Month: January 2008

Short entry today, as I’m going to shower and head downtown to see Louvelle perform in front of about 100,000 people.  Should be good.

Got up early, did laundry, and went for breakfast with Louvelle, then  headed to the Glebe market where I picked up a sarong, which I plan on using as a beach towel for the rest of my trip.  The actual towel I did bring is just too bulky for my bag, and the sarong should dry pretty quickly.  Also booked my flight to Alice Springs, where I’ll head out and see Uluru.  I may have something to post tomorrow, but after that I’ll probably be incommunicado for a few days, as we’re camping out in the bush.  The temperature there is 40 degrees, so it’ll be toasty.  I’ll try  not to complain too much about the heat, especially for the Canadians reading this.

After breakfast I headed to the Broadway Mall with the hopes of picking up an hat to wear while in the desert.  No such luck, so I’ll have to get one in Alice Springs.  Also picked up some blank dvds so I can start mailing some photos home.  I’ve taken far too many, as I’m sure you can tell – and I don’t even put them all online.

Got back to the house and dropped everything off then packed up my beach gear and took a long two hour bus ride to palm beach.  Passed through a bunch of beach towns along the way.  I didn’t bring my camera, so sadly there’s no photos – I was worried about it getting pinched while I went in the water.  Turns out it was quite cool at the beach, and I didn’t spend much time in the water anyhow – but all in all it was a worthwhile trip.  Got some reading done, so I’m onto book four or so of the trip.  I should keep a list going.

As I said earlier, I might have something to say tomorrow, otherwise you probably won’t hear from me until Wednesday or so, unless I happen across a dingo with an iPhone or something.

Also, it’s Mindy’s birthday, so happy birthday to her!

I figured I’d taken enough photos of the outside, it was about time I got a look at the inside. Woke up and headed to the Opera House to sign up for a tour. It was a little pricey, but I was keen to see how it looked. The majority of the people on the tour were seniors, so they asked questions I wouldn’t think to ask like: “How often do they wash the windows?” (twice a year), “How many steps do we have to climb?” (150 or so), and one woman who asked several times what wood was used to make whichever wooden finish she spotted (Brushbox for everything, it seems). Also, the notion that listening to a headset could mean you’ll talk louder was lost on them. All in all it was good fun, but I’m not sure I’d recommend the tour. The halls are nice enough, but the outside is where the building really excels.

I planned on grabbing a ferry to Watson’s Bay following the tour, but the next one wasn’t for nearly an hour, so I checked out the Contemporary Art Gallery, available for viewing at the low low cost of zero dollars and no cents (Speaking of cents, I should mention that Australia has done away with the penny. Everything is rounded!). The gallery was small, so it didn’t take much time to walk through, so I had plenty of time to sit quietly and wait for the ferry at the wharf.

Watson’s Bay wasn’t much more than restaurants and a big park. However, on the other side of the park lay Inner South Head and Gap’s Bluff. The area was originally inhabited by the Australian Artillery, to help defend Sydney, as it’s located where the southern harbour meets the ocean. The view on the ocean side of Watson’s Bay was quite nice. There were also some great views of the Sydney CBD and the surrounding area.  Apparently Gap’s Bluff is a popular place to off yourself (certainly one of the prettier places to do it) – which explains the makeshift memorial I saw.  I walked around there for a bit before grabbing some fish and chips. I ate in the shadow of a giant tree near the water, and was immediately hounded by birds hungry for a taste of my lunch.

Grabbed the last ferry out of town and returned to Circular Quay, then grabbed a train and a bus to Louvelle’s.  She got home a little later and we hemmed and hawed over going to see “American Gangster” at the theatre.  It was opening night (they’re a little behind on acquiring films down here, it seems), so the 8:20 show was too full, but we got seats for the 9:10. Had dinner (ordered the danish salami sandwich, got the Double Decker Club sandwich – I don’t think people understand my accent here), and checked out the movie.   Not too shabby, maybe a touch too long.   Doc managed to get me a discount on a ticket to the Blue Mountains for tomorrow morning, so I’m off to bed.

I made it until 7:30pm without taking a single photograph. Of course, after that I went hog wild.

