"Down Under" in Sydney

Hi! After a few weeks of no posts, I have pictures and tales to post! I traveled to Sydney, Australia with Maggie (daughter-in-law) and 18-month-old grandson, Finn, on December 18th to meet Travis, who works in Perth. (Maggie and Finn had been in the US visiting family for about six weeks.) You can probably guess that flying non-stop from LA to Sydney is L-O-N-G but add a toddler! What a hilarious time we had but how glad we were to see Travis in the Sydney airport!!! We had lots of luggage and managed to haul luggage, toddler, car seat, hand luggage, and ourselves through immigration and customs but it was sheer joy to turn the works over to Travis! He and the taxi driver soon has us at our lovely hotel at "The Rocks", the oldest part of Sydney which is now a wonderful area for tourists, as it is right on the harbor and was just a few blocks from the cruise ship terminal.

We spent the next three days in Sydney, which is a beautiful place. The view of the Sydney Harbor Bridge and the Opera House from the zoo is just below---quite spectacular. Travis, Finn, and I enjoyed an early morning stroll from our hotel, which was just across the bay from the Opera House. (I could lay in bed and see the flood-lit Opera House out my hotel window wall---that was something I would never have guessed would ever be in my range of experiences.) When our cruise ship arrived we could see it right off the deck of the hotel.

The Sydney Harbor Bridge is the widest bridge of its type in the world. Travis and I actually climbed it, taking a tour that took us up, down, and around the guts of the bridge and then to the very top of the curved arch. What a view and what a great thing to do with your son.
-Travis and Finn, checking out the bridge before our climb, wearing their

"sunnies"---the Aussie term for sunglasses-

Maggie and Travis are adept at porting Finn in his stroller (asleep) up and down flights of steps---here they were coming off a walk across the bridge.

Finn loved the zoo where we saw kangaroos sleeping in the shade. He is a merry little guy with a big, belly laugh and a cute little giggle. I am certainly enjoying time with him!

Finn, having a bit of a stroll at the Sydney Zoo

(note his Colorado Crocs if you can)

Having time in Sydney together was a wonderful way to start our journey together. Finn and I got acquainted---he looks so much like Travis did and has many of the same traits---sort of like winding the clock back 33 years!

Next posting: pictures from our New Zealand cruise.