Our Favorite Convict Colony

In an unlikely turn of historical events, Australia, originally a giant Alcatraz for Great Britain and filled with boatloads of unsavory criminals, took their abandoned lemons and turned them into great beer and meat pies.



We discovered in Sydney a wonderful city, full of great food, laid-back locals, and waterfront views wherever we walked.

First up on our list was climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge, which has been Tiffany's biggest concern of the trip. But after seeing pictures of a 100-year old woman's successful climb, she figured she'd overcome her fear of heights and give it a shot. As you can see, she made it! At the top, we were over 1,000 feet over the harbor. While Tiffany was happy to have made it, I still couldn't convince her to let me lift her up for the photo.


Sydney's other famous architectural highlight is the Opera House. All the arcs forming the structure can be combined to form one sphere. Or, as our bridge climb guide described it, "It's like a rugby scrum of nuns." Either way, it is stunning, and we enjoyed our behind the scenes tour of the site, which described how a 3-year, $7 million budgeted project was eventually completed in 15 years, at a cost of over $100 million (with the overrun paid for through a special "Opera House Lottery". And who said nothing good ever comes of gambling?!). The Opera House is home to not just opera performances, but also dance, symphony orchestra, theater, and even sumo wrestling and the finals of Australian Idol. We enjoyed a performance that evening of the Jerome Robbins ballet, which was like ballet for ADD sufferers, with 4 acts separated by 3 intermissions in a quick 2 hours. It was perfect for us!


Sydney also found international accord when they held the 2000 Olympics, widely known (especially within Australia) as "the best Olympics ever".


Truthfully, it is a beautifully landscaped site, with wide boulevards to stroll and striking stadiums dotting the Olympic park.





Interestingly, Australia has more Olympic athletes per capita than any other country (at around 20 million population for the entire country, they are about the size of Shanghai). And we were soon believers. Every where we walked, and at any time of day, we witnessed people running, swimming, playing volleyball, rugby, even boxing in the park. At lunchtime, workers would stream out of their office buildings in running shoes for a quick jog. And even though it wasn't that warm (maybe 60 degrees in the evening), we saw people swimming in the ocean. Without wetsuits. As our cabdriver replied when we mentioned that rugby looked like a crazy sport, "Well, you have to be crazy to be Australian."


We walked along the famous Bondi Beach and learned that Australian's idea of a swimming pool is to let the freezing Pacific Ocean water fill your pool and have at it. Never mind that the ocean waves keep crashing over the pool wall onto your head as you flip turn. At least the sharks can't get in. Hopefully.































And, as usual, Tiffany couldn't stay away from the bounty of animals to be found. From kangaroos to koalas, she got her hands on all of them.