Beautiful, energetic Sydney!

No wonder everyone who has ever been here loves Sydney!   It is a beautiful city!   And busy.   We arrived on Friday afternoon and found our really nice "apartment hotel" right in downtown Sydney.    We could not wait to get out and explore, so we took off for "The Rocks" and took a great walking tour.  

We learned a lot about the history of Sydney, then we walked back to our hotel.   We were surprised that the streets of downtown were packed.   It was Halloween, and we saw lots of great costumes.  There were also a lot of people who were quite dressed up in nice clothes going out to dinner or clubbing.  We felt totally safe walking.   

The Rocks is the area of the city where convicts lived when Australia was the penal colony of Great Britain.  Interesting history.    There is a lot of maritime history also.     There is water everywhere, and there are lots of boats on the water.    There are ferries going all directions.   We have not been on a ferry yet.   Maybe tomorrow!

We did some exploring and shopping yesterday, and called it an evening early last night.   

Today was really great.  The reason we are making this trip at this time is to attend the wedding of Erin Peterson and Michael Wilton.   The wedding is November 20.     Erin and Michael picked us up at 9:15 this morning and took us to Bondi Beach for a great walk and to see the annual sculpture show.   That was great.  We took our time walking through the crowds and catching up.   I had not seen Erin since she was a little girl.   Her Mom, Catherine, was a close childhood friend of mine.    Catherine passed away about five years ago.    Erin's Dad, Bill, invited Catherine and I to the wedding.  So, here we are and we are so happy we could be here.

It was a glorious day.   Perfect weather, clear blue skies, and great company.   We were all happy to see each other and Flo and I are the first wedding guests to arrive, so we had Erin and Michael all to ourselves.  

Bondi Beach is spectacular.  The waves were huge and rolling.    There were lots of surfers.   There was also a big salt water pool that the ocean waves were rolling into.   There were lots of lap swimmers and sunbathers at the pool

After our walk we had a great lunch at a club overlooking Bondi Beach.  Then we went to Watkins Bay, the sight of the wedding.   When we arrived, there was a wedding taking place at the site of Erin and Michael's wedding.  That was fun to see.   Then we had a beer at the hotel where we will all stay for the wedding.   It is nice to know how beautiful the place is!

Next are some pictures.   You will be able to tell which are at Bondi Beach.   The first is last night's sunset from our hotel.