My flight was easy all thing considered. I was the highlight of my customs inspector's day because I had made a list of all items I thought I needed to declare. Had a librarian never been through her line?

I must have a librarian's face. On the first day out, I was travelling by bus to Circular Quay to snag the Manly Ferry when a young man asked me if I could tell him where the Wynyard Station was. I did know! It was right beyond the Payless Shoe Store. But when I told him it was about the only thing I did know, having just arrived from San Jose, he told me about his work experience in Anaheim.

I had breakfast in a cafe on Circular Quay, scrambled eggs with local smoked salmon on a bagel.
I needed to warn the seagulls that if they were to land on my table, I would need to punch them. A pigeon performed a lovely ballet at my feet, dancing in circles, which is a diversionary tactic for the seagull, who is promptly punched. I am clearly done eating, but no check arrives, so under the guise of taking photos (none of which I keep) I observe how my fellow diners pay for their meals. You get up and walk in to the register, and tell the cashier your table number. And there is no tipping in Australia.

I have mastered the skill of walking here. No snickering! Driving is to the left, and so is walking. For the entire first day, I found myself wandering into oncoming walkers.

My mission for day one was to go to Manly, a suburb beach front village across the harbour.
I found the perfect hat, and walked down The Corso to the Pacific Ocean to dabble my tootsies.
While disrobing the feet, a seagull just poops on the small portion of my cheek not protected by my hat. My perfect new hat, as well as my right shoulder and right cheek are now covered in seagull scat. Thank you Jonnie for the Valentine's Day gift, the Tide stain remover stick.
Is there a seagull threat assessment network, and he learned of my actions back at Circular Quay? As penance, I leave the uneaten portion of my brekkie bagel on a bench, and skulk away, never looking back to witness the feeding frenzy.

On my second day out, I went to the Aquarium which is in Cockle Bay at Darling
Harbour. I viewed outdoor art, had a meat pie with a glass of wine, and just let tension ooze away.

I am wizaard at the trains, having yet to select the wrong platform, direction, or train.

Yesterday, Audie took the afternoon off. I trained in and met her at the Haymarket Branch of the Sydney Public Library, which uses Horizon, the same system we use in Los Gatos. We took a new train line build for the Olympics, out to the Fish Market, where we assembled a fine feast of sashimi and cooked seafood, a lovely bottle of wine, and went down to the picnic area on the docks. Seagull threats were again necessary. The food was delicious, with the exception of the octopus with sweet chili sauce. Life is too short for unpleasantness, so we put it right in the garbage bin, and bought sashimi seconds. We ended the evening with a few pub drops.

And this morning Audra and I set up this blog and my Flickr account!