G'day from Sydney!

This was my first full day here in Sydney, and I started off my grand tour of the city with a day tour into the Blue Mountains.  This is actually a misnomer, because the Blue Mountains are not blue and they are not mountains either.  The blue hazy color comes from light hitting eucalyptus vapor, and reflecting only the blue wavelength.  And they are actually a sandstone plateau that has been eroded into mountain-like shapes by rivers.  All in all, it was absolutely fantastic!  The guide was extremely knowledgeable, and I met a ton of great people, including a family from Chicago.  The father looked and sounded a lot like my Uncle Dale, and now I'm wondering if he has any relatives from Chicago that would be travelling around Australia…

We also drove around Sydney Olympic Park, and saw many of the stadiums that were used for the 2000 Summer Olympics, including the Gymnastics Arena, the Tennis Center, the Aquatics Center, and the Baseball Stadium (which is now being used for agriculture showings).  Our guide didn't say anything about the Softball Stadium, however I am planning on finding out if it is in the park or if it is elsewhere, and see if I can find a way to go see it.

After the tour, we were put on a river cruise that would take us to Circular Quay, where the Sydney Bridge and Sydney Opera House are located.  This was around 6:30, so we saw these structures at night, which was absolutely breathtaking.  Once we got off, I ate dinner at a small Italian café that served an extremely decent gnocchi and panna cotta.  I then took the train back to my hostel, where I am preparing for tomorrow's trek into the highlands.

Cheers, mates!

KK

And here are those pictures I promised:

Wombat!

Feeding the kangaroos

Hanging around with the koalas

In the Blue Mountains

Three Sisters