First Leg Finished: Sydney

The American in me got to the airport two hours early, too early for our gate to be announced. Also early enough to take advantage of the airport's WiFi to post an update. Photos and details to be shared in posts I will write after we come home. Look for them starting around Thanksgiving.

While passing through Hyde Park (yes, Sydney has a Hyde Park, too), we saw a spot where you could stand on a soap box and tell the audience gathered what you think. All opinions are allowed. If I had paused I might have said the following:

One of the reasons we chose to go to Australia at this time was to avoid the election anxiety. Those of you reading this who are Americans who have not yet voted, please do so. The number one question we have been asked by almost everyone we talk to is: Did you vote yet? When we say, yes, they are visibly relieved. American elections impact the rest of the world. 

Off my soapbox now.

Last September I flew to Sydney solo to end my trip Down Under. I truly felt I would never again have the opportunity to return, after all it had been a wish of mine to visit for over thirty years. The day after I returned, Don was laid off. This trip is finishing up what we planned to do in 2023 when his office said he could not take off more time. 

The irony is not lost on us.

My first pleasant surprise came when I noticed the purple jacaranda trees in bloom. I first fell in love with those trees when I saw them at California Adventure in the back corner as we waited to see Aladdin at the Hyperion Theater. I didn't even know their name, but on that May trip, I found them stunning. They were never in bloom during our return trips. Last year I learned its name while standing in front of the 1903 painting Under the Jacaranda Tree. It is nicknamed the "purple panic" because it blooms during exam time. I suspect last year it bloomed early since we saw it in mid-September and exams do not take place until late October. This year they are right on time.

Our fourteen hour flight from LAX to Sydney was eased by the plane not being full, and the flight attendant moving the person sitting next to us to the back row where she could have all three seats to herself, and we could have two seats to ourselves. What a difference that makes! I still only slept in bits, but I was more relaxed.

Our hotel was a quick seven-minute walk from the train station, and most of that was spent exiting Central Station! The front desk held our bags for us, and even moved them up to our room when the room was finally ready four hours later. It felt like we landed in the lap of luxury. I guess I caught a good sale because when I tried to change our next Sydney hotel to that one, the price had more than doubled. 

We spent day one walking, and walking, and walking. As I had already been to Sydney, I played tour guide. I took Don to the place I knew he most wanted to see: the one-year-old World's Largest LEGO Store (beats the 5th Avenue NYC store by 3 square meters/9 square feet). They have the world's largest stamp they use in their passport books. I'm actually surprised we did not return.

In a fit of optimism, we asked if the Sydney Opera House had tickets for the last performance of Sunset Boulevard starring Sarah Brightman. They didn't. I then asked, any chance you have standing room tickets? They did! So after flying for 27 hours, and landing at 7 am, we had tickets to see a Broadway-quality musical at 7:30 PM where we would be standing for two-and-a-half hours. 

We continued our walk through The Rocks and had a hearty meal. Not sure if our stomachs thought it was breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Chose a breakfast salad that seemed to cover all the bases.

We then walked across the Sydney Harbor Bridge to Luna Park where I got an email saying our room was ready two hours early. Reminded me of when Ashley would cry in her stroller during a walk in the park at the furthest point from home. It was a long walk to our room, where we promptly ignored everyone's travel advice and took a nap. Feeling refreshed we had a burger for dinner on the way to the show.   

As we waited for the performance we watched a tiny tugboat pulling an enormous cruise ship out of the Harbor. Yes, it is cruise ship season in Australia. Each day we saw a different cruise ship. Don later said he enjoyed that as much as the show. Sunset Boulevard was wonderful. Standing helped us to stay awake. The sets and costumes were incredible! Seeing the original Christine Daae perform as an aging film singer not ready to give up her career was sublime. 

As they say in Into the Woods, one midnight gone.

Day two was a lot more walking. We started with a tour of Susannah Place in The Rocks. I'll write more about this later. This was the first reservation I made after booking our airfare. Last year I really wanted to visit the museum, but could not score one of the few tour tickets (which are free, along with many other museums in Australia). It was worth the wait, and will be blogged about later.

After the 10 am tour we walked through The Rocks Market -- a mostly craft market that takes place every weekend. Since this weekend coincided with Halloween, the market was smaller than usual. I wanted to see the person who sold me the charms we later turned into dragon earrings to thank her, and to look for new charms. I was getting discouraged about finding her when I noticed she was in a different spot, in the last booth we were passing. I showed her the earrings, and thanked her. I then looked for new charms for new earrings. I settled on typewriters. I was hoping for cameras, but she didn't have any that day. A future trip? I'll send her a picture of the earrings after Don makes them.

