Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
We took stock and decided to treat our involuntary sojourn in Sydney as the longest housesit on record... with the most comfortable bed and fabulous owners. Obviously we need to focus periodically on sorting, making space, offloading unnecessary stuff from our apartment (not something regularly done on a housesit), but essentially we're going to focus on outings, fun and pretending that very Parisienne Potts Point is, in fact, Paris.
In the usual course of events we potter to and from the city and/or around our local neighbourhood with a focus on taking at least 10,000 steps every day and an average of 70,000 steps in a week. We have our haunts - a local sushi joint that knocks 30% off at 5.30 pm (just in time for dinner really), a couple of dollars into the machines at a posh pokie-den in the city (lovely coffees and nibblies included), a hike in to Paddy's Market for all our fresh fruit and veges (and a bus home).
That be 'ordinary' and not a bad ordinary either at the moment given where the world stands with, well, the end of the world. But we want more - heck - we invented the concept - we want extra-ordinary. Our first outing was necessitated by the imminent expiration of some Expedia loyalty points. They were worth about $13 and in the usual course, we didn't think it would go far on Expedia - not realising they had an 'activities' option. So we had a look and decided to visit Sydney's Chinese Garden of Friendship down in Darling Harbour. With our points credit the two tickets only set us back $3 odd. Bargain. We moved to Sydney 26 odd years ago and had never gotten around to visiting. Sunday 18 April turned out to be the day. We were almost the first through the doors when it opened at 10 am - Sunday is yum cha day in Sydney and apparently it gets crowded very quickly. Lucky we planned ahead as there we 8 in front of us and seemingly 50 behind us before the front doors stopped creaking. It has cooled down a little in the last couple of days and we appreciated our jackets for the first time in a long time as we took in the tranquility of it all. We were positively zen like after an hour or so and wandered through the Darling Harbour precinct (so different!) before picking up some fresh food at Paddy's and bussing home.
With the weather finally recognising and exhibiting the faintest of changes in the seasons, it was officially time to change out the wardrobes, catch up on mending and hand-washing and eventually I packed away 80% of my summer clothes and gave winter the priority in our limited wardrobe space. This is obviously Sydney and 'winter' is a relative term, so I kept 20% of my summer clothes out for the inevitable 28 degree days in late May and early June.
One of the additional benefits of an extended (and ex- ex- ex-tended) period in one spot, is the ability to get on top of niggling health concerns. We keep astoundingly healthy when we're on the road by virtue of twice yearly / north & south flu vaccinations, keeping all our regular vaccinations up - typhoid for instance was having a small outbreak last time we were in Dublin - so it was an opportune moment for the coming-due booster, annual blood tests & check-up wherever we are and of course, brushing and flossing. This leaves the occasional long term niggly stuff that we just live with. Our current GP (fancy - actually seeing the same Doctor more than once), recommended James get an ultrasound cortisone shot into a vintage shoulder problem area - Jeeze - we're in the wrong business! Rang the local imaging joint - that'll be $190... rang another joint - 'yep - gonna cost you' then rang a local private hospital who actually put us onto a clinic an easy bus ride away who bulk-billed - so free! Last time James got this shoulder issue sorted was when he slipped and fell down a wet bank of grass on the Gold Coast in 2017 and felt old scar tissue rip open internally... but that can't be done reliably or readily, so we jumped on the bus for an outing to Maroubra. Not surprisingly the clinic was very, very busy. Done and dusted and back to the 'hood for just the cost of an off-peak bus fare.
We have a long standing tradition of thinking that a birthday is just a day... not really enough in the scheme of things. So we traditionally celebrate birthday-month instead. Since we were almost through April and my birthday month was almost upon us, I starting entering the ticket lottery for heavily discounted tickets to 'Frozen', the Broadway musical. It has been so long since we went to a show, that we actually had to think about it - turns out it was December 2019 BC (before Covid, AKA 'the before times'), in Paris and the show was 'An American in Paris' at the Chatelet Theatre. Those were the days. We were very fortunate and were allocated lottery tickets - off to the Capitol Theatre on 5 May. Yippee!
