Remember Rome? Sydney, it's even wetter...

23rd July

Hi,

Yesterday's Sydney Morning Herald.......

"Sydney is set to paddle through the wettest July since 1952 with almost 100mm (5") bucketing down in the last 24 hours"

Since we arrived 3 days ago the rain has just come down in sheets - we've had to change all of our planned trips around the harbour, walks along the coast and so on for more indoor things - The Sydney Aquarium (sharks, turtles, clown fish - the cast of Finding Nemo really), 

The Wildlife Centre, - marsupials of all shapes and sizes, seriously dangerous spiders and snakes, an enooormous crocodile, and whole families of cute koalas munching euculyptus leaves..

The NSW Art Gallery...well I enjoyed it, you kind of get a antipodean take on the development of European Art 1860 - 1960 - Academic painting in the High Victorian style lasted well into the 20th Century, and all the major movements of the 20th Century happened 15 years later in a derivative form - from Australian Salvador Dali through to Australian Cubism.....Around 1960 though, they took to Abstraction in a really cool way - and their take on Abstract Expressionism I really liked.

The way landscape painting developed is really interesting too - they kind of leapt from Claudian derived compositional devices to flatter, more Seurat type pictorial approaches without the inconvenience of having to go through Impressionism in between - all fascinating stuff...if you happen to be fascinated by such things.

Anyway - it's Saturday morning here - a little less rainy with fleeting sunshine - we're off to look at the dangerous surf at Bondi Beach - 15 metre swell according to the TV.

Over to Mum.....

Hi Both,

We've been wet and very wet......now we have great hopes of Queensland - I'm hoping for some warm sun.

I think that Sydney is a really nice city - I would like to come here in the Sping or Summer. Our area has a nice feel of neighbourhoodness but it was a bit noisy last night. There were no bodies anywhere this morning when we went to the German Bakery for our breakfast coffee and food. Surprise.

We have to go now for the train/bus.

Love Mum, Dad and Laura