After a rather enjoyable 15 hour plane ride from Los Angeles, I touched down in Sydney and am waiting for colleagues to join me. So for these two days I am free to explore the city. Sydney is wonderful! It reminds me of a combination of San Francisco and New York. At present, it’s a bit chilly here as it is there winter. Temperatures in the 50s but not freezing. The Sydney tower is pictured to your right which I might go to with friends later in the week.
I went to the World famous Sydney Aquarium and saw A PLATYPUS! 
And then, a giant tortoise, lots of different looking sharks, cute penguins, and sea lions (my personal favorite). Pics below:
I then went next door to Australia’s Wild and got to pet a Wallaby and see a Koala. A wallaby is like a small kangaroo. Notice also that I didn’t say that I saw a Koala Bear! Koalas are not bears! They are marsupials, like Kangaroos and Wallabys. I’m headed to the Blue Mountains at the end of my time here so I’ll get better pictures of that but here are a few of both for now.
Evenings sound rowdy here as I hear a lot of car horns, loud laughs and feminine screams from my hotel room. I hear things get rowdy on Saturday nights and I’m exhausted so I’m turning in early. I’m a bit concerned that the city isn’t quite prepared enough for this as they have all kinds of warning signs about heavy traffic and bad transit. We’ll see. Tomorrow: Climbing the Harbour Bridge!