Our success in the lottery tix for Frozen inspired us. That and every night at 7.45 pm we could hear the fireworks over Sydney Harbour for the opera La Traviata. We'd even pottered down to the local viewpoint and seen the fireworks in the far distance. Sigh... So on Saturday morning, 24 April, I sat poised, like a rattlesnake with a coffee, to get rush tickets to the same day performance of the opera. It was actually the second to last night of the performance, so not quite now or never... but very close. The rush seats opened on the dot of 9 am and for the first 11 minutes there was no luck - but persistence paid off and eventually we were rewarded with 2 seats for the phenomenal price of $90. To put that into perspective, the cheapest D reserve seats for the show would have been around $250. So we were well ahead of the game and we'd only just started the day. (Featured photo today was taken next to the stage, looking over to the Opera House.)
We have never been to one of these opera extravaganzas in the open air but figured 'gussied up' was a minimum dress standard and definitely wraps and coats. The evenings are getting cooler and would no doubt be even cooler still down on the water. We walked into the city and meandered our way to the box office at Fleet Steps to find we'd been allocated prime A reserve seats - think $335 each odd. So $670 if we'd paid for them - which presumably some of the patrons did. The show goes on rain or shine but luckily for us it was a crisp and clear night with a gentle though chilly breeze. The staging and grandstand seating was beyond professional - if you didn't know it only ran for a month, you'd think Sydney had a permanent outdoor venue on this spot. The opera is set in Paris (and sung in Italian). Luckily the subtitles were in English... last time we saw this opera it was in Bucharest, Romania and the surtitles were in Romanian - not so easy to follow. We had an utterly fabulisimo night - the showpiece chandelier was an extravaganza - 3.5 tonnes, 10,000 crystals and used to great effect throughout the show. Whilst the whole evening was incredible, the highlight was 15 minutes into the show at the end of Violetta's party in Paris when there was a short but mind-blowing fireworks display over the harbour - it's been so long since we've seen fireworks and it was so beautiful - I had tears running down my face. James reckons I'd go to the opening of an envelope at the moment, this was a very posh envelope indeed.
We discovered the day after our opera on the harbour outing that we are seriously lacking in the 'night time outing' fitness department. We did walk 40 minutes or more each way and it was a chilly night, but seems we need to get some more training in. To that end, we have entries in the $10 ticket lottery for Hamilton. No luck yet with this weekly endeavour, but in the immortal words of George Michael - You gotta have Faith.
With a view to getting out and about, we had hoped to see the dinosaur exhibivioun at the Australian Museum - but missed it due to the northern beaches outbreak over Christmas (minimise outings orders were given) and also due to the extended stay in the Blue Mountains. We did see an enormous dinosaur skeleton in Dubai one year on a stopover - so don't feel too sorry for ourselves. We decided to hit the museum anyway as there was a super exhibition of the Australian Wildlife photography finalists - just wow. Some very clever people out there. It was only my second visit to the museum (first in 1995) and James's first visit ever. The best bit? The original museum hall from the 1800s with the curiosities of the world. All very 'Night at the Museum'.
Getting up to speed in the health department is taking a bit of effort and expense, but is well worth it and very swings and roundabouts - bulk billed ultrasound and cortisone on Wednesday (bless!) then a crown for James at our lovely dentist in the city on Thursday. Two hours in the chair... brrrr. I was just watching and it was not a pleasant experience.
We are ecstatic to announce it is finally Autumn. The leaves in the streets are testament but so too are the cooling days and quiltable nights - highs reaching 20-21 degrees and 10-13 degrees over night - just lovely to live in these temperatures. Also fine - been dry for a while - since the big rains just a month ago. We particularly enjoy the cool days and lower humidity - it'll be another month until the weather is genuinely cool, but it's nice to have a start. There has certainly been a rush on heater deliveries in our local neighbourhood - saw two come to our building and several empty heater boxes around the 'hood. (Not to mention fans being thrown out - presume they will take up valuable floor space for two or three months until the warm weather returns - such a disposable society).