It was my first day without Louvelle and I started it off in New Town, which is neither a town, nor new, but kinda funky none the less. Somewhat Queen Street like, although more the Queen Street of yesteryear than now. I got there for ten, figuring that for the time when most stores would open. I was correct, but sadly someone had failed to tell most of the shopkeepers. A lot of the stores were closed, despite what the sign on the door said.

I grabbed a chai latte and read the paper, figuring more stuff would be open when I was done. Once again, I was correct. I visited a few of the shops, and then caught the train to Town Hall station, downtown.

My first destination was the travel centre where the girl I met on the plane worked at. Sadly when I got there I was informed she’d been moved up to Byron Bay ahead of schedule (although perhaps good for her). I took the time to look through the brochures to get a feel for where I should head next and jotted down some tour websites. I’m guessing I’ll probably be here for a couple more days.

I hit Kent St. after the travel centre and bought a pair of shorts and a rain cover for my backpack. Probably not much rain in the outback, but they’ve had some flooding up north.

Headed back to the house in the afternoon and checked out the tour websites. Louvelle showed up a little earlier than expected from work, but I’d already eaten and wanted to head down to Circular Quay. My camera finally got its workout after that, with a bunch more shots of the opera house at sunset and at night. There was a big cruise ship in the harbour, so I was a tad limited on where I could take a picture from, but it ended up leaving eventually.

Met Louvelle afterwards at the Koolabar, where she went after dance to do some more (salsa) dancing.
From there we stopped by Doc’s work to get some info on the Blue Mountains (he’s a concierge), but found out he was already home. Talked to him when we got back and he’s going to see what sort of deal he can get me. Also, he got a Skype phone, which seems like a great idea to me.

Actually got up fairly early today, and took the train across the Sydney Harbour Bridge to The Spit.

From there we took a long 10km trek to Manly Beach. The walk was quite different from the one we took yesterday. It reminded both Louvelle and myself of hiking along the escarpment, and the area itself was reminscent of Muskoka.

We made it to Manly after about two hours, and walked through some of the neigbourhood stores, then ate our packed lunch (leftover fajitas for me, pb&j for Louvelle) on the wall overlooking the beach.

We took the ferry home from Manly, and headed back to the house. Louvelle took off to dance, so I grabbed some dinner then made my way over to the local yoga / pilates studio for some 7:30 yoga. I had done a bit on my own earlier in the week, but it was nice to get an instructed class. Quite hot in the room, but a shower afterwards took care of that. I’ve got a free two week membership so I’ll try going back again before I leave Sydney, which is bound to be very soon. Tomorrow I’m going to head into the travel shop where the girl I met on the plane works and see what sort of destinations she recommends.

Having some issues with the photos, but hopefully I can have them uploaded tomorrow.

It’s Lorne’s birthday, so a happy birthday to him!

We got up a little later than planned and took the bus from Louvelle’s house to Coogee Beach. Coogee is Aborigine for “stinky weed”, but it smelt fine to me. Louvelle pointed out her old flat, before we headed to the trail that winds its way along the coast to Bondi.

The trek takes you past several beaches, including Bronte Beach where we stopped for a bite to eat. Slightly different than the Bronte Beach in Oakville. The trek also takes you past an old cemetery, which must have one of the best views, as far as cemeteries go.

At Bondi we lay on the beach for a bit, and hopped in to clean off some of the sand and sweat we’d accumulated.

Once we were home, we attempted to take a pilates class, but they were on a holiday schedule so we were out of luck. Instead, we took the bikes down to the grocery store again. I’m getting a little more accustomed to this driving on the left thing. We opted for Mexican, which turned out quite well. Kangaroo fajitas may eventually take off, but I doubt it.

My head was aching – probably from a lack of water, or too much sun, so I headed to bed fairly early.

(Louvelle’s Apartment, Glebe (Sydney), Australia)

Had a late night last night, so we were up a tad later than usual (some more so than others). While Louvelle showered, I headed to the local grocery store and grabbed some sausages for breakfast. We cooked those up with some eggs and pancakes, and finally made our way to Circular Quay for noon (or midday, as they say here).

