We had a bit of relaxation this morning, with a late start. It was raining again as we headed for the botanical gardens, and there were on and off showers until late afternoon. The botanical gardens are really nice, with a lot of bird life. There were a lot of cockatoos in one particular tree, and also on the ground and on people under the tree. Several ibis were strutting on the grass, and mynah birds were all over the place. We saw eels and fish in the pond, with a board saying they drain and clean the pond regularly, but the eels always reappear; young Ella had been spotted wriggling their way to the pond from the harbour! In one part of the gardens, scary looking spiders had built webs in the trees and spanning the space overhead. We walked down to Hyde Park and saw a contingent of police on horseback riding up the road. After a bite to eat at the Queen Victoria Building, we met our friends and walked back to our hotel. On the way we stopped at the Marble Bar under the Hilton Hotel. As its name suggests, the room is clad in marble and has been left in its original glory when the Hilton was built. The Chinese premier arrived in Sydney today, and there was a large police presence, including the police horses we saw earlier, to protect his hotel and the meeting place. The roads were lined with welcoming Chinese, with a few low-key protesters kept out of the way. Chinese dancers were also performing. Being a Friday night, we found it difficult to get into the good restaurants and wandered around a bit before finding one that suited. With only two days of our holiday left and the unusually wet March, we are keeping our fingers crossed for fine dry weather!