Sydney

My time in Sydney was jam packed. From Tuesday morning until late Friday we sat in meetings with investors, banks, retail property owners and ESCOs (Energy Service Companies) about working with CCI. Two experts who donate their time to CCI came out and were so impressed with the work currently being done in Australia and the potential for growth that they immediately began devising ways to expand the operation in the country. Although I still don’t completely understand everything that has been discussed in the meetings, it has been a great learning experience and I’m quickly learning the issues faced by all the stakeholders when working in this space.

Friday night I checked in to my hostel and headed out on the town with two guys I met there. One was Swiss and the other Canadian. An interesting event occurred later in the evening when cab driver stopped his car, got out and accused me of kicking his ride while we crossed the street. None of us were sure what was going on since none were really that close to the car when he passed. I’m might have been lose with my words or what my parents and teachers like to call a “smart ass.” Well, the truth of stereotypes was revealed as later when we were crossing the street. The Swiss stayed neutral. The Canadian said “Yeah!” when I would say something. He would then turn to the Swiss and said “I don’t think this is a good idea.” Luckily nothing happened since we just walked away. I’ve never seen anything like that before.

Saturday morning I got up early to take the tour of the Sydney Opera House. It is an absolutely remarkable building with an amazing history. The existing building design was the last to be submitted and is only standing because an American judge for the design contest was late for the competition. After the tour I felt compelled to buy a ticket for one of the shows that night. I can now say that I witnessed my first opera in the most famous Opera House in the world. It was Mozart’s Don Giovanni. It wasn’t until have way through that I realized that I don’t understand Italian. It was a great experience and glad I decided to do it.

After I did the Opera House tour that morning I decided to forgo my original plans for the day and take a whale watching tour just outside the bay. I just happen to see the information booth on the way to my morning tour. Wow is all I have to say. It was difficult to take pictures, keep your balance with rocking boat and enjoy the scenery but I managed. We saw five as soon as we got out there and they eventually got within about 30 yards of us. There were no huge tail flaps or jumps like some get to see, but I feel fortunate to have seen that many as many times as we did. We followed them for about two hours. It is weird to say, but the sound that they make when the blow out the water when they come up for air is simply fantastic. I finished Saturday night off with a drink at Fortune of War, Sydney’s Oldest Pub founded in 1828.

Sunday morning I walked God knows how many miles through the botanical gardens back by the Opera House and climbed part of the Harbour Bridge for a look of the city. Of course it was overcast so the pictures aren’t the best. I then made a longer than expected to Darling Harbour and the Sydney Fish Market to Doyle’s for a nice basket of fish and chips. It’s not catfish from a place called Abe’s near El Dorado, but it will do in a pinch.

I just barely missed the Pope’s visit. He literally landed as my plane was taking off. He flew into Sydney for World Youth Day. Don’t worry I checked all the schedules I could before I booked my flight home today, and there were no public events scheduled. Just a point of interest for The DaVinci Code fans out there: He is staying at a residence supplied by Opus Dei. Shady if you ask me.