Sydney, Australia

By Michael

We landed at Sydney Airport that morning and dropped our bags at the Holiday Inn Express by the airport, our base for the two nights before the cruise. Then we made our way into Sydney, riding past the city's streets and towers before walking into the Royal Botanic Garden along the harbour.

From Mrs Macquarie's Point we got our first real look at the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge together across the water. We took turns with photos at the sea wall, and Lisa signed I love you in ASL for the camera more than once. The three of us got a shot together with the bridge behind us.

The garden kept giving us things to look at: a huge old fig tree, honeycombed sandstone caves worn smooth by the weather that Lisa climbed into and posed in, a golden orb spider spun into the shrubs, an ibis working the lawn, magpies, and a pair of wood ducks by the pond. We found the carved inscription at Mrs Macquarie's Chair, a statue of a boy pulling a thorn from his foot, a bronze horse and foal, and the Oriental Garden with its bright red gum blossoms. We stopped at an outdoor table for a toasted sandwich, a pastry, and gelato.

In the early afternoon we walked right up to the Opera House steps, watched a big cruise ship slide out under the Harbour Bridge, and passed a pair of lion dancers working the crowd near the quay.

Back near the airport that evening we had dinner at La Boca, steak and gnocchi, before heading back to the Holiday Inn Express for the night.

By Michael

We had breakfast at the hotel, then headed to Darling Harbour and WILD LIFE Sydney Zoo. Lisa posed by the entrance in a pair of painted butterfly wings before we went in. Inside we found echidnas, a Goodfellow's tree kangaroo, wombats, cassowaries and a case of Australian snakes, and Kathy and I stuck our heads inside a giant crocodile's open jaws for a photo. The koalas on the rooftop were dozing right at eye level in the trees.

From the zoo we went next door into Sea Life Sydney Aquarium. We walked through the glass tunnel while sharks and manta rays passed overhead, and Lisa signed 'I love you' for a photo there. We watched the penguins for a while before we headed out.

After lunch we spent the afternoon at Madame Tussauds, posing with Steve Irwin, the royal family, Marilyn Monroe and a room full of superheroes. We wandered up through the city afterward and stopped in the Lego store, where the staff spelled Lisa's name out in bricks on the wall. We went up the Sydney Tower Eye for the view over the harbour and the city before the light started to fade, then passed by the tower again from the street on our way back to the hotel by the airport.