We arrived in Sydney this morning from London. It was along flight, some 21 hours, stopping off at the enormous Bangkok Airport (the UK has nothing to match it). THe flight was pleasant enough though we were obviously on one of BA’s oldest 747s and the entertainment system packed up entirely half way through. Come on BA, you can do better than that!

When we landed early this morning, it was a bit disappointing to find that the weather was worse than London and Sydney is in the middle of one of the wettest summers on record. And rain was the first thing we saw. But even in poor weather, this is a magnificent city, based around water and reminiscent of Hong Kong for that very reason. The iconic Opera House is one of the dominant sights and so I had to take some quick pictures in the rain with one of the main Sydney ferry’s whizzing past.

I’d never really thought about what covers the roof of the Opera House but the answer is a mosaic of white tiles as you can see below. More to come as we get our bearings. And maybe even some sunshine, though no one of very optimistic about that.