Edna and Pauline have arrived in Sydney!

I'd just like to introduce a couple of lovely ladies who would like to keep their friends up-to-date with their own Oz adventure: my mum, Edna and her friend, Pauline....

We arrived in Sydney Monday at 7.50 am, and despite what Pauline says, I hadn't had a wink of sleep for 48 hours. (Rubbish! Pauline interjected)

Sunday: We checked into the Grace Hotel and met up with Kate and Jamie. They gave us a whistle stop tour of Sydney, including the Opera House, the Bridge, the Rocks, a street show, the botanical gardens. Finally, we caught the ferry to Manly Beach where we had a wonderful meal in the Whitewater Restaurant, ate good food and downed several bottles of red wine (and not a drop was spilt) Apparently, both of us kept falling asleep mid sentence but were rudely awakened by Kate and Jamie who insisted we fight the jet lag.

Monday: We had a late breakfast and then found our way to the tourist information centre and booked trips to the Hunter Valley on Wednesday and the Blue Mountains on Friday. Then along with Kate (Jamie was working) we went to the Sydney Tower - the highest observation point in Sydney, there is a 360 degree panoramic view of the city and surrounding areas. We took some marvellous photos but unfortunately technology is against us so therefore we cant show you any of them. In the evening we went to Leichhardt where there are lots of Italian Restaurants, we went to Moretto's where we found to our dismay that it was unlicensed, luckily Jamie managed to get to the supermarket next door to grab 2 bottles of wine with seconds to spare before closing.

Tuesday: The plan was to go to Taronga Zoo, however, the weather had other ideas - it's absolutely p****d it down today, so we've been shopping instead. The weather before today has been cloudy with the odd shower - not too bad - quite mild really considering it's winter.

I'd just like to end by saying how marvellous it is to be woken up with a cup of coffee in the morning by my lovely travel companion, Pauline, who is barking mad! She has a very sore throat and cough - and apparently I kept her awake with my snoring last night!!!!!!! I don't think so!