31 October
Sydney
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Another disturbed night's sleep. Given that both the hotel and my bed are very comfortable, I really can't work out why there is a problem. Just before I went to bed, I realised that one of my two room key cards had vanished. It failed to appear in a search but then popped out of my suitcase in the morning. Whilst the room is comfortable, the safe isn't. Even for someone young this is far too near to the ground. For an old man with arthritis, it isn't good news. It was, however, large enough to contain my laptop so I shouldn’t really complain. It is too large for many hotel safes. Outside, it was hot and sunny until the sun vanished behind a cloud. Shorts and sandals may not prove to be appropriate. Right: Ankle level safe |
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The Downing Centre, a magnificent old structure, houses a coffee shop, where I had a huge, but mainly healthy, salami and salad sandwich and a good coffee.
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This gave me the chance to read the Sydney Morning Herald, mainly devoted to the QANTAS lockout, now finished. The whole process reminded me of Britain in the '70's, with big corporations and militant unions battling each other to the detriment of the customers. It has been pointed out that the Prime Minister is a former Industrial Relations lawyer (from South Wales) and probably regards the process as an intellectual exercise with little understanding of the damage that it has done to ordinary people and the reputation of Australia as a whole.
Circular Quay Station offers stupendous revelations (just like Hoffnung's Tyrolean Landladies), with views over historic buildings, the harbour and the bridge.Having long wanted to visit Mosman, I boarded the ferry, which negotiated its way across the harbour and into a deep bay, calling at various small wharves en route. Right: The Bridge from Circular Quay Station |
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Once there, I climbed the steps and the steep road, passing beautiful houses with stunning views and wonderful flowers. What I failed to find, however, was Mosman.
Deciding that discretion was the better part of valour, I retraced my steps and caught the next ferry back to the city. A message to the burghers of Mosman "A signpost to the town centre would help!"
A short wait at Circular Quay and I was on my way to Manly. The famous ferry takes half an hour and provides excellent views of the harbour. I started on the outside deck but it was very crowded so I retreated indoors. The views are great but I have seen them all before - what a jaded traveller!
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The ferry terminal seems to have been subject to a major refurbishment. What used to be a smart restaurant has become a German beer bar and the other side has become a supermarket and an outlet store.
I followed the backstreets - very seasidey - to the Post Office, bought some stamps and then found the beach. Golden sand, blue sky, blue sea. What more can one say? It is an archetypal Australian beach.
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The Corso leads back to the ferry terminal. It is like Blackpool but with sunshine. My memory tells me that it used to be wall to wall restaurants, with the owners (mainly Italian) in open warfare with each other.
Now, there were few restaurants but lots of shops selling "stuff". I looked into a few of them but decided that I was already well equipped with “stuff” so didn’t make any purchases.
Just round the corner, facing the ferry terminal, is the 4 Pines brewery bar. It is upstairs in a concrete block with extensive balconies. The wheat beer and pale ale were both excellent, as was the fish & chips.The locals, being Australians, soon fled inside, deeming it too cold on the balcony. Being made of sterner stuff, I enjoyed the equivalent of a blazing summer's day in Wellington, accompanied by a gentle breeze. |
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The ferry back again bounced around quite a lot as we passed the harbour mouth but no one made for the life boats and we passed safely into the centre of the harbour.
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The Customs House was bathed in sunshine so I sat outside, listened to jazz on the loudspeakers and had a coffee. What better way to spend an afternoon! My shopping was successful in that I found a map of Tasmania (I was later given an identical one for nothing by the rental car company.) After that, I walked back to the hotel, where I lay down feeling very tired and definitely not 100%. |
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90 minutes later I was still not right but I did some packing and decided to go out and see what a short walk and the fresh air would do for me. I made it to Museum Station intact and then on the train as far as Circular Quay. So far so good.
On the edge of The Rocks, I photographed the pretty flowers and took the compulsory shots of the Opera House. The light was nothing special but it might be better later.
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The Observer hadn't changed - except for the prices. Sydney is now very expensive, particularly as the Australian Dollar is so strong. After a few sips of Fat Yak Pale Ale, not as good as the lunchtime brew, I started to feel a little better so ordered a steak. At AU$ 29, it had better be good.It was! Tender, full of flavour and rare. For most of the time I sat in splendid isolation in the garden before a few others arrived. |
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Feeling much better but that another beer might not be a good idea, I walked back to the Quay, extracted my gorilla pod and took lots of photos. The process wasn't entirely smooth. When my friends asked me about my camera in order to decide what size of beast to give me, they didn't know to ask about the size of lens that I used. As my main one is both bigger and heavier than my camera, I had to use my small lens to stop the whole contraption from toppling over.
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After leaving the train at Museum, I contemplated an ice cream at the cafe I had visited the previous evening but they didn't really have anything that I fancied so I bought a sorbet in a packet at a corner dairy and returned to finish my packing, organise my photos etc etc.