to say it was something of a disappointment. It's quite a bit smaller than you think. Can walk from one end to the other in 15-20 minutes; and that's walking on soft sand. Severe lack of people having BBQs on the beach too. Another downside is all the on-street cafes are on the land side of a 4-lane dual carriageway which spoils the view.

Early night tonight I think. Will need to be up early to head out to the Blue Mountains.

Half way through the holiday already!

Another day with plenty walking. Most of today spent around Darling Harbour. Started with a visit to the Sydney Aquarium. Forgot it was the weekend, so the place was full of kids. Noisy, running around the place, generally getting in the way. Am sure I was never like that as a kid! Not sure how the photos will turn out. For obvious reasons there isn't much light, so trying to take photos is a challenge. Done a few underexposed shots and will see if anything comes out in processing when I get home. One of the joys of shooting RAW!