Australia 9/2/2019 - 9/22/2019 |
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Monday, 9/9/2019 - Perth to SydneyWe woke up early and got dressed, and soon everyone was home from work. Sonam Choki made us a lovely breakfast sandwich: inside a bun was cheese, a slice of French toast, and sausage. Craig also had some ema dashi. Delicious as it is, it was too early in the morning for me to eat chili peppers.We said goodbye and thanks to Nim, who was heading off to school for the day. We had really enjoyed getting to know him, and we appreciate him opening his home to us and driving us around on day trips. The Sonams gave us a sweet thank you card. We are the ones who should be giving THEM a thank you card for their hospitality. It was so awesome to get to spend such quality time with them, exploring their adopted city together. We were all sad to be saying goodbye for now, but we know we will meet again soon! The Sonams drove us to the airport. We left the house at 8:30 and arrived at the airport 15 minutes later. The location of their house sure is convenient for traveling. We took some photos outside the airport and hugged one another goodbye. Craig and I checked in at Virgin Australia and went through security. There was absolutely no line. We bought a Perth magnet and some local sodas (Margaret River Berry Fusion) in a shop. As we sat at the gate, the Patriots opening game was going on. I checked the score on my phone and we were beating the Pittsburgh Steelers 20-0 at the half. The owners of the Patriots Sports Bar would be happy! Our flight to Sydney took off ontime at 10:45 a.m. The flight this direction was only 3 hours and 45 minutes long. Quite a difference than going westbound! We had cheesy veg lasagna and Coke. Flight attendant Sacha remembered us from last week and we had a nice chat with her. We saw two different rainbows from the window as we approached Sydney. The weather was certainly not sunny as it had been every day in Perth. After landing, we caught a ride in a "buggy" to the baggage claim area. We rode past gate 42, where we had sat waiting for our flight to Perth five days ago. We collected our luggage, and I was so relieved to see both bags emerge on the carousel! There was an incredibly fashionable LGBTQ person on our flight who was now at the baggage area. She (apologies in advance if I am inadvertently misgendering this person; I don't know how they identify and I am making an assumption based on the fact that they were presenting as female) was statuesque, with a blonde buzz cut, stunning make-up, a trench coat, and Adidas wedge heels. She took off the trench coat to reveal a red silk camisole, and tattoos covered her muscular back and shoulders. She pulled off her look perfectly. We couldn't help but stare; not in a negative way, but just because she looked like she belonged on the other kind of runway. I wrestled with whether to say something or not, and decided that I should...in case she had noticed us looking at her, I wanted to let her know that it was certainly not negative attention. I approached her and her two friends and said "Excuse me, but I just have to say how absolutely fierce you look." She seemed shy and thanked me, but her two friends were obviously thrilled. They clapped her on the back and said "See? That's what we've been saying!" We now had to make our way to our hotel near the city center. We had been advised by my friend and colleague Sue that at rush hour, it is better to take the train than to take a taxi. There is a train station within the airport, and you can purchase a ticket there. I bought our tickets via a kiosk and we didn't have to wait long before clean, modern train arrived and we boarded. Since it was rush hour, the train was very full. You enter onto a landing area and then either go up or down the stairs to the seating areas. We chose to go downstairs, where there were more seats available. The problem was that many people insisted on standing in the landing area, despite signage telling them not to. They stood there with wheeled suitcases next to them, and it was very difficult to make your way to the stairs, especially when we were carrying 2 backpacks, two duffel bags, and Craig was using his cane. We fought our way through and found two seats. The seats were cool in that you could change the direction they faced by adjusting the seatbacks. The female conductor made repeated frustrated announcements targeting the people standing on the landing. She said that it is the same thing every day at rush hour, that people insist on clogging the entrance/exit, and that they really need to move into the coach. Not a single person paid the announcement any heed. As the train approached the Museum stop, we fought our way to the exit. We got off the train and found our way up some flights of stairs to the station exit. We were feeling weighed down by the luggage and momentarily wished that we had wheeled suitcases rather than bulky duffels. We popped out on a street corner in twilight as it misted rain. It took a few minutes to get our bearings in terms of exactly where we were (well, it took Google maps a couple minutes to re-orient itself). We walked the few blocks to the Vibe Hotel Sydney. We checked in and got settled in room #503. The room was very comfortable and spacious, furnished in a minimalist style. We emerged from the hotel lobby and saw the adorable Martin Luther Kirche (a German Evangelican Lutheran church dating back to 1881) directly across from us. We weren't sure what to do for dinner, and the weather wasn't particularly conducive to wandering far. We walked up the street and looked at menus for various restaurants. Most were too fancy, offering multi-course pre fixe meals at expensive prices. We wanted something low key and reasonably priced. About a block away from our hotel we found the quirky Hotel Harry, a building dating back to 1912 which houses the titular hotel as well as a pub called Harpoon Harry's. We looked at the menu and peeked into the window, deciding that this was exactly what we wanted. There were black and white portraits of bluesmen including Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker hanging next to our table, beside paintings of the Virgin Mary and the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Other ambiance made you feel like you were in a slightly faded Cuban establishment, with fresco-like murals of the Cuban flag, cigars, and flamenco dancers. There was even signage for the "baños." Architectural details included dark woodwork and leaded glass panels and tarnished brass chandeliers. Throw in some random neon lights and it was delightfully incongruous. The menu here was the first time we had some language confusion. I laughed that I had to look a few things up on Google. What is a beer "tinny"? Oh, a (tin) can! That should have been obvious, but when first confronted with it on a menu, I was just confused. Anyway, I had a Young Henry's Cloudy Cider tinny and Craig had a Coopers Best Extra Stout. Also, what was a "schnitty?" Schnitzel. Everything has a diminutive nickname in Australia, er, Oz. As with many pubs in Australia, you order and pay at the bar, they give you a number to put on your table, and they deliver the food when it is ready. In this case, the table number was on a large block of wood, about the size of a brick. I had an interesting time juggling that along with our drinks when I returned to the table! We each had a "crumbed eggplant schnitty" (breaded eggplant patty) with grilled haloumi cheese, lettuce, tomato, charred onions, pickles, and aioli on a bun served with shoestring fries. It really hit the spot. We had some more drinks, and then walked back to the hotel to call it a night. Tomorrow we will be meeting up with two different friends to explore Sydney! |
 Until next time #5mins  Rainbows welcome us to Sydney  Vibe Hotel Sydney  Hotel Harry  Harpoon Harry's See all photos from September 9 |
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