As an American, I suppose I grew up thinking Australia and New Zealand were pretty much the same. Not true. Aside from the differences in size - both land mass and population with NZ much smaller for both - and of course the fact that in Australia nearly everything in nature can kill you, whereas in NZ the most dangerous beast may be the defenseless kiwi, there are some interesting cultural differences. I suspected the two countries shared a similar brotherly love as the U.S. and Canada - full of banter but deep down quite friendly. As such, I was surprised to discover the genuine superiority the New Zealanders feel - as unlike NZ where civilized Europeans immigrated, Australia was settled by a "heep of convicts". When I proudly proclaimed we would be visiting Fort Denison and the Denison Lighthouse in Sydney, named
after the former governor of New South Wales, my Kiwi colleagues looked at me with a mixture of pity and disgust. Apparently having an Aussie in the family is even worse than being an American. (Pictured - Fort Denison life preserver, Dad taking a shot of Fort Denison from the ferry)But, we have to hand it to the convicts, they've built a pretty great city.
While everyone in the U.S. was fighting the tryptophan coma yesterday, mom and dad were fighting to stay awake after a 14 hour red-eye flight as we made our way on a ferry into Sydney Harbour to see the quaint little island on which Fort Denison has sat guard some 150 years. We baked in the sun and enjoyed spectacular views of Sydney, and Dad took picture after picture. (Sydney pictured from the fort)
In the evening we wandered around 'The Rocks', a fun area in Sydney with a bunch of shops, and stumbled upon a tiny pizza place, Zia Pina (pictured),
which had been highly recommended - in great length apparently - by my dad's long time friend Larry. And admittedly, it was excellent pizza, and we dined under signed menus from some of the most famou
s athletes of our time (I was most impressed by Joe Montana). Dad wanted a picture to send to Larry, but was slightly embarrassed by the rocket which made the pizza look entirely too healthy (pictured). Rest assured, gobs of cheese and parma ham are hiding beneath the salad.Today we'll make our way to the Opera House for a tour, and then off to Watson's Bay for a sit down meal at Doyle's, a relatively famous seafood restaurant right on the coast with great views.
