Getting Around and Having People Over

It finally stopped raining here in Sydney, more or less.  On Friday, Nicole and I walked to the bus stop right at the end of our street.  Very convenient, being a mere 67 meter walk, instead of the nearly .5 mile hike to the train station.  This bus took us straight to Chatswood, where there are 3 or 4 malls and lots of shopping/restaurants.  We hit the Westfield mall for a few things: a couple of books for Nicole; a couple of new tops for me.  All in all, a nice way to spend the afternoon.  (NOTE: the books were extraordinarily expensive.  Even with shipping, Amazon would have been cheaper!)


Larry and Nicole goofing around at the zoo.



On Saturday, we headed to the Taronga Zoo, the primary zoo in the area. It was on the small-ish side, but very pretty, and it had some astounding views of Sydney Harbor. 



We walked around the zoo and saw the classic offerings - gorilla, lions, elephants.  They had an Australian section where we saw kangaroos, koala, and other creatures from down under.  There was also a bird section with lots of kookaburras.  I can see kookaburras any day of the week in my backyard.  Probably the most impressive bird at the zoo was the Cassowary.

I'd never seen a Cassowary before, and it looked positively dangerous!

Pacing the enclosure.



Staring us down!



One thing I learned from the day at the zoo:  wear your sunscreen on and put on a hat.  Okay, two things.  It was HOT and the sun was strong.  When we got to the Great Southern Oceans exhibit, it was a pleasure to linger inside watching the leopard seals drift lazily around in their faux ocean.  And, as always, the penguins were adorable.

After our day at the zoo, we headed home for much needed showers and our first guests.  Larry invited another American co-worker over for cocktails with her husband and little girls.  We spent a pleasant 2 hours comparing notes on our Australian observations and getting to know each other a little bit. Larry set up a tennis game for Sunday morning.

Now that it is Sunday, we have had a nice lie-in. Larry and Nicole are perusing the lunch options in the pantry, and I am considering our activity options for this week.  Ah, the excitement continues!