Missed the first ferry by a bit, so we sat around for a while and caught the next one to Taronga Zoo (which sounds a lot like Toronto Zoo when Australian’s say it). The zoo was big, and had a fair bit of everything. We started with the Australian section, and slowly made our way through the rest of it. If you’ve seen one zoo, you’ve nearly seen them all – but the spectacular views of Sydney Harbour made it a worthwhile trip. The zoo sits opposite the CBD, so you get a good view of the Opera House, and a slightly obscured view of the bridge.

After that we headed to Central Station for a late lunch, then Louvelle and I parted ways. She’s off to dance rehearsal (am I starting to sound like a broken record?), so I’m at home uploading pictures. Will probably do a bit of reading after this, and probably some laundry tonight.

(Louvelle’s Apartment, Glebe (Sydney), Australia)

We woke up to what appeared to be a decent day, weather wise. As we were eating our breakfast the rain started, however, but it was hardly severe. We finished up, then hopped on a bus to Darling Harbour to take in the Aquarium. As far as aquarium’s go, this one wasn’t too bad. Not as good as the one in Camden, but this one had a far superior underwater tank. Filled with tons of fish, tons of sharks, sting rays and giant turtles, it was definitely the highlight. Also neat to see was the platypus which was pretty active in its habitat.

From there we walked over to the Domain. We ended up getting caught in the rain at one point, so we hopped into the local library for shelter and because I was interested in seeing what it was like. Nothing terribly special, as far as libraries go, but Louvelle found some teaching oriented books she could flip through. The rain died down a bit, so we headed across the Domain to the art gallery.

Free admission to the gallery, which was nice to see – as Sydney is quite expensive. We toured the gallery for a bit. Lots of Australian artists, and aboriginal work, but nothing comparable to the galleries in Europe.

On our way out of the gallery, we walked through the domain again and came across Brian Wilson’s sound-check for the Sydney Festival First Night later that evening. We watched them muddle about on stage for a couple of songs, then met Louvelle’s friend, Julie, for lunch. We went to Sushi Train, where plates of sushi travel past the tables and you grab what you want to eat, and later pay by plate. Not a bad system.

Julie dropped us off at the Glebe market, so we could get Louvelle a replacement nose ring. Louvelle had to rush home to get to a dance rehearsal, so I wandered around the market on my own, then hit up some of the shops on Glebe Pt. Road.

Lee, one of Louvelle’s roommates let me borrow a couple of books, so I started reading one of those, and before long grabbed a cab to the Sydney Festival with Lee and another of Louvelle’s roommates, Doc.

Sydney Festival was super busy. We walked through Hyde Park, but the food area was packed, so we grabbed dinner in a nearby food court and headed to the Martin Square stage. Doc was keen on seeing Chromeo perform. I had no idea who they were, but it turns out they’re from some place called Canada. Kind of a dance, club kind of sound. Not really my thing, but the DJ beforehand, Ember, was pretty good.

We met up with Louvelle a little before the close of Chromeo’s set, and headed back to Hyde Park where there were some big bands performing. Stayed there for a bit, then split with Lee and Doc, and went in search of Louvelle’s dance friends at a place called Waggamamma. Waggamamma was, surprise surprise, a Japanese restaurant. We chatted for a bit, then hitched a ride with them to Central Station and caught the bus home.

(Louvelle’s Apartment, Glebe (Sydney), Australia)

Our goal today was to walk a little less than yesterday. Louvelle’s having some hip issues, which I’ve diagnosed as sciatica. The weather was supposed to be poor, so we figured we’d hit up a museum or aquarium. Instead the weather was great, so we ditched that idea.

We started off a little late, but headed down to the Fish Market to pick up some fish for dinner. It was a touch busier than yesterday, but we were also there around lunchtime, and most of the markets double as restaurants. We settled on Australian Snapper, and then walked back to the house to refrigerate it.

From there we hopped on a bus and headed to Darling Harbour to meet up with Louvelle’s friend, Nelson, and his parents. They’d been in Sydney for a week and were heading back to Singapore in just a few short hours. We had lunch at the Harbour (expensive, as all food in Sydney seems to be), then headed over to Circular Quay to take a boat tour of the harbour.

