Jae and I had breakfast with her Dad and stepmom, who are (separately) visiting Australia and New Zealand. The Westin breakfast, while pricey, was unbelievable, with more types of eggs, sausage, fruit and drinks than I thought existed. After two hours of gorging ourselves, we wished our guests adieu and rolled out of the building.

We headed to Darling Harbour, which in the late 1980s was reclaimed and rebuilt. It now has the National Maritime Museum, an IMAX theater, the Convention Center, shops and restaurants, and the Sydney Aquarium and Sydney Wildlife World. Our original intent was just to hit the Aquarium, but you can pick up a discount bundle pass for the Aquarium and Wildlife World that’s good for a single admission anytime for three months. Turns out that it was a good idea, as we managed both in just under four hours with a short break for lunch.

Both the Aquarium and Wildlife World were worth the price of admissions, with the highlights being the shark tank in the Aquarium and the koala and kangaroo exhibits at the Wildlife World. I’d give them both an 8/10. They’re no Zoo but can easily be done in an afternoon.

After the animals, we walked through the rest of Darling Harbour and headed into Chinatown’s Paddy Market (not to be confused with Paddington Markets). Paddy Market is on the other end of the shopping spectrum from the QVB. Hundreds of stalls with mostly oriental owners hawking every kind of food and every kind of knockoff good possible (LeBron James “replica” jerseys for AUD$10). After wandering through the markets, we headed back to the hotel to pack for Melbourne.

    Food:
    Nothing to really write about. A lot of munching on whatever was at hand from whatever stall was close by. Paddy Market is full of them. Dinner was at the sushi bar at the hotel.
    What I learned today:

  • Sydney flies are vicious. Makes you want to carry a flyswatter to chase them off.
  • Male platypus are venemous
  • Koalas are dumb. Really dumb