3-8-12

Woke up to heavy rain and it continued to pour all morning. We kinda liked it since 99% of our days in Australia have been sunny.

So we hung out at the house with Martin (Ruth was at work and the boys at school), did some laundry and admired our feathered friends in their bird sanctuary:
Cathy the Cockatoo and...

Larry the Lorakeet. 

We ventured out for a little shopping. Bob and I bought this blue glass bottle. Martin and Ruth have one just like it and we saw them at all the restaurants (used to serve water). Glad we found one to take home with us!

Around noon the rain cleared and Martin took us sightseeing.

We visited a couple city beaches.

Another beautiful afternoon!

Kinda like using the fish eye lens sometimes.

Fun effect on this pic.

On the far left is Bondi Beach where the Olympic volleyball was held.

Big waves today!

All this touring made us hungry and Martin had the perfect place in mind.

The Sydney Fish Market!

The market was enormous. Fish everywhere and we had a hard time choosing.

I didn't pick this fish. Didn't like the way he was looking at me.

Bob and Martin ate fish & chips, fried calamari, fish sticks, crab sticks, and shrimp. I had 6 oysters, a whole eel (I love eel!), seaweed salad plus bread and butter.

We ate on the pier and left incredibly stuffed!

This strange bird and the seagulls joined us.

Around 5 Martin dropped us off at our hotel; The Holiday Inn, downtown Sydney. Thanks to Bob's travel points we're staying here our last two nights. Ruth, Martin, Adrian and Daniel will also be staying here tomorrow night!

This is the pool on top of the hotel. Views of the city, Harbor Bridge and the Opera House. Loving it!

 We also had a view of the Queen Mary 2 which docked for two nights in Sydney Harbor. The Queen Mary 2 is beyond enormous. It's hard to imagine until you see it in person.

We walked down to the harbor to get a closer look.

Here's the Queen Mary as it pulled out of Sydney. It was a thrilling event that brought hundreds of spectators out to watch. When the horn blew it sent chills through your chest as it echoed through the harbor.

A fun day with Martin and a good night in the city!