3/3/15 Sydney

We had a very full day today.  We picked up our laundry after breakfast and although it had been washed and dried, I would not say it was folded properly.  I had to refold and hope that some of the wrinkles fall out - oh, well, at least we will be clean.  We left the hotel at 8 AM for a sightseeing tour by coach.  We visited The Rocks, which is the site of the first settlement here, and then drove around the coast stopping at various places to walk a bit.  We went to the famous Bondi Beach, where we watched the surfers and dipped our feet in the Tasman Sea.  We came back to the harbor area and went to Altmann and Cherny for a talk about opals by the granddaughter of the first owner of the company.  She explained the different mining styles and differences between the various opals.  We then walked across the street and took the elevator to the 39th floor where Bruce has his office.  The view from the conference room was amazing!  The windows look over the harbor and we could see both the bridge and the opera house.  I don't know how anyone can get any work done with that view. The Queen Elizabeth ocean liner was in port and was a massive ship.  We ate lunch in the food court of his building.  We then took a harbor cruise and saw many of the places we had been to in the morning, but this time from the sea.  We came back to Circular Quay and then went for a tour of the opera house.  The tour guide was delightful and gave a great talk about the history and building of this wonderful building.  It was quite the story as the design had been originally rejected and the estimates for completion were way off.  It took 10 years more to complete than originally thought and was millions of dollars over budget.  Some of the group were going to the opera, but the six of us who were not ate dinner together at the side of the opera house and then walked back to the hotel.  Tomorrow is a free day until dinner time so we will see if we can fit in all that we have planned.