Hey Brendan, your town is the bomb! We walked around Circular Quay, had some great quasi-Danish “Copenhagen” ice cream, took countless pictures of the Opera House and a few of the Bridge, saw Hyde Park, shopped for beach towels on George Street, and chilled in the Botanical Gardens. Lunch and dinner were both with a view of the harbor.

There’s a historic neighborhood called “the Rocks”, with some of Australia’s oldest buildings (early to mid-1800s). “Cadman’s house” is a nondescript white building given the full landmark treatment, with displays explaining “archeological” digs that uncovered a 150-year-old toothbrush and revealed that this house’s chimney was a later addition. Yeah, it’s a young country - even younger than the US. After seeing this we walked under the Bridge and stumbled upon Garrison Church, packed with much cooler displays of recent history - trophies and memorabilia of Australia’s involvement in 20th century wars.

Culinary discoveries: apparently people here think that an “egg and sausage roll” goes great with a cappucino in the morning, since this is the standard breakfast combo. We tried some game: croc tastes like chicken and kangaroo is a tougher meat. Both were worth trying just for the sake of trying, but I was glad it was just an appetizer - a cow steak will do just fine, thanks. And I remain addicted to Coke Zero, which comes in bottles with black labels here.

Sydney feels like a very happy city: sunny, green, new, beautifully designed. The most memorable part for me is walking around the harbor - yes, it’s a travel cliche, but for a good reason.