Sydney

Mostly, in Sydney, we walked.

Lindsey started it off by going for a pre-breakfast stroll and sending a message to say that she hda found the Queen Mary in a bay on the other side of the botanic gardens.  We could see the botanic gardens from our window so after a delicious breakfast (no skimping on the bacon at this place!!) by the side of the harbour, looking at the QE, we set off for a stroll to admire the QM2.

All ocean going liners admired, we ambled off towards town.  The skies darkened.  The drizzle started.  As we were crossing the road outside the Gallery of New South Wales I looked back and saw the advertising banners for the terracotta warriors.  Entirely in jest I suggested we should go in and look at them.  "OK," said Lindsey.  "I wonder how much it is."  I was joking, really I was.  We saw the exhibition when it was in London.  "Ah," said Lindsey. "But I haven't."  So she and I went in to visit, leaving The Builder loitering in the gallery.  We weren't very long.  Lindsey wasn't interested in all the historical stuff.  She just wanted to see the warriors.  And the horses.  And the beautiful, beautiful birds.

And when we emerged we found that the clouds had gone, the sun had come out, and a rather sharp rain shower had gone away.  So we walked into town, ambled through the  Victoria Building, through into the Galleries building, into an English and Japanese bookshop (which sells picture books for very young children in hiragana :-)) and thence back to Circular Quay where we took a ferry to Manly so we could have rather pleasant fish and chips overlooking Manly beach.  Then we dashed back, by ferry, to Sydney Central so we could meet Kashi, a long standing friend of Ant's, for coffee.

In amongst all of this, we had missed the QE sailing out.  But we got back to the hotel to find that Kashi was no longer meeting us for coffee but was now joining us with his partner Wen Lu for dinner.  Ian was in the apartment.  It was half an hour before the QM2 was due to sail.  So we all encouraged our rather tired feet and walked back to the bay on the other side of the botanic gardens to join most of the rest of Sydney to watch the liner go.  She left about half an hour late and backed, slowly, slowly, slowly out of the bay and slowly, slowly, slowly, slowly, slowly, slowly up the harbour, stopping only *this* *much* before taking out the harbour bridge!!!!!!!  Then off she sailed, farewelled by many onlookers and a small flotilla of yachts, sailing boats and other craft, who were being farewelled in turn by the passengers and some crew.

And we headed back to Circular Quay for yet another ferry, this time for Darling Harbour, where we met Kashi and Wen Lu for a truly delicious seafood dinner at (I think) Nicki's fish bar.  Ian and I had the most amazing seafood platter - which we very nearly finished, assisted ably by our dinner table companions

Seafood platter, adorned by a mighty crayfish

But I think it will be a long, long time before our feet forgive us for unexpectedly making them walk quite so many steps in one day