Diary of a man down under - Day 6

First morning in Sydney and breakfast has improved... Good old bacon and egg roll, with a coffee, sat by Circular Quay, being watched by the gulls.

Had my first sight of the Opera House. It's so much smaller than you expect. Then again it's probably boy helped by the fact that Cunard's Queen Elizabeth is here. She's huge! The Queen Mary is due in later today. I'm told she's even bigger!

Bit chilly today only 20 degrees according to the info board. Overcast and breezy; and it rained earlier! Hopefully it's improving a bit, so think I'll head up the Harbour Bridge (think Tyne Bridge on a larger scale) pylon for some city photos.

Update: 1430
Survived the winds at the top of the Harbour Bridge Pylon and got some photos done. See if I can get a panorama sorted out when I get back. Nice leisurely walk over the bridge followed by the train back. It decided to rain again so glad I did get the train!

Now at the Opera House and booked on the Essential Tour. Feel I ought to come see a performance while I'm here. Did spot "One Man Lord of the Rings by Charles Ross ("One Ring nerd to rule them all perform the whole trilogy!") but it's not on till March 23. Bah!

Update: 1715
Done the Opera House tour. Interesting building with an interesting history. The design had been rejected but one of the judges who arrived late insisted on reviewing all the rejected designs and somehow got it chosen as the winner. It wasn't even known if the design were possible to build and was at one point declared to be impossible (after construction had started!) Sadly, you're not allowed to take photos inside the theatre spaces for "copyright" reasons. We were also unable to see the opera theatre due to rehearsals.

In a surprising moment of common sense from a transport company, the local govt ferries have been running a shuttle service around the QE and QM2. In a more surprising twist they weren't even charging day/week/month pass holders to travel on said ferry. Photos were taken.

Off for a walk now around Mrs Macquarie's point. And why does the iPod know to autocomplete Macquarie??

Update: 2030
Just ordered food and a beer in the hotel. The Aussies are a weird lot... There's a beer called Coopers Original Pale Ale. It's top fermented, and is bottle conditioned. Unlike the Brits (and those in the secret location) who carefully pour to keep out the sediment, here they actually roll the bottle to distribute the sediment through the beer!

Hotel gives me 3 hours wifi for free, so expect daily updates!