Sydney is a beautiful city built on a beautiful harbor. The elegant Opera House and massive Harbor Bridge are its most notable landmarks, foregrounding a typical big-city skyline. Ferries run across the harbor, carrying passengers to various points of interest along the harbor. After Hong Kong, it is the busiest ferry system in the world, and we traveled on ferries three of our four days in Sydney.

We stayed at the Four Seasons Hotel, across the street from the Circular Quay ferry terminal. We were impressed by the hotel's fluffy white robes, the knowledgeable concierge, Jorge, and the slew of free L'occitane bath and shower products. Less impressive was the 1,000-person Global Mary Kay convention going on, which we learned about the hard way after trying to leave our 11th floor room at 9am one morning. We ended up taking the fire stairs after 5 elevators passed us by, packed to the gills with fresh-faced make-up consultants.

We arrived in Sydney at 7:30am in the morning, stepping off the 14 hour flight ready for a full day of sightseeing. Although Wing thought customs would take forever, it was a breeze (probably because we were honest and declared all of our snacks and candy up front). We wandered over to the ferry terminal and purchased tickets for a "coffee cruise." Sydney's most expensive suburbs lie along the harbor, so there were plenty of huge houses on the water, and the tour-guide/aspiring-real-estate-agent meticulously told us the price ranges of each and every inlet. (The most ridiculous story involved a house with a garage that rotated 180 degrees, so the owner would never have to back his car out.) As we got further away from the city, we passed national park land. Lighthouses marked the entrance to the harbor, and flanked the wide expanse of open ocean beyond. They served tea and muffins, so we downed five muffins and took four packages of cookies to help defray the cost of the cruise tickets. On the way back we were treated to more breathtaking views of the city.

In the afternoon we went to visit the universally recognized Sydney Opera House, several blocks from our hotel. Located on a small peninsula, it's a very beautiful building, designed by Danish architect Jorn Utzon. The $7 million plan ballooned to $100 million over 14 years, leading Utzon to leave in disgust after he and the Australian government disagreed on some of the building issues. To this day he has not seen the completed Opera House, although he is now designing some additions to it. The interior is composed of unpainted cement and wood paneling, natural materials that remind visitors that the edifice is a sculpture; the outside is covered in shiny white tiles, specially designed to gleam under the Australian sun.

The request for a suitable music performance venue was made by Eugene Goossens, director of the New South Wales State Conservatorium of Music. The design was submitted as a sketch - an entry in a worldwide competition. Unfortunately, once Utzon's design was selected, the proper building techniques had to be invented along the way. The segments of the Opera House are actually pieces that have been cut out of a sphere - which appeals to those of us who admire mathematical elegance (e.g. Wing).

The interiors of the Opera House and the smaller performance hall next to it share a similar design. Visitors enter, then make their way to the back of the building, where there is an open space for mingling during intermissions and admiring brilliant views of Sydney through floor to ceiling windows. The concert hall is known for its cavernous interior and first-rate acoustics. Large clear rings hang down from the top to reflect sound from one side of the stage to the other because the ceiling is too high - sound from members on one side of the orchestra would take too long to bounce off the ceiling to members on the other side, rendering it difficult to play harmoniously.

During our tour we saw a ballet rehearsal, and two nights later, were lucky enough to see the actual performance. We were amazed at the dexterity and physical strength of the dancers...that is, when we weren't nodding off. Unfortunately jet lag had not been kind, and we'd had the poor judgement to drink the free glasses of wine that came with our pre-theater dinner. Wing and I spent the majority of the evening pinching each other before giving up and falling into a semi-state of wakefulness that probably enhanced our appreciation for the show. Afterwards back at our hotel, Wing tried out a few of the ballet moves that had appeared so effortless on stage, proving unequivocally that it wasn't as easy as it looked.

From there, we crossed the Harbor Bridge, which was a bit frightening as the roaring lanes of traffic cause it the vibrate underfoot. There's a tour called BridgeClimb where they dress you in gray jumpers and you climb to the top of the bridge, but it costs $150 per person - kind of ridiculous (especially if, hypothetically speaking, a person is scared of heights).

Afterwards we headed away from the water, through downtown Sydney. Shopping malls and office buildings line the major streets, much like they do in any large city. Following our trusty DK guide, we visited several landmarks scattered throughout downown. Hyde Park was impressive - huge trees lined both sides of a wide walkway: one side was full, leafy and green, the other thinner, and according to a placard, mysteriously diseased. At this point, Jen declared herself almost dead from hunger and (gasp!) sick of candy, so we decided to eat at a highly-recommended (and the cheapest) restaurant in our DK guide, a Chinese restaurant called BBQ King. The food ended up being quite good; the only snafu was when Wing ended up ordering an extra family-size plate of veggies, and not having the heart to leave them (and no fridge for leftovers), demonstrated a heroic effort and finished them by himself.

The next few days were spent wandering through other neighborhoods.

We walked through a touristy neighborhood, the Rocks, filled with restaurants and shops. There is a weekend market hosted there, and small stands hawk unique arts, crafts and souvenirs.

The botanical gardens were expansive, well-cared-for, and, most importantly (and unlike everything else in Sydney), free of charge. Flying foxes, which look like bats, hung from some of the trees (The difference between the two is that flying foxes like to hang out outside while bats live in caves.)

We walked southeast along Oxford Street to Darlinghurst, the red-light district (home to the Coca-Cola sign that is a designated UNESCO world-heritage site), and Paddington, a yuppie shopping neighborhood. We stopped in some of the boutique shops, went to a busy market full of crafts and souvenirs, and had a chocolate souffle before walking the five miles back.

Darling Harbor is a nicely developed area around one of the harbor's inlets. It is also home to Sydney's other free tourist attraction - the surprisingly lovely Maritime Museum.

We took a ferry to Manly Beach, one of the nice beaches in the area. We followed a recommended walk in our DK Guide which started out promisingly along the beach, but ended up on a meandering road through the nearby suburbs. The variety of architecture was interesting for the first five minutes, and the walk later led to what the DK guide described as "bush", but was actually just bushes. We emerged from our walk in time to catch the sunset over Manly Beach.

Of course, Wing's favorite attraction was the Taronga Zoo. After taking the ferry from Circular Quay, we boarded a small skytram that took us over the zoo to the top entrance. From there, we made our way down the hill, looking at every single (repeat, *every single*) animal exhibit along the way. The first few exhibits were especially memorable - there was a baby wombat with a serious interest in shoelaces and several kangaroos running free in a pen. Jen took a picture of Wing while he pet one, after which she immediately forced hand sanitizers on him. We saw all of the other Australian mammals as well - echidnas and platypuses (the only two egg-laying mammals), koalas, and a tasmanian devil. Although there were significant renovations going on, most of the animals were still on display, their cages and pens set against the background of Opera House and Harbor Bridge.

And once we saw that cute little baby wombat, we had to get one for ourselves.

Despite seeing cars on the wrong side of the road, Sydney feels very familiar and welcoming. Beautiful parks and waterfront views provide getaways from the hustle and bustle. The people are friendly and diverse. Sydney made such a positive impression on us that we almost immediately added it to the list of cities that we'd really enjoy living in.