My wake up call once again roused me out of bed quite early this morning. It was time to get to my flight for Sydney. At 4:45 all I wanted to do was skip it and sleep in. Thankfully I wasn’t fully asleep since the air conditioner in the room had been dripping water all night. A bit of Chinese water torture always does the trick for a bad night’s sleep! It was so hot without the A/C on that I decided that the dripping noise all night long would be the lesser of two evils.
The Cairns airport is a quiet little place and I quickly boarded my flight bound for Sydney. Now a brief tangent…back in August I’d been in London for work and had come in early to see Theresa. We had tickets to go to Mama Mia on the West End and unfortunately I’d had to leave at intermission to be on a not so fun Saturday afternoon/evening conference call with work. Then when I was on my flight to Europe in October Mama Mia was one of the options on the plane. I fell asleep about halfway through. This morning’s flight was also playing Mama Mia. I was happy thinking I’d finally know who the father is in a story I’d seen the first half of but never the ending. Of course I slept almost the entire flight and once again missed the end of Mama Mia! One day I’ll see the end.
Upon landing in Sydney I got a taxi from the airport to my hotel. I’d once again be lucky to be staying at the Four Seasons hotel thanks to a great rate! The hotel is located in The Rocks neighborhood of Sydney and though my room doesn’t have it, there are great views of the Sydney Harbor Bridge and the Sydney Opera House. After checking in and eating some food I decided to go on, as the Aussies say, a walk about. I took off on foot and made my way around the Circular Quay and walked to the Sydney Opera House (http://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/). It is quite an impressive building and has equally impressive views of the water and the Harbor Bridge. From the Opera House I walked up MacQuarie Street with the Royal Botanic Gardens on one side and the city on the other. I entered Hyde Park, walked through to Oxford St. and then onto Liverpool St. Wait, was I in London? It is far too hot to be London but the connections remind one that the Queen rules here as well. Hyde Park was a nice central park in the city that offers views and ad hoc music by street artists.
I walked down Liverpool Street until I reached Darling Harbor (http://www.darlingharbour.com/). Darling Harbor appears to be a relatively newly built up area that includes shops, restaurants, a convention center, an IMAX theater and a harbor full of boats taking people to different sections of the larger Sydney Harbor. I took Pymont Bridge, a pedestrian bridge, back across the water and walked to George Street in the middle of the city. It had begun to sprinkle so I picked up the pace and walked down George Street and back to the hotel. This walk was probably north of four or five miles so I was ready for a rest before heading out on the town for dinner tonight. On my way back to the room I picked up information on a harbor cruise I want to take in the morning.
I woke up Thursday morning and looked out the window to see rain. This was not what I had hoped for given I had wanted to do a harbor cruise. I decided to get breakfast and see if it burned off. The hotel recommended a great place called The Bakers Oven. It is right in The Rocks so walk-able from the hotel and nearby to the Circular Quay, where I’d pick up the boat. They had a great courtyard covered with patio umbrellas so I could eat outside and read the paper. I managed to get through most of my eggs and fruit salad before a pesky bird swooped down and landed on my plate to help itself to eggs. It just sat there staring at me and pecking at my eggs!
I realized I was freezing cold sitting outside. I’d worn shorts and a short sleeve shirt, pretty much what I’d worn everyday of this trip so far. Problem was it was now unseasonably cool and only in the high 60s and a strong breeze was blowing. This certainly wouldn’t work for the boat. There was a later boat and I decided that between the weather and my clothing I would go on that one instead of the morning tour. I popped into some of the local Rocks stores and picked up some souvenirs. Back in the hotel I changed into jeans so I’d be a bit warmer as I walked around. A quick tour of the rest of The Rocks and I walked over to buy my boat ticket in the Circular Quay. After buying my ticket I stopped to listen to the Aborigines playing didgeridoos (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Didgeridoo) along the Quay. Those are the long tube looking wooden instruments and these guys were certainly dressed for the tourists in full paint like the Aborigines you’d expect to run into in the Outback. Pretty cool music. I had another hour or so and decided to get lunch. Stopping at Rocks Burger I was very tempted to get the Kanga Burger but wasn’t sure how Kangaroo meat would agree with me and given I’d be off on a boat ride shortly played it safe promising myself to go back and try one another day.
