Sydney (Part Deux)

This is my last vacation post, I promise! These posts are mostly a way for Leah and I to document our trip so 20 years from now we can show Chloe and our other future younglings how much they missed out on because they were so young and/or unborn. Ha Ha.

After New Zealand we were planning to layover in Sydney for a couple hours and then to fly back to San Francisco, but Sydney was not through with us. Our flight was cancelled giving us a couple of more days to see Sydney (there are worse places to be stranded!). At the time we were missing Chloe (especially Leah) and were ready to get home. I'm glad we stayed the extra couple days though because we had some really fun experiences. The following documents those preceedings.

We decided to head over to the Kings Cross neighborhood and found the El Alamein Fountain at the entrance to the Fitzroy Gardens. Kings Cross reminded me of Greenwich Village, but less pretentious. Here is a picture of Leah just before she cooled off her feet.

Leah standing at the front door of the Elizabeth Bay House, once known as the "finest house in the colony." Leah just loved the doors down under. In fact, I have so many pictures of Leah and doors I could make a long blog post entitled "Leah and the Doors of the Southern Hemisphere" for your viewing pleasure.

Some cool limestone rocks near Finger Warf. (above and below)

Climbing some rocks at Woolloomooloo Bay. Yeah, you read that right. Across the bay is the Austrailian Navy shipyard. Do you know why the New Austrailian Navy has glass bottomed boats?

So they can see the Old Australian Navy!

Leah checking out the boats in the bay one last time. G'Night.

So Sydney has a couple of huge flocks of wild Cockatoos flying around. Leah and I walked up on a large group of them on the grass and I told Leah to walk around to the other side for a picture. While she was walking around I creeped up slowly to the closest one and offered it my hand (like John and Darby had shown me in a pet store in Los Angeles two weeks prior). It worked! To my surprise the huge wild cockatoo jumped on my hand (and just like in the pet store, it bit me!) It was worth it though.

For two minutes I was the coolest tourist in Sydney. The Asian tourists' Nikons started smoking they took so many pictures and videos of me and my bird friend! I swear they are probably selling illegal bootlegs of this all over China. They probably call me the "cockatoo whisperer" or "man who tame wrild bird" when they tell their friends and families about me. Yeah, I was a pretty big deal....

....until 20 minutes later when we saw some locals doing the same thing, only with birdseed. At least I didn't need birdseed (stupid birdseed losers) to catch one. They were nice enough to give us some birdseed and Leah got her chance to wrestle the dangerous razor-taloned cockatoos of Sydney.

Crossing a walking bridge after touring the Art Gallery of New South Wales.

 We ran into the missionaries and they recommended this quaint Thai food restaurant. Elders always know the best places to eat. Leah's muse, Wendy of Wendy's, was not happy.

I promised bats. And here they are with their leathery wings and loud squeeks. I can almost hear them just looking at the picture. They were probably about six inches bigger than the cockatoos.

It was strange seeing Christmas stuff in a summer climate. The weirdest was a target commercial on TV with a woman in a bikini high diving into an outdoor swimming pool full of kids with thousands of those glass red and green Christmas ornament orbs floating on top. Now whenever I think of Christmas I think of diving women.

Did I mention we flew 1st Class! Winning. The seats laid back completely flat into a bed (that Dracula would love), but I loved it too. I had the filet mignon for diner cooked medium in case you were wondering.

CHEERS!