Phileas Fogg may have made it all the way around the world in this time, but I was happy with just half-way as I landed at Sydney airport and viewed my first sunlight in two days. I dedicated the next week to rest, relaxation and catching up with people/Masterchef/music/re-watching the entire Peep Show collection.
I spent this week staying with my sister who lives in a stunning house in Randwick in Sydney with my future brother-in-law Graham and their son Oscar who is one-and-a-half. For the first time in so long I had a room entirely to myself and my bathroom had the blessed trinity of water that was hot, came out at high pressure and doesn't give you cholera when you accidentally swallow a bit. These were happy times.
The Food
Having a well-stocked kitchen I enjoyed a return to cooking for myself. I attempted to recreate my grandfather's chicken soup, made some delicious pommes boulangeres and of course found the time for endless risottos.
Eating out:
(crab claws)
(octopus salad)
(David Jones chocolate-covered strawberries)
In addition, harbouring very pleasant memories of my last visit three years ago, we headed to Trio in Bondi for one of the world's best breakfasts. I had poached eggs with truffle oil on olive sourdough, served with char-grilled haloumi, crispy pancetta, semi-dried tomatoes, spinach & chorizo. Phwoar!
Sight-seeing
The current downside of visiting Australia though is that the exchange rate is abysmal. Australia is only the second place in the world I have been where things are more expensive than London and my goodness are they more expensive. For example, a normal chocolate bar (Cherry Ripe) costs nearly two pounds, a ten minute taxi ride cost me over thirty pounds and a small Peroni in the most unpretentious pub cost me six pounds. The result was that I tended to confine my activities to the free ones. It also helped that the late Autumn weather in Sydney was amazing - every single day boasted blue skies and warm enough temperatures to get away with T-shirts and shorts.
I had a good walk around town. In one amazing spot you can spin round and see the Central Business District, the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House.
The Botanical Gardens afforded great views of the city.
The Bondi-Coogee walk along the city's Eastern beaches made me fall in love with Sydney.
However, every time though that you begin to think Australia is a Western country just like any other there are little reminders that it really is just a foreign import clinging to the edges of tropical jungle and bush.
(look at the size of this bird)
(the omnipresent cockatoos)
(bats in the trees)
Nights out
Due to my staying with the family and the exchange rate there were not too many of these, but I did manage to head to the pub a few times and meet up with a few Australian friends. Continuing a theme of this trip, a group of us entered a pub quiz one night and won. In a charming return to my roots we drank our winnings (a case of beer) in the middle of a roundabout and were eventually told to move on by the police. When in Rome ...
Incidentally nearly every night people were talking about this new Australian craze of 'planking', i.e. lying down like a plank in unusual places. It has turned deadly though as a number of people have now died in the act. See more here .
Conclusion
As you can see there were no great adventures this week, but it was vitally important in recharging my batteries and giving me the enthusiasm to continue. On day 88 I grabbed a flight to Bali in Indonesia to continue the travels (and incidentally attend my sister's wedding).
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