Australian "Boondoggle" 

(October 4 - October 14, 2001)

Ok, so every day in my life seems to be a  "boondoggle"  these days, but what else do you call tagging along with your husband on a business trip.  Kris is working on a project with the Australian finance company, AMP, and had to go to Sydney for some meetings.  Since neither of us had ever been (and always wanted to), we decided to add on a few weekends, and make a trip out of it.  As anyone who has ever been to Australia knows, Sydney is a beautiful city.  We both decided that it would be fantastic to live there.  It has it all, the waterfront with lots of great beaches, great restaurants, shopping, culture, industry, access to tons of outdoor activities, and great people.  Here is just a sampling of the beauty of Sydney.  Enjoy!

(Click on picture for larger view)

We stayed at a corporate apartment right in downtown Sydney.  So I began the trip by strolling around the city centre! This is the Martin Place pedestrian mall.

Stain glassed windows inside the QVB.

A beautiful day in "The Rocks".  That is what they call the waterfront area leading up to the Harbor Bridge.  The place is full of great restaurants, shops, and people!

I spent a lot of time walking the paths along the waterfront (there are a lot of them).  Here I took a picture of the city center  from Mrs. Macquaries' Point. 

A picture of the Opera House from the Circular Quay ferry   docks. 

The Harbor Bridge with North Sydney in the background. If you look closely (or click to enlarge) you can just see the groups of people climbing the arch of the bridge. 

The very famous and popular (with the young and hip) Bondi Beach. 

There were more surfers than I have ever seen at Bondi Beach. 

Dinner at Cafe Sydney with the AMP gang.  The view of the harbor was fantastic...and the food wasn't bad either.

Speaking of malls, this has to be the only one in the world that gives guided tours.  Queen Victoria Building (QVB) - many floors of great shopping, but also very beautiful.

Hanging clock and shops inside the QVB.

No visit is complete without a visit to (and a zillion pictures of ) the Opera House.  It absolutely dominates the waterfront and must be seen from every view.

And by looking to the right of city center (again from Mrs. Macquaries' Point), you see a great view of The Opera House with the Sydney Harbor Bridge behind it. 

The Opera House and Harbor Bridge seen on a sunset cruise around the many harbors of Sydney. 

The ultimate tourists!  Yes, we climbed the bridge.  Here we are on the top of the arch, you can just see the opera house peaking out on the left (and us on the far right).  

Mind you, it was only about 50-60 degrees out, but everyone was swimming, surfing, and catching rays.

Manly Beach. Another of the many beautiful  beaches in Sydney. 

Hopped a plane to Melbourne just to have dinner with some friends.  We ate at an "old school" steak house....never seen so much meat in one meal.