Sydney; a very sad farewell

My flight on Saturday was in the early afternoon, which gave me a little time to see more of the city in the morning. I took a walk through the main shopping district to the Art Gallery of New South Wales on the edge of the Royal Botanical Gardens. This little map gives a great visual of how well designed the city is -- it has a big park and cultural district in the heart of the city.

The Museum was, you guessed it, terrific. Despite the classical architecture on the outside (looks like the Metropolitan Museum in New York, as you can see in the picture), it's a wonderfully modern and airy space that contains a broad selection of work. I saw some insightful 19 century paintings of Sydney before it was heavily populated, in addition to a special exhibit of aboriginal work, which was beautiful. There was way too much to see in the short time that I had, but it's a definite must for anyone else visiting the city.

On my way back to the hotel to collect my bag, I took a walk through Hyde Park! I'm really impressed by the wide avenues and parks in the city -- and of course, by the glorious promenades all along the bay. It's really nice to be near to the water, especially when it is hot. During my trip here, the temperature only reached 30c, but I understand it can get a lot hotter.

I couldn't resist one more walk past the Opera House to take a look at the bridge in the sunshine. As you'll see from these pictures from the top of my hotel, they are spectacular, but it's nothing compared to being up close and personal with two such iconic structures. They are so big!

In the picture of the Opera House, you can see in the distance (if you click on the picture to enlarge it, like all the other pics) the ocean, just a short journey from the city. Many of the people in our office live along the beaches that line the coast north and south of the city. Bondai and Manley beaches are only a short drive and a lot of people commute easily. What a wonderful scenario -- work in the city and enjoy the urban advantages, then go back home to the beach and space. Wow.

With that, I collected my heavy bag stuffed with books for B and K from my trip and took the short, 20 minute ride to the airport. I was really, really sad to leave Sydney. I really hope I get to go back -- for a few years, rather than a few days!

In one week, I have traveled 27,000 miles during 46 hours in the air on five flights, held 17 one-on-one meetings with key leaders in our business, gave five presentations, met with a number of key editors and spent invaluable time with my internal team and PR agencies in Japan, Hong Kong and Australia. Phew. Now back in England, I have the pleasure of feeling like I have been hit by a train at high speed.