Well - it didn't rain until late...

Let me just say I like Sydney - I really like Sydney. However, both times I've been to Sydney it's rained - not all the time, but being in Australia I expect better. So we woke up today and looking across Darling Harbour from our hotel room the sky was dark, and the forecast was cloudy and 20C, with rain later.

We had another 3 days in Sydney before moving on to Brisbane - so we decided to change our plans. I phoned Qantas and arranged to bring our flight to Brisbane forward to tomorrow and booked a return ticket from Brisbane to Cairns, where it's definitely hot! I then cancelled the hire car for our trip to the Blue Mountains and the hotels around Sydney and finally booked a hotel in Cairns. It meant an early start tomorrow and a tight transfer in Brisbane, but we still have today exploring Sydney and we'll escape the bad weather.

So - today I showed Sally the main sights of Sydney. Darling Harbour, Sydney Harbour Bridge, Circular Quay, The Opera House and the Botanical Gardens.

We also, quite accidentally, found the New South Wales parliament building and were invited in to the public gallery to watch their equivalent of Prime Ministers Question Time. Very interesting and unexpected.

Finally, we booked a meal in the revolving restaurant at the top of Sydney Tower and enjoyed the most fantastic views from the highest point in the city as darkness fell. What a fantastic day - and it didn't rain until we were finishing our meal.