Well, okay Day 2 really, but yesterday was a wash getting oriented and over jet lag and travel issues.

    Day 1 activities:

  • Museum of Sydney – A fairly diverse set of exhibits including art and history of Sydney going back to its founding and almost to the current day. Fairly small and easy to do in a couple of hours. I’d give it a 7/10.
  • Walked through Circular Quay to the Rocks – a 10 minute walk with spectacular views of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House.
  • Sydney Museum of Contemporary Art – I will never understand contemporary art. That’s just me. 2/10
  • Walked through the Rocks to Observation Point – Passed by various old haunts of mine, like the Hero of Waterloo pub, on the way to Observation Point. Great views of North Sydney and the west part of Sydney Harbour from there
  • Walked back to Martin Place, went grocery shopping Australian style
    What I learned today

  • Captain William Bligh wasn’t very, um, good. After the mutiny on the HMS Bounty, he went on to be Governor of New South Wales, where he was deposed in a bloodless coup here.
  • Give way to hordes of Aussie schoolkids. Otherwise they’ll just run you over
  • While it may be impossible to find sugar-free stuff here in restaurants (other than Diet Coke, Coke Zero and Pepsi Max, which are everywhere), gluten-free is pervasive.
    …and the Food

  • Lunch: Noodle Box at MLC Center. Cheap, yummy, spicy. Must go back
  • Dinner: Room Service at the Westin. Still not quite on Australia time, we were too exhausted to go out