We departed for Sydney Australia on Friday, October the 13th. While some may be superstitious about this date, we believe it was one of our luckiest days on the trip. We departed for Australia at 3:00 p.m. local time and arrived in Sydney 3:00 p.m. local time – thus we arrived as we departed, as it were.

Chuck has been to Australia on several occasions for business and vacations and has many friends here. Deborah, however, had never been to Australia and is now a card-carrying Aussie wannabe. It also helped that we checked into the Sheraton on the Park, by far the best accommodation so far on the trip. Our rooms include high-speed Internet access, electric blackout blinds, art deco décor, walk-in closets and plush cotton housecoats. This is living!

Sydney is one of the most stunningly beautiful cities in the world. Its waterfront takes center stage, and features the beautiful Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge. On Saturday we also toured the city via bus and went to such iconic spots as Bondi beach where the beach-goers are packed in like sardines (including the oil!). The waves were amazing and the undertow was very strong; thus the reason so many lifeguards patrol the beach.

Sydney has many gorgeous attributes; it’s hard to describe them all. The various Syndey area neighborhoods we drove past had all kinds of wonderful cafes, restaurants, bars, shops, houses and gardens. We’ve never seen so many exotic flowers that grow seemingly everywhere. The architecture runs the gamut: from New Orleans style ornate iron gates, to skinny houses built close together, like the ones you find in San Francisco, to Miami-like art deco mansions that perch high on the hill. Prices range from hundreds of thousands of Aussie dollars to multi-million dollar spreads.

We also toured the harbour via catamaran and lunched on poached salmon, steamed prawns, cracked crab, etc. Most amazing are the number of sailboats and other watercraft on the water. Literally, dozens and dozens of boats vie for precious space at any moment. We saw a couple of near misses.

In the evening Deborah and fellow travelers dined at the Summit Restaurant, which is located on the 47th floor at Australia Square. (Chuck spent the evening on his own.) Like Toronto’s CN Tower, the Summit turns a complete 360 every 75 minutes, so you get to see the entire city while ‘spinning’ and dining. (Btw, Deborah had spoken to her husband, Bob McWhirter, who is keeping the home fires burning and taking care of their son, Sam, via telephone the night before. Bob reported that the weather in Toronto was drifting in the single-digit range, with sleet and snow warnings. Sydney was hovering in the mid-30s with brilliant sun and not a cloud in the sky.)

Sunday was overcast, but that was fine as we were given a ‘day off’ from touring and could do as we pleased. The cooler weather was a welcome relief. After a very tasty breakfast, Chuck and Deborah met Chuck’s friend for lunch (more food) and a visit. As you may be aware, Chuck is a vegetarian, whereas his buddy hates vegetables and prefers to chomp on stuff that has clucked, mooed or bleated at some point in their short lives. These two are Australia’s and Canada’s answer to Oscar and Felix!

While we had the opportunity to go to dinner with our fellow travelers, Deborah and Chuck opted out for a quiet evening and a chance to get packed in advance of our Monday flight to Ayers Rock, 1,354 miles to the northwest of Sydney.