I still needed to pick up a ticket from the Opera House for our tour the next day. Oh, the irony since I was there the day before, and a little bit frustrating since they didn't need the ticket and just checked us off a list.

We took a bus to Bondi Beach for the famous Bondi to Cogee walk. When I did it last year I wished Don had been along because I knew he would enjoy it. The day was cool, which helped since we were doing the walk on a Saturday in spring. The most crowded part was when an sculpture art show was happened. Large pieces were along the trail. Models were inside a tent. You could purchase the art. I'm not sure if the prices were form the models or the large pieces, in either case, they would not have fit in our carry-on bags.

The rest of the walk was quiet. Hardly anyone was on the beach. We saw a lot of runners doing the trail. The other highlight (besides the art show that runs through today) was supporting a local fundraiser by buying a "snag" -- a sausage sandwich. Things we do not eat at home, taste better abroad.

We took a long bus ride back to Central Station. Ate dinner at a Thai restaurant near our hotel. Called it an early night.

Two midnights gone.

The third day was an early one. We woke at 5:30 for a 7 am backstage tour of the Opera House. That was amazing! Will write extensively about it later. The tour ended with brekkie in the Green Room. Definitely thought of all of our theater family and friends on this tour. We were allowed to take a lot of pictures, except in the places where we were not allowed to take any pictures either for safety or for copyright reasons.

Breakfast was incredibly filling, so much so we didn't eat again until dinner. On the way back from the tour we saw St. Stephens Uniting Church was having a worship service so we went. It was a nice service. The Uniting Church formed in the 1970s when the Presbyterians, Methodists, and someone else united to create a new church. There are still Presbyterians, but they are a lot more conservative than we are comfortable with these days (along the lines of women are not allowed to be ordained). 

We then walked to our hotel to change. It had been a brisk 60 degrees at the start of the day, but the forecast was calling for 90. Overall we made out well because it was overcast.

With the warm forecast, I planned for a museum day so we could cool off and learn something. The first stop was St. James' Anglican Church. They were the first church built in Sydney about 200 years ago. I saw the list of rectors (I should have taken a picture of it), it only had about two dozen names on it, including one who served for 40 years, and three bishops. Jeff, the sexton on duty, gave us a tour. As he was finishing up showing us their impressive organ, the organist came in for an impromptu rehearsal. Seemed he was showing the organ off for us. 

St. James is across the street from the best museum I have ever visited, or at least the best in terms of presentation: Hyde Park Barracks. That led us to the Art Museum and the Justice and Police Museum, both of which are also very nice. 

I wanted to show Don the building where I stayed last time in the Rushcutters Bay section of Sydney. This involved walked through the Botanical Garden (where we walked around the wishing tree three times forward and three times and three times backward wishing for a Harris presidency. Then across the street to the art museum, and around the back, down stairs, across a bridge, past Woolloomoollo (where another public art show was on display), past the Café on Wheels (that no longer seems to be on wheels), and up 113 stairs. Past the French restaurant that is no longer there. This is where I got lost. To be fair, I often got lost at this point and went several different ways. Using the information on one of the pictures I took on my phone, and Google maps, I was finally able to find the place. 

By this point we were starving. I used the mighty Google again to find the pizza place I enjoyed last year. I don't like American pizza, but I love wood fired oven pizzas. Don and I had a relaxing evening dining outside with a charming French waiter who has lived in Australia for three years, and is planning to return to France in April. 

The options were a 30-minute mass transit trip (with changes) or a 38-minute walk. It was a nice night, so we chose the walk. I showed Don the place where I could have gotten run over last year because I looked in the wrong direction. It wasn't nearly as close as the Aussie next to me thought it was.

I set the alarm for 6 am so we could get to the airport two hours early and wait. The flight is still 45 minutes away.

Our next stop is Uluru, also called Ayers Rock, also called Yulara. It is the big red mound in the middle of the Outback. A three-and-a-half hour flight from Sydney. We'll return to Sydney in a few days for an overnight before taking a train to Canberra. That will be "errand night" when we do some laundry and shopping. We checked out that hotel. Our clue that it is not as nice is that check in is through the bar next door. Any other district and we would be concerned, but this is in a decent part off town just off George Street by the Queen Victoria.

The hope is to disconnect and unwind as election results come in. Wonder where we will learn who won? May we have a country to return home to in two-and-a-half weeks.