The Bridge — originally uploaded to flickr by cogdogblog…
Sydney
Each of these last days I blog about it being the best highlight of the trip. I think this morning now wins. Westley offered to take me “on the water for a view few others will see” – we rowed under the Sydney Harbour Bridge in his kayak, and it was truly gloriously amazing.
It did call for a 4:30 wake up call (actually that never came, but my alarm watch never fails) and a cab driver who did not know the streets and without his glasses, could not read the map, but we got to Westley’s house fine.
The rowing trip was about an hour out and back as we went under the bridge, out to the PM’s pad on the water and back.
Amazing would be an understatement.
We grabbed breakfast, got a fast tour of Wesley’s MLC school and chatted with an amazing teacher there. I’d been away from a classroom for so long, and was amazed to see all these kids sprawled out with laptops doing their research. School has changed since my time there, thankfully.
Then it was a buzz over to University of Sydney for a meeting Angela Thomas and colleagues on a SL teen project, then zip to the airport.
All in all, I now have this bridge image as the symbol for this trip, as I feel like I have this solid connection between where I am and my new colleagues and friends here in Australia.
It’s a solid and a beautiful bridge, indeed.
G’Day, Aussies, I am going home!
Just 8 hours later on my flight back to the states, I flew over the scene:
CogDogRoo 
Just saw this on Twitter. Beautiful photograph by the way – I’ve never been so close to the water on Sydney Harbour – commercial ferries give a totally different view.
Thanks for posting your presentations on the Wiki – shame I didn’t get to see you present while you were in OZ, but at least the Internet gives us that option.
It’s been great having you here, Alan! I’m glad the last few days of your trip included some fun too. 😉
May it be a safe and speedy journey home. We’ll miss you.. but we’ll see you in SL later on in the week!
Mate I am sooooooo tired, off for a swim to wake me up, hmmm it looks nice out on the harbour to – great to have you onboard as the only NMC member to have kyaked under the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Have a good trip Alan…and come back soon! 🙂