Sydney

You were expecting maybe an opera house?

Sydney only has one opera house, but it has dozens of beaches. These girls are heading for the waves at Bondi (pronounced bond-eye) Beach, in the Sydney suburbs.

We flew from the tiny airport at Ayers Rock on a plane so cramped my knees were practically touching my chin, and sat in Sydney traffic for a good hour on our way to the hotel. After the sheer emptiness of the outback, being in a big city is more of an adjustment than you would expect for a resident of Manhattan.