Hello peeps, We are now in Sydney and tasting the delights of an international city. Mind you, there is a distinct lack of dark brown in the many hued faces we see around us and that says something about the place.



It has, however, been wonderful to see Ruth, our daughter, and Bob again. They live in a beautiful flat in Mosman, surrounded by trees and lots of birds. Brightly coloured lorakeets come and feed on their balcony every morning, tapping on the window to let you know they have arrived. They are a stunning combination of red, yellow, orange, green and blue. that looks surprising everytime you see them. They are much friendlier than the nesting magpies in the tree next to the balcony. There is as sign warning people how aggressive they are when brooding. Apparently, a six year old girl had her eye pecked out by an over protective magpie in Sydney, recently. The magpies here and in NZ are strange to our eyes.They are mirror images of the ones at home: Instead of being black with white parts, they are white with black!



Yesterday, after Ruth's early morning fitness training session with a family, we went and looked at the shops in Mosman and tried to sort out our money problems with the bank. The bank at home had put a block on any withdrawals for fear of fraud. Although we had been assured by our bank in England that it would be fine to use ATM's here, this has not been the case. I would advise anyone who comes here or anywhere else, far away, for that matter, to find alternative means of getting cash- money cards, travellers cheques, even the dreaded credit cards work better. I can also see why Stephen Fry takes a variety of sim cards with him when he travels because trying to get the banks to authorise a top up on my mobile has been extremely problematic. Obviously S & I are not the seasoned travellers we should be!

After a delicious Ruthie style lunch with lots of fresh veg-asparagus, avocado, cherry toms etc. we set off on the ferry to Sydney Opera house. The Botanical Gardens are just behind the opera house and we spent the afternoon, exploring the delights there. The Australian Trees appear to be quite different from most British ones, and we enjoyed looking at all the varieties of gum tree and catching sight of the very noisy birds roosting in them There are also many fruit bats hanging upside down in the trees.they are not the most fragrant of animals but they are fascinating to watch. they look like exotic dark, fruits suspended from the branches and it is is wonderful tyo see the way they wrap themselves up in their huge wings but they are a bit alarming when they fly!