Goodbye Sydney....

Our last morning in Sydney, and we did a quick walk over the bridge before going to the airport. Farewell to this beautiful city!

In another life I could have lived here. I think it is a great place in which to bring up children, the outdoor lifestyle and the beautiful beaches make this a seemingly easy place to live. However, I love England and all that it offers - not many places in the world can compare to that.

Some observations of Sydney, after only spending one week here...
Although Australia, like any developed economy, has an ageing population, I have never seen so many young people, yummy mummies and babies! Everywhere Luke and I went we seem to be surrounded by young mothers. 

Sydneysiders say it as it is...some examples that made us laugh...yesterday at the aquarium, as the dugong came swimming overhead in the tank above the tunnel, one man exclaimed loudly 'what the f*** is that' for everyone, kids included, to hear.No one batted an eyelid, whereas in the UK, such a comment would be followed by an apology, especially because it was said in front of kids. We are still giggling at that. Or the sophisticated yummy mummy sitting on the beach with her toddler and as a gull landed nearby it was told very loudly 'f*** off!" 

We were surprised at the lack of bicycles in the city - London is full of bicycles - and the lack of cycling trails in areas where one would expect them. Ditto dogs, we saw so few dogs being taken for walks in areas where we would have thought was dog walking paradise - there were even signs 'no dogs'. But we did see a woman strolling along Circular Quay today with her two ferrets on leads, as you do! 

Most young mothers are slim and trim - in fact we overheard one young mum saying that all she wanted for her baby shower was personal trainer vouchers, not the the baby goodies! On the whole, people seem fit and healthy here.

So it's goodbye to Sydney, hopefully au revoir until next time. I have missed Adam and Thomas very much this week and would love to come back here on a family holiday.

My extra shot is of an aboriginal man who was banging out a funky rhythm on the sticks to accompany the man playing the didgiredoo.

I am now travelling for the next day and a bit, so will not be able to look at journals.