After my beef burger was devoured I walked back over to the Circular Quay and got on the Captain Cook Cruise boat and headed out into the harbour. The views were phenomenal almost immediately. We went right past the Sydney Opera House and sitting out on top of the boat provided ample opportunity for pictures. We had a great tour guide who told us about everything we saw for the next two and a half hours. The Sydney Harbour reminded me of several places combined. It had the city skyline of San Francisco, the more zig-zag coastline of Seattle and the houses of La Jolla. We got a great deal of insight into the residents of the Eastern suburbs including Russell Crowe, Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman, the Murdoch family, and other famous Australians (mostly footballers that us Americans don’t know). The houses were quite impressive and quite expensive, ranging from 15 to 50 million Australian dollars ($10 – 34 million US). As we made it further out in the harbor we started to see more rugged coastline and beaches. The beaches all had shark nets around them, not making me want to go swimming anytime soon…of course I did grow up in the Jaws generation. We got out to the Heads that is the entrance of the harbor from the Pacific Ocean. The water got a bit rough as we traveled along the South Head and we were all having fun on the top of the boat. The scenery was striking with huge cliffs you really felt like you were about to leave on a very long sea journey. We turned around in the Pacific and made our way back past the North Head. Back in the harbor we made our way along the Northern suburbs seeing more local beaches, old Navy gun posts and hearing stories of Japanese submarines coming into the harbor during WWII. Our cruise included afternoon tea and we all went down to grab Lambingtons, an Australian dessert cake, muffins and tea. Upon arriving back on the top deck we began to get mobbed by seagulls. They started diving on us trying to get at our food. Then the tour guide announced that we were in Middle Head and that the seagulls would be quite aggressive here…too late! Several people had abandoned their food and others were simply trying to get out of the way of a potential gift from the back of a seagull. There must have been fifty seagulls that we finally left behind as we finished our snacks. These Aussies really like their Lambingtons! After Middle Head we passed the Taronga Park Zoo and then went under the Sydney Harbour Bridge (http://www.sydneyharbourbridge.info/). Pulling back into Circular Quay we got last views from the water of the Sydney skyline.
After getting back to the hotel and warming up for a bit after a cold and windy boat ride I decided to walk around and find a place for dinner. I asked the concierge for a recommendation. He gave me a pub like place but I decided to keep looking as I wasn’t that hungry yet. This turned into an hour-long walk during which I passed several places and thought “I could eat there but I think I can find something better.” Each time I’d get to the next place I’d think “I should have stopped at that last place.” I’d walked down George Street and on the Pitt Street Mall, a pedestrian street, and then over to Elizabeth St. I was starting to get frustrated since I was now a long ways away from the recommended place. Then I happened upon a wine bar called Bambini Wine Room & Bar. It was right on the edge of Hyde Park and looked like a popular place. I walked in and sat at the bar. The bartenders were great and helped me to pick out a couple of Australian wines. I started out with a Patina Cabernet from the New South Wales area of Australia. Of course I bucked the trend and had seafood with my red wine. I had the most delicious salt and pepper calamari. From the cabernet I moved on to my favorite wine of the evening, a shiraz from the southern part of Australia. After a couple of glasses of the shiraz I had made friends with my bar neighbors and was “in” with the bartenders. From there I made my way back to the pub that was recommended and had a quick drink before heading back to the hotel for the night.
Friday I woke up quite late...guess the shiraz etc kept me in bed longer than anticipated! Today I wanted to go off to one of the beaches. I opened the curtains and saw that it was pouring down rain. I checked the weather forecast and it was scheduled to be a miserable day of rain and wind. That being the case I took my time getting ready and had some breakfast in my room. Once I got out of the room I thought it’d be a good day to do some souvenir shopping. I went on foot in the direction of Paddy’s Market. I’d heard this was a good place for trinkets. It was a bit further than I’d thought and after walking through part of the City and then Darling Harbour I was soaking wet, even with an umbrella. The wind was strong and the rain was largely blowing sideways rendering umbrellas useless. Once I got to Paddy’s Market I was a bit disappointed that this appeared to be like a flea market of sorts. Not exactly what I’d been thinking. I walked through pretty quickly and decided it wasn’t for me. I went out in search of a drier way back to The Rocks. I was lucky to nab a taxi and had the driver drop me off on George St in The Rocks. This area had lots of little shops and I was able to pick up some good items.
Back at the hotel I decided to dry off and have some down time. I watched a movie and relaxed for a bit, eating the lunch I’d bought on my way back to the hotel. At the end of a relaxing afternoon of watching the rainfall I decided I’d head out for some dinner. I got downstairs and walked outside into wind and rain that had both grown stronger. The winds were now at 50 kilometers per hour apparently. It felt like a mini-hurricane. So I turned around and went back into the hotel. I picked up some postcards and decided it would be a night in writing postcards, catching up on my blog and probably watching another movie. Tomorrow was supposed to be 31 Celsius (about 88 degrees) and windy. Today had topped out at 21 Celsius (just a shade under 70) so the temperature would be a great deal different. No rain was scheduled so I plan to get up early and head to Bondi beach (http://www.bondivillage.com/) and walk along the South Heads.
Saturday I woke up anxious for the sun to be shining and when I opened the curtains I was happy to see that it at least wasn’t raining. The sun wasn’t exactly radiating yet but it was clear that the rain had passed and the day would be totally different than the prior. I woke up today in a bit of a panic. I had watched too much news lately and had come to a realization that I have more unemployed friends than employed friends right now. I was, for the first time since I first left NASDAQ, in a panic about getting a new job. What would I do when I got to NY? How would I find a job when everyday I hear that another ten, twenty, fifty thousand people have lost their jobs in financial services? I tried to tell myself that I shouldn’t worry right now but I couldn’t shake the feeling. Sophia had spent her first two months at Credit Suisse laying people off and when I first started this blog the Dow was thousands of points higher than today. I hoped that a trip to the beach would set me back on the carefree course to which I’d grown accustomed as of late.
After getting ready pretty quickly I headed down to the lobby to get a taxi out to Bondi. On the way to Bondi I could see the eastern suburbs that I’d seen from the water vantage on my harbor cruise a few days ago. We finally crested a hill and came into the crescent shaped bay that makes up Bondi and its beach. I jumped out of the taxi and walked over to the Bondi Icebergs. These buildings and swimming pools (salt water comes over the edge into the pools from the ocean) are part of a members club that started similarly to the more common polar bear clubs around the world. The members are known to swim in the icy cold water during the Australian winter. Given how hot out it had gotten I wasn’t sure that was such a hardship…until I tested the water temperature. The water was freezing cold even in the height of the summer here in Sydney. I thought back to science classes and remembered that the ocean current would have water coming north from Antarctica and thus make the water cold probably year round.
I walked north from the Icebergs and got my feet into the sand on the beach. Partway through my walk along the beach I stopped at Lush on Bondi, an outdoor café for some breakfast. I enjoyed a long leisurely breakfast watching the surfers, joggers and other beach goers enjoying the day as it began to heat up with the sun finally making its way out of the clouds. After breakfast I finished up my walk of the beach. Along the way the lifeguards of Bondi Beach were testing out new recruits. These recruits were pushing themselves to the limits doing rescue tests in what appeared to be a pretty tough current. Boats were swarming around them to make sure that they did their job appropriately and then they were back on the beach doing running tests in the sand. It looked brutal and I was exhausted from watching so I sat down to take a load off!
After walking to the furthest reaches of Bondi, on the rocks that are to the north cliffs of Bondi, I turned and walked back on Campbell Parade. Campbell Parade is what I’d normally think of as a boardwalk and goes along the road in front of the beach. There are numerous shops, restaurants and surf shops lining the parade. After an ice-cream I walked back past the Icebergs to the cliffs on the south side of the beach. Bondi reminded me a bit of Santa Monica and Venice Beach combined…they even had their own version of muscle beach.
Once back in the city I stopped in Pitt Street Mall for some brief shopping and lunch. My new backpack that I’d bought because it had a great spot for my laptop had broken. Specifically the zipper to close the laptop spot had ripped apart so I needed a new bag. I’d been told to go to Myers on Pitt Street Mall. It was kind of like a Macy’s and I found bags but decided I would struggle through to Melbourne in hopes that it was a bit cheaper than Sydney that has a reputation for being quite expensive. I was happy to find a sandwich spot for lunch. Sandwiches aren’t a readily available lunch option in most places I’d traveled this time and I was craving turkey. Aussie food was a bit British…very heavy and greasy. I got a turkey sandwich on multi-grain bread with avocado! The Californian in me was jumping up and down.
The sun from walking around Bondi had taken it all out of me and I was ready for a nap. This had become one of my favorite things of being unemployed. A nap used to be such a luxury and I was enjoying the ability to take them more freely. I only fear that I have become very comfortable with afternoon naps and am not sure how that will go over with my next employer! I was happy that for the most part my morning anxiety about how I’d find my next employer had largely gone away after a day in the sun and warmth.
Saturday evening I decided I’d dine alfresco and found a place near the opera house called the Eastbank Café. It was full of people dressed for events at the opera house. One thing I like about Sydney is that even being dressed up feels a bit casual here. It is pretty laid back and I didn’t feel out of place sitting there in shorts and flip-flops. I enjoyed some calamari and a caprese salad as well as a Tooheys beer, local to Australia. I’d brought some reading material but found I couldn’t read anything because it was so windy. The wind had certainly picked up while I’d been napping. Napkins were blowing away and the occasional empty glass blew off a table and shattered on the concrete. Those women in dresses for the opera were holding onto them to ensure they didn’t expose more than they’d originally intended. After eating in the wind I had another ice-cream cone, sitting on the edge of the harbour.
Back at The Baker’s Oven for breakfast this Sunday morning, I had the paper, sun and good food to keep me there for an extended time. This time the weather was perfect for a relaxed outdoor meal. After enjoying Sunday morning I headed up the street to The Rocks Market (http://www.therocks.com/sydney-Shopping-The_Rocks_Market.htm), a market that takes over the oldest part of Sydney every weekend, closing down street traffic and opening up to pedestrians. There were lots of things to buy but more it was about enjoying people watching and browsing the stalls in the sun. Past the market I found the stairs leading to the Sydney Harbour Bridge. I decided I’d walk across the bridge so I could see the views. I had originally wanted to do the Bridge Climb but hadn’t realized it is a very organized tour that costs almost 200 Australian dollars! I decided a walk across the bridge would suffice. The weather today was absolutely perfect. It was like a great California day with warmth, sun and no humidity. The walk on the bridge proved worth it with views of the harbour, the Sydney Opera House and the city skyline.
Back at the hotel I paused to get some water and a coke in the lobby and then grabbed my sunglasses, a hat and some sunscreen so I could get on the Manly Ferry to go across the harbour to the suburb of Manly and its famous beach (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manly_Beach). The Manly Ferry runs very frequently out of Circular Quay, reminding me of the Staten Island Ferry except it takes you somewhere you really want to visit…sorry Staten Island! The half hour trip takes you past middle harbour and drops you off at Manly Cove. Everyone poured off of the boat and walked down the Corso, a pedestrian walkway between the cove and the more popular Manly Surf Beach. It was packed at the beach since it was Sunday and the weather was near perfect if not for a little bit of wind.
The Manly Parade or esplanade proved a fun place to walk and people watch. If Bondi was Santa Monica and Venice Beach, Manly was Santa Cruz. It was more down-to-earth, less glitz and lots of surfer types. There were tourists and locals and I could see the path heading south towards the North Head Sanctuary. I had read that I could hike through the sanctuary to the tip of the North Head (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_Heads) that counters the South Head to form the entrance to the Sydney Harbour. I picked up my pace when I got to the Manly Surf Pavilion. It was sponsored by KPMG, my old employer before I worked for NASDAQ. I guess you can sponsor pretty much anything these days but I felt no need to spend time thinking about KPMG so I got out of there quickly. While still on the esplanade I saw an iguana climbing on a rock. I was amazed to think that just half an hour ago I’d been looking at the swarms of people in the midst of the central business district of Sydney. The path kept winding upwards into the hill away from the beach and the masses of people kept getting smaller and smaller. Soon I found myself with no one else in sight as I climbed up rocks and tried to discern if I was still on the hiking path. The views got better and better as I turned and looked north past Manly onto various other beaches dotting the coastline. I finally got to the gatehouse of the actual sanctuary and was able to pick up a hiking map to get me going in the direction of the actual North Head. Now, this morning I didn’t shower…it is part vacation, part Sunday laziness and part that I knew I’d be hiking and figured I’d shower after. This was a big mistake apparently. There were so many flies on this walk and they all seemed to be interested in me. I was swatting and flailing my arms in all directions wishing I’d showered though I don’t think I’d have been much better off in reality.
The North Head was originally inhabited by Aborigines, was used as a quarantine place for passengers arriving in the new colony, and was the location of the army gunners during World War II. There were old gun and artillery buildings dotting the sanctuary. It reminded me a bit of the Marin Headlands in California just north of the Golden Gate Bridge. Every once in a while there was an observation point and I got views of the Pacific ocean, the city skyline and the beaches to the north of Manly. Looking out at the Pacific I really got a sense of the vastness of the ocean. For some reason it was like the feeling that is hard to describe but I have when I’m in a landlocked state. I don’t know what it is but I’m not as comfortable when I’m landlocked. In this case I had a similar feeling but that feeling was one of being on an island far away from everything. Australia is a huge island but boy does it feel small when you think about the vastness between it and anything else. The news this morning might have added to this strange intangible feeling. SkyNews had shown a story of an Italian man who last February launched a canoe in Peru and yesterday had been rescued fifty kilometers off of the coast of Australia. It got me thinking how long it would take me to flee Australia, as I’d fled Thailand, since I’d have to use a boat this time!
Leaving the sanctuary I kept my eyes open for the endangered Long-nosed Bandicoots. These are small mammals that are mostly nocturnal so I wasn’t lucky enough to spot one in the middle of this sunny day. I took a different route back to Manly Cove through the middle of Manly and saw some of the suburb on foot. I also got to see some of the cove as I hugged the coastline back towards the ferry. The ferry building had many food spots so I stopped for some sushi before jumping on the boat back to Circular Quay. The ride back was a bit chillier as the wind had begun to kick up again. Still there were a number of us that were like children just excited to be outside on a boat. Every once in a while the spray would come over the deck and everyone would scream as if it was the worst thing ever but in reality we loved every minute of it.
Tonight I’m packing up to check out and head to Melbourne tomorrow. I had a traditional Aussie dinner of meat and mushroom pie…not low-cal. Sydney has been a great experience with enough time to enjoy it on a leisurely schedule.
