Suburban Sydney
Trip Start
Aug 22, 2005
1
46
48
Trip End
Jul 17, 2006
Sydney, Australia
Friday, July 7, 2006
I arrived at Sydney central station on the overnight greyhound bus from Melbourne and called Tony who instructed me to hop on a train to the suburbs of Dulwich Hill. Their house was only a short walk from the station, which made it an ideal base for trips into the city. Dulwich Hill was a tranquil refuge from the huge and sprawling chaos of central Sydney, and Tony and Is made me feel completely at home in their pretty house which, filled with travel memorabilia, belied a potent spirit of wanderlust among its occupants. In fact, the third housemate was heading to Europe for five weeks, so I was upgraded from sofa to my own room. Thanks Laura!
With only three days in Sydney (imagine doing London justice in three days), I was more than happy to see the city through the eyes of its inhabitants. Isobel was at work when I arrived so Tony, still enjoying the liberty of being a student, hung out with me for the day. He showed me around the local area and then drove us out to Bondi Beach to watch the surfers and take a clifftop stroll. Fortunately Tony is a patient person, as I must have stopped countless times to take photos and holler "It's Bondi baby!" to noone in particular. We met Isobel after she finished work in trendy Glebe for a chai latte (apparently the vogue drink of the moment, which we drank by the gallon in India). She seemed a bit down about getting stuck back in the work routine, and I sensed that my presecne was giving both her and Tony itchy feet. We discussed the plan for Friday night: first we were on the guestlist for the Kid Confuscius gig in Newtown (Laura used to go out with a member of the support band, Rastawookie), followed by another guestlist at the World Bar in Kings Cross (Tony's friends were DJ-ing in the breakbeat room).
With such a big night to come, we took it easy that night first enjoying a yummy seafood laksa (Malay soup) at the Old Fitzroy in Woolloomooloo (remembered by: sheep, toilet, cow, toilet), washed down with a pot of "Little Creatures", recommended to me as the best pale ale in the world. We finished the evening watching Superman Returns which was better than expected. I spent Friday morning at the National Gallery with Brooke, a girl from Perth who used to work with me at the Zodiac in Oxford. How crazy that we were both in Sydney at the same time!? Over coffee and cake we chatted about living and working abroad and she gave me some advice on getting in touch with my creative side. The afternoon was dedicated to sightseeing: taking a stroll through the Botanic Gardens and on to the impressive Opera House and Harbour Bridge, where I stayed until dusk. The gig was lots of fun, the band approximating a more soulful Rage Against the Machine, and I felt like I was sixteen again drinking pints from plastic cups. The train ride and walk to Kings Cross sobered me up a bit, which was a shame given the extortionate drinks prices at the World Bar. I had expected a serious club, but it was more of a music bar filled with pissed-up young backpackers. The upstairs electronica room was good fun though and I danced my ass off until late.
After a good sleep-in the next morning I found myself wandering around Darling Harbour looking for somewhere with a good atmosphere to watch the afternoon's Bledisloe Cup rugby game. I wasn't impressed, finding it very touristy and plastic, and got away from there as soon as possible. I ended up watching the game in a cheap and tacky city centre bar, feeling that I would have been better spending the day with Isobel and her friends playing crown green bowls and watching the game in the clubhouse. I made my trip into the city worthwhile by checking out the ANZAC memorial and some cathedrals and old administrative buildings. The final evening was spent with my hosts watching a dvd of short films from a festival which happened earlier in the year. To say thankyou I presented Tony and Is with the Mylo album (still spreading the gospel) but I can only truly repay them by offering them a place to stay in London. Once I find one myself that is!
