I saw a kangaroo. Really, I did. It was about 15 feet away in the brush on the trail during our "bushwalk" in the Blue Mountains, just two hours outside Sydney. The area, which I'd barely heard of, is stunning - the valleys are filled with this blue haze they say has something to do with the oil emitted into the air by the eucalyptus trees. Beautiful place. We hiked four hours down into the "Grand Canyon" and just made it back out by dusk, fortunately. Our hotel in Blackheath, the Gardiners Inn, was built in 1823, and Charles Darwin stayed there in 1836 during his five-year trip around the world pre- 'Origin of the Species.' The parlor room had a player piano in it and there were boxes and boxes of music scrolls.

We have been completely charmed by Sydney, having explored on Monday Bondi Beach, the miles and miles of shopping, the Blue Mountains area on Tuesday and Wednesday, and a Sydney Symphony performance last night at the Opera House, which can singlehandedly give you an appreciation for architecture if you didn't have one before. Akhil and I have visited it at least four times and can't get tired of sitting on the terrace at the Opera Bar for sunset cocktails! It's been a superb five days and now we have just a few hours before we depart for Bangkok. I heard about the east coast snow storm that occurred last night. And though I love the snow at Christmas, the 80-degree summer weather we're experiencing here now is nothing to complain about. Sorry, friends! We invited you!

Here's the infamous opera house, inside and out: