Saturday 6th January 2007. Sydney, NSW.

I am up and off to continue my exploration of Sydney. My day begins with a visit to the beautiful St John's Darlinghurst. This church has the air of an English country parish and the most wonderful stained glass windows. It is both majestic and yet cosy at one and the same time.

It is in the church that I meet Roberta. A lovely older lady who is busy arranging the flowers...and so we get chatting. Turns out that she is also a teacher having spent her working life both in England and Australia. We have the most wonderful chat and I discover that she divides her time between Sydney and Chichester in my beloved Sussex. Even more of a coincidence, her cousins live in Dorking near my own school.

Heading off on my tour I stop for coffee at the goods Organic at Little Oxford Street. Recommended by a friend, the coffee is excellent.

Down Oxford Street to Hyde Park and my next stop is a piece of wartime propaganda. The monument commemorating the DESTRUCTION of the German raider Emden by H.M.A.S. Sydney off the Cocos Islands on November 9th 1914. What is interesting is that the monument was unveiled on December 21st 1917 at the height of a very destructive war when the support of people on the homefront was not just necessary but vital. To emphasise the point the monument is a 4inch gun from the Emden.

I take in the 1857 obelisk on Elizabeth Street before heading over to St Andrew's Cathedral to listen to the organ practice.

Next stop is the Dymocks Building which is a wonderful late 1920's office building known as The Block, with the motto that Time Conquers All above the main clock.

This is a very relevant sentiment to me when I from time to time feel down on this journey replaying on occasions the horrors of Ecuador and assuming that they will never leave me. Then I discover wonderful people like Roberta and Tony; people I never knew and who have no need to be as welcoming and wonderful as they are.

I head into The Strand which at 112 metres long is the longest of the covered arcades in Sydney. Originally built in 1891 it was gutted by fire in 1970 only to become another outstanding restoration project in Sydney. This could be The Burlington in London or the Argyll Arcade in Glasgow.

I head off to meet Tony and we head out to Centennial Park. This is a beautiful park with wonderful lakes, horse riders and like all the municipal parks in the city it is based on a very British design. The highlight for me is The Federation Pavilion which was built whilst Bob Hawke was Premier, to commemorate the Bicentenary of European Settlement in Australia.

Our late afternoon and evening though will be fascinating taking in Woollahra and heading up to the most exclusive real estate in the city around Darling Point Road. I even pass an Eastbourne Road on the way and head into McKell Park. In the park I see the remains of Canonbury one of three properties previously to occupy the site, before taking the steps down to Darling Point.

Driving on to Double Bay Tony takes me to see the stunning views out over the harbour from Wentworth Street before heading down to Rose Bay.

Mind you if I thought the view I just had was stunning then the view from Bay View Hill Road is breathtaking with the bridge straight ahead.

To get another contrast in the cities architecture we take a drive around the gentrified streets of Paddington before heading back to the Park Regis to watch the sunset over Sydney.