On December 27, 2000 we returned on the train to Sydney. We still had more to see before we left for Korea. Hyde Park was two blocks away from our Sydney hotel and a great place for an afternoon stroll among the statures, ponds and greenery. Walking along the streets we ran into an aborigine playing a long, carved instrument that looked something like a horn. Since the man had an extra horn, Richie had to get in the act. Would you believe people threw money? The two of them sat on the sidewalk near the harbor and made "not so beautiful" music together.

The Rocks, an older section of the city, was close enough for a walk and provided us with some history of Australia. In 1788 convicts from England were shipped to the "land down under" to get them out of England. At that time this area, that is now a part of Sydney, was just rocky slopes soaring up from the waters. The prisoners built timber framed, thatched roof dwellings, which lined the western slopes following the natural rock ledges. The expression of "being on the rocks" began. Many streets were later carved into the rock ledges forming the district still know as The Rocks.

Today as you walk through this section of Sydney you can see some of the foundations of the long ago dwellings. Only the lower walls and chimneys remain. You can visit an old storehouse built in the early 1800's to house tea, sugar, cloth and liquor imported form the Far East. Part of the old stone slipway used for the ships to unload is still visible under the Sydney Harbor Bridge.

The Sydney Harbor Bridge built in 1932 took seven years to complete. The bridge is made up of 6 million rivets, none of which have been replaced since they were inserted. The more daring tourist can walk across the high arch of the bridge attached to the railings by a harness for a mere 100 Ausssie dollars. Susannah Place is one of the few remaining intact working class structures of four brick homes. It was built in 1840 and features a backyard outhouse and basement kitchen. It is quite a structure that extends down one of the streets and looks a lot like the old row houses in the States.

The AMP Tower is Sydney's tallest building. The spire soars 305 meters above street level. There are 1,504 steps to the observation tower-we took the elevator. The observation tower has 420 windows where, on a clear day, you can see forever. A semi-automatic window-cleaning machine that recycles and filters 50 liters of water cleans the windows. What a view we had of Sydney with the Blue Mountains in the distance

The Sydney Opera house is as magnificent as you have heard and seen on TV during the Olympics. We were lucky enough to arrive just as a Christmas concert was letting out. The ushers let us go into the Concert Hall and sit for a while. In many ways it reminded us of the Kennedy Center only more majestic. The large hall was crowned with tall, brass organ pipes sweeping up from center stage.

We truly loved Sydney with all its splendor. It tugged at our hearts when it was time to leave. An eleven-hour plane ride landed us in Seoul, Korea. When we started our trip we had to go though Seoul to get to Australia. We left our suitcases with our winter jackets, sweaters and heavy shoes in a locker in Kimpo Airport in Seoul. We really didn't want to carry them all around Sydney. As we disembarked the plane and entered the airport to spend a few days in Seoul, we started into the section where our bags were in the locker. We were quickly stopped by several airport employees and questioned about what we thought we were doing. With the difficulty of a language barrier it took a little while to explain to them about our suitcases. I think they thought we were a little crazy. They finally agreed to let one of us go for the suitcases. Richie volunteered. He hurried off with the airport employees and all I could think about was that I had his passport in my purse. The rest of us waited hoping he would return with our winter clothes.

What seemed like quite awhile later the airport employee who stayed with us got a phone call that Richie was waiting for us at the baggage claim. We were relieved to know he was all right and our warm clothes were with him. We all took our jackets out of the suitcases, grabbed our other luggage from the baggage claim and proceeded through customs. One of our group had to get rid of some fruit she was carrying in her carry-on bag when we heard we couldn't bring fruit into the country.

Our hotel in Seoul was in a good location. Other than that I can't say much for it. We all decided that in spite of the cold we would spend very little time in our hotel rooms. We made sure to get directions to the hotel that were written in Korean from the desk clerk so we could find our way back. We started out on our Korean adventure.

One of the first things we knew we needed to do was buy some warm hats and gloves. We visited the Namdaemun Market (South Gate Market). The market is only one of several in Seoul. You think Tyson's Corner is a big mall-this place has 10,172 shops and great prices. The market has some in-door shops and some out-door shops and goes on for blocks. You can buy anything from toothpicks to the kitchen sink. We purchased hats and gloves and were happy to have something warm on our hands and head.

With the hats and gloves we braved the grounds of Changdeokgung Palace. Changdeokgung was built in 1405 as the main palace of the Joseon dynasty. The grounds cover 110 acres and the buildings display beautiful carved and painted eaves along upturned roof edges. Walking several acres of the grounds quickly froze our toes and we couldn't wait to get back to our hotel, as sleezy as it was. Remember though, it was a good location.

The main streets of Seoul are big thoroughfares with millions of cars. The back streets are like the ones in Okinawa, narrow and winding. One day we happened upon a small shop on a narrow back street. The shop carried ink and paper for ink painting, a very difficult art that I am trying to master. We started a conversation with the shop owner who stopped his day's routine to show us his skills in calligraphy. He made us each a page with our name and Korean symbols of our essence. Oh to be able to use an ink brush like Lee Hyoun Joon.

After a day of walking the outdoor markets, the war museum, and the back streets of Seoul we were cold and tired. No one felt like going out for dinner. Two of our companions agreed to walk to the fruit and pastry shop and buy food for dinner. We all gathered in their hotel room and munched on delicious pastry and fruit. They bought a bouquet of flowers back with them so we could cheer up the room.

New Year's Eve was a big celebration!! We were all asleep in our warm little beds. We decided to celebrate New Year's at 2 p. m. on January 1 because it would be New Year's Eve at midnight on the East Coast of the USA. At that time we were standing in one of the large markets watching one of our fellow travelers bargain with a vender for boxer shorts. The price on the shorts was about a $1.20 and he was trying to talk him down. One of the high lights of our Korean trip was bargaining with the merchants.

Lotte is a world famous department store located in Seoul. The store has 11 floors with all kinds of merchandise and restaurants. It is all in-doors and warm. Once we discovered it we decided to stay awhile and warm up. We walked through Armani suits and Gucci bags and found a small cozy Italian restaurant for dinner. After Kim Chi for breakfast, lunch and dinner I was ready for Italian.

The night before we were scheduled to leave Korea it snowed. All I could think about was getting stuck in Korea because of a snowstorm. I was so ready to return to the sunny, warm days and palm trees of Okinawa. My friends teased me with statements like, "see, Okinawa isn't so bad after all". I accused them of planning the Australian/Korean adventure just to ensure I would return to the island.

I am back on the island. It is still not home but the familiarity of the place makes it feel good to be here for awhile.