Sunny Sydney

Arriving in Sydney on Tuesday morning, I didn't know how lucky I would be to have a dry day of getting familiar with the harbor area. Locking my luggage up at the hostel that morning -- too early to check in yet -- I took off to walk around the Opera House area. I slathered on sunscreen and cracked out the REI sunhat, for it was a brilliant summer's day.

Enjoyed the stroll and lunch in The Rocks area, which is one of the older parts of the city. The Sydney Harbor YHA is built on top of an archeological dig that is linked to an educational center that studies the past inhabitants of the area. The hostel is one of the newest in the city and it has a fabulous roof deck that looks across at the Sydney Opera House and Harbor Bridge. That day the view of the Opera House was obstructed by the huge Queen Elizabeth cruise ship, but after QE moved out the next day I returned for a better view.

I took it easy that first day and really felt zapped by the hot and sticky weather. People all around were commenting on how hot it was so I know I wasn't the only one finding it difficult. And yet when I did get checked into my hostel room I found that one of my roommates hadn't put the air conditioner on. Urgh! Off I went to the reception to get that taken care of and I was able to take a quick nap that afternoon in a cool space. I was to find out over the next few days that this young woman kept tripping the switch of the air conditioning by opening the windows, even when it was desperately hot and humid.