The memorable moments that knit together into our daily existence rarely (if ever...) make the news and that is a good thing. Thank god candid camera isn't a thing... and luckily no one was videoing with their phone, but our evening walk saw me screaming like a girl as we walked down a street we have walked down many times before. We happened to be on the opposite side of this side street, just around the corner from a relatively pricey restaurant. We saw a chihuahua of reasonable size (think Fawlty Towers, Manuel and his new pet and Basil screaming 'It's a rat!'). So this 'chihuahua' ran ahead of us and under a parked car. I thought - best to cross to other side of the road so I took two more steps then turned to cross the road between a gap in the cars. Just then the zippy rat's best mate caught up to him, ran up my leg to almost my knee then skitterered down and over my other foot (in Birkenstock sandals of course... couldn't have been wearing boots... oh no). Squealing and jumping ensued - these 'chihuahuas' were massive - with only the tiniest bit of exaggeration, possibly a foot long from tail to tip. The feel of nasty little footprints and its scaly tail slithering stayed wtih me for at least the couple of of hours that it took my heart rate to return to normal. Don't like rodents, not even a little bit. I house sat a chinchilla and a rabbit once - or as I affectionately knew them then, Fur Coat 1 and Fur Coat 2. I am very fond of Chinchillas - but definitely only in the wearable sense.
May has arrived. Seems incredible to think that when we returned to Australia in March 2020 we thought a six month lease was a silly idea and surely it (Covid) would be well over and dealt with by mid 2020. Or late 2020. Or certainly March 2021. Surely? But no, here we are, 14 months in and becoming resigned (albeit kicking and screaming) to it being a problem for a lot longer.
Keeping on keeping on is a tiresome business when the government seems to be meandering along without a care in the world. Complacency is rife and so many people who could be and should be vaccinated aren't due to there being 'no covid in the community'. So we kept on and having been talking about fabulous galleries we've visited over the years... went for a visit to the Art Gallery of NSW. Needs must and all that. Some old favourites getting older and some new additions to the collection. It was a sunny, fresh day and (because we could) we popped into St Mary's Cathedral for a looksee on the way home. It's been years since we've been in and it is truly a beautiful structure. We had a laugh at the holy water font that they've emptied it to reduce the risk of the spread of Covid. Seriously. If it can't beat a little virus, what use is it.
Weekends don't mean much these days. But Mondays still send a tiny chill up our spines. Monday 3rd saw a long running mystery solved. Since our time in Queensland my previously cast iron constitution has been kicking up squalls of acid periodically. Highly unusual and exceedingly unpleasant. Test results were in and it was confirmed I'd picked up helico-bacter. James had it years ago and was treated - his test was clear. Me? Massive cocktail of horse size pills and antibiotics for a week, and in four weeks time another test and we'll know if it's been fixed. Ridiculous that I've been all over the damn world and a bacteria gets to me in Queensland.
Started said cocktail of medication on the Tuesday. Lucky I believe in medical science because the first couple of days were diabolically painful and unpleasant. Really dang nasty. The cure might actually, possibly, be worse than the disease. Started to think since it's been hanging around for 6-9 months that another two days wait wouldn't have killed me rather than feeling rubbish for our trip to Frozen.
Rather excitingly it rained on Tuesday, actual rain which was very pleasant for a change of scenery. It ended up being quite wild and woolly when we headed out on Wednesday evening for our big (huge!) outing to 'Frozen' the broadway musical at Capitol Theatre. We had a Groupon tucked away for an early bird feast at the British & Colonial Indian joint on the way to town. It was a fabulous dinner - but there simply wasn't enough time or empty tummy to finish it. (Wonderful fellow packed it up and tucked it in the fridge - so we picked it up at the end of the evening.) We zipped away at 6.00 pm and made it to the theatre around 6.30 pm. We asked nicely and had our 'near the end of the second row' Dress circle seats upgraded to the centre of the row - just incredible. Everything about the show was magical - we loved the whole shebang - staging, production, lighting, acoustics, singing, dancing, costume - the works. The 'ice' scenery was astounding and the 'Hygge' scene was absolutely hilarious. Rather like the fireworks at the opera on the harbour... the icing on the cake was the 'snow' exploding down from the ceiling at the finale. We had a ball - can only imagine it would have been a life changing show for the many little girls dressed as princesses.
Birthday month thus got off to a great start. We obviously would go to the opening of an envelope for entertainment right now - and all the outings this past few weeks far exceeded our expectations. May the good times roll.
- comments