Day 19 – This was our free day in Sydney; however, I wouldn’t call it free in more ways than one. We started out walking from our hotel to the Sydney Opera House where we took the one hour tour of the buildings including the opera and symphony venues. Most pictures of the Opera House give the impression that each roof section consists of solid white domes when in actuality they are constructed of individual off-white tiles which never need cleaning. We then bought passes for the Red Explorer Bus at Circular Quay which has on/off privileges at 27 sites around Sydney including commentary of the various locations. We stayed on until we got to the Rocks area, which is one of the oldest areas in Sydney. Had lunch at an outdoor café then caught a bus to the Queen Victoria Building which has been converted into an indoor mall. It is quite a place. Their Christmas tree has already been installed.. It is over 4 floors tall and has 15,000 Swarvoski crystals on it. Walked back to the hotel for a breather then caught the bus back to Circular Quay. Since we wanted to see Sydney at night from the harbor, we took the 7pm ferry to Manly Beach and back. Sydney and the Opera House are beautiful at night. Had dinner at the City Extra Café located right on the wharf in Circular Quay. Even got a free glass of wine, since I had printed out something from the internet about their restaurant before we left home. (About the only thing that was free today.) After dinner we walked back to the hotel.