Day 3: Sydney

The training was held at the Sydney Masonic Centre, just a waltz down Goulburn St. It was nice not having to commute 2 whole hours to work. I checked out and left my bag with reception.

It finished at 1pm or so. My flight was at 4.55pm so I headed to Circular Quay to do the tourist thing. It was getting pretty warm so I stopped at Anderson's to get a hazelnut ice cream cone. I paid quick homage to the Opera House, whose steps were crowded with visitors squinting their eyes in the afternoon sun as they held poses whilst makeshift photographers fumbled with gadget buttons.

The Botanic Gardens served a pleasant enough walk. I wandered about the pathways, admiring the vegetation. If you haven't ever been there, look out for the bats. Guano on your head wouldn't be how you want to remember your vacation.





I kept walking past the ducks, cranes and ibises towards The Domain. Springtime, you might spot a flock of noisy cockatoos. The birds are inured to human presence and so long as you keep your movements steady, won't fly away.

I passed St Mary's Cathedral on College Rd (strange name, considering how there are no colleges there).

I got back to the hotel about an hour and half before my flight and after a minor heart attack thanks to the hotel's reception (they misplaced my bag again), patiently sat at the lobby awaiting for the airport transfer van. For those who wish to use this service ($12), as opposed to the Airlink ($14.60), I'd suggest you give plenty of leeway, timewise. These vans cruise around the entire city, checking out hotel by hotel for customers. Although it was fun for me as it covered parts of the city I hadn't checked out, I did nearly miss my flight. To his credit though, the driver noticed my panic and sped up to get me there in time.

One of the highlights of my trip was the hour long conversation I had with two delightful people on the plane. We talked about everything under the sun, about books, racism, about how Gold Coast was really a town masquerading as a city, about how Sydney folk were heaps more friendly than their Queensland counterparts (very very true) etc. They were Russian/ Polish "relatives" (they wouldn't tell me how they were related), who had resided on the Coast for twenty years or so. We're supposed to meet up for dinner this week.

Sydney was great fun, but it's an expensive city. I wouldn't choose to live there unless I was earning at least double of what I'm getting now. The rich areas are lovely, but there appears to be no in-between. It's either gorgeous or really crappy.

At the end of the day, I was just glad to be home in X's arms again.