1) THE ROCKS - The neighborhood known as "The Rocks" is one of Sydney's most historic areas after first being settled by convicts and troops in 1788. More than 200 years later, it's still a bustle of activity with the downtown only a quick walk away.

2) CIRCULAR QUAY - Rain drizzled on and off for several days leaving people unsure of whether to take an umbrella for short walks. This woman got caught without one during a downpour in the Circular Quay neighborhood.

3) BONDI BEACH - Sun did shine for one day during my visit. It's timely weekend return convinced hundreds to swarm the beaches to soak up the rays.

4) ROYAL BOTANIC GARDENS - Sydney is home to stunning parks and cultural arts. This week, they came together when Sydney Opera performed before thousands of opera lovers in the expansive Royal Botanic Gardens. To help everyone see the performance, a local TV station provided huge TV monitors that stood several stories high.

5) SYDNEY - Sydney has this unbelievable frenetic energy. Everyone seems to be young and constantly on the move. This woman rushes to get to a
meeting near the General Post office in downtown.

6) TAMARAMA BAY - Just south of Bondi Beach lies this seaside pool that gets hammered by the same waves that make Bondi such a surfer's paradise. Local kids like to stand on the edge of the pool and have the crashing waves knock them in.

7) CHINATOWN - All of Sydney's neighborhoods blend into each other -- often without any noticeable dividing line. These women cross under a train overpass that links the Surry Hills neighborhood with Chinatown.

8) CHINATOWN - Just north of the Central Station in Sydney lies Chinatown. It's a vibrant mix of shops and restaurants that adds to the color of the
city.

9) SYDNEY - Rush hour brings a lot of foot traffic to the streets and footpaths of downtown Sydney.

10) DARLING HARBOUR - Linking all the neighborhoods together are a complex maze of multi-tiered subways, buses, and elevated light rail trains. To see the sites, you can take any number of mass transit options, or you can walk and see Sydney's vast array of architectural styles.

11) SYDNEY - The AMP Tower Centrepoint is the tallest observation deck in the Southern Hemisphere. From it's 305-metre vantage point, you can see how all of Sydney's neighborhoods fit together.

12) KINGS CROSSING - Several hundred meters below ground lies Sydney's smooth-running City Rail subway system. Sometimes, the only way to get to the trains are by escalators which seem to stretch forever and beyond.

13) SYDNEY - I have no idea how this happened. I was just playing with the mirrors in a downtown elevator, but in this single-exposure photo, it appears that I have two different expressions -- one looking forward and the other looking up. (Okay, no jokes about me being two-faced.)

14) BONDI BEACH - Okay, so I have to have one normal, pretty photo. The bees were enjoying a rare sunny day this past weekend in Sydney.

15) KINGS CROSSING - This is a Grilled Chicken Meal from Hungry Jacks. Despite the name, the restaurant is essentially a Burger King. (I have yet to find anyone who can tell me why the Aussies decided to change the name.) None-the-less, this is probably the best-tasting meal that I had during my entire stay in Sydney. For some reason, every Sydney restaurant that I tried during my week-long stay had AWFUL food. It got so bad that I finally had to resort to this good ol' American standby.