The tour was an hour or so, and pretty enjoyable. There was an area of Eastern Sydney that I hoped we’d get a little closer too, but no such luck.

After that, we went in search of a mouse for Louvelle’s laptop, and headed home. We’d more or less accomplished our goal of keeping the walking to a minimum. Dinner has been prepared, but Louvelle’s at a dance rehearsal, so we’re waiting for her to return before we eat.

They’re calling for poor weather tomorrow, so I’m not sure what will come of that. Louvelle is contemplating going salsa dancing tonight, but I’ll probably stay in. Sydney Fest starts tomorrow, so we’ll probably be out late tomorrow night taking that in.

(Louvelle’s Apartment, Glebe (Sydney), Australia)

The second full day in Sydney was pretty great. Lots of walking (15 km’s by our guesstimate), which I’m still not completely used to, but my new sandals are holding up well. I got up at 4:30am, talked with Mike and Susan online, and then tried to get back to bed. Managed to get up at 8 or so, and after a quick breakfast at Louvelle’s, we walked down to the Sydney Fish Market. It wasn’t quite as hustle and bustle as I expected, but the fish looked fantastic.

From there we headed toward Darling Harbour, crossing over Pyrmont bridge. We stopped at the Lindt cafe for some tea and hot chocolate (made with melted chocolate, and fantastic). We visited the Chinese Gardens after. Very zen, and definitely worth seeing. Paddy’s Market was next on the agenda, a giant flea market, with tons of wares. I’m still on the hunt for a bag (the zipper on my daybag is starting to go), but didn’t find anything that met my needs.

We walked through China Town next, where a cigarette fell from the sky, narrowly missing me. I’m curious to see what will fall from the sky tomorrow, and am hoping it’s money. Bills only, of course. We hit up a bunch of shops on Kent Street – which were all outdoorsy shops – again, searching mostly for a daypack. After that, we walked through the QVB (Queen Victoria Building), an old mall with an awesome Christmas tree setup, and had lunch in the food court of another building.

After lunch we walked throuh Hyde Park, marvelling at the awesome fig trees. From there we headed up Art Gallery Rd., passing the art gallery and visiting the Domain and Royal Botanical Gardens. Flying Foxes, which are large bats, inhabit the gardens, hanging off the trees. I took a bunch of pictures, so hopefully some of them will turn out. The gardens lead to the Sydney Opera House which looks pretty great. Didn’t take a tour of it, but the outside is quite nice. The area we were in is called Circular Quay, which also houses the Sydney Harbour Bridge. We queried about some boat tours, possibly for tomorrow afternoon (weather depending), then headed to the Rocks, which is the oldest neighbourhood in Sydney. Finally we headed to Observatory Hill, for a look out at the harbour, before heading back to Louvelle’s.

At Louvelle’s we discussed dinner, and settled on some Kangaroo Fillets. Borrowing one of Louvelle’s roommate’s bikes, Louvelle and I headed to the grocery store. It was quite an experience driving on the left side of the road. I’m still not entirely used to the whole left side driving – I struggle knowing which way to look on the street, so I look both. Thankfully, where the sidewalk meets the street, many pedestrian crosswalks are marked LOOK LEFT or LOOK RIGHT, depending on the situation. We made it to the grocery store safely, and made it back home without incident as well.

Louvelle’s roommate taught Louvelle the art of cooking ‘Roo, and he definitely knows what he is doing. It was quite tasty, and not really comparable to anything I can think of. Some people say it tastes like vennison, but I haven’t had any in such a long time, that I can’t really remember. It’s after dinner now, and there’s not much going on. I’ve stayed awake past 10, which is an achievement in itself (I think I’ve kicked the jet lag pretty quickly, but it may be too early to tell).

Louvelle just lead me to one of her roommate’s rooms. He’s got an amazing view of Sydney’s CBD (Central Business District – they shorten everything here, it seems). I’ll have to take my camera up soon, and take some pictures. It’s raining now, and getting reasonably late, so I’m going to retire to bed. We’re meeting a friend of Louvelle’s from Singapore in the morning.