Our flights (UA95 EWR-SFO, UA863 SFO-SYD) were uneventful compared to our usual experience (that would be missing our connection and staying a night in SFO). We did have to run from Gate 69 to 102, but all that rushing turned out to be unnecessary as many others were in our same boat. In any case, the pilot had to taxi back to the gate because of an unusual noise that came from the wheel wells. We took off a bit late and got in about two hours behind schedule. The plane was packed, the family (of 3) next to me missed their previous days flight by a few minutes, so they were unhappy campers. Immigration was quite efficient, the usual long lines early in the day had thinned out by the time we got in.
We stayed at the Holiday Inn in Chinatown for one night, and for a week at a Walsh Bay apartment, our last night was at 58 Jennings. Walsh Bay was a three-bedroom deal, although Tim and Alyson stayed in the same room because the third bedroom was quite warm, the airconditioning seemed to have run out of steam (or cold air) by the time it reached that room. The apartment has a nice view of the piers and a row of boats, it is a bit noisy from the restaurants on weekends, and in our unanimous judgment not worth the AUD 1.5M (or more), although the daily rent at AUD325 a day seems very reasonable.
Walsh Bay. We stayed at one of the Wharf apartments.
A bunch of us inside the rented apartment.
We got to see our nephews and niece (and their children) on many occasions, usually around a restaurant table. It will again take quite a bit of dieting to reduce the effect ot the past week. While the Australian economy may not be as hard hit as the US's, the level of service at many restaurants seems to have deteriorated quite a bit. We were joking at the rate we eliminated them, there would be very few left to go to in no time.
Some of the restaurants that we ate at: Zilver; Shanghai Tang; an Italian Restaurant (La Spiaggia) in Coogee; Kam Fook in Chatswood; The Living Room (Indonesian fusion) in Walsh Bay; Danny's Seafood in Le Perouse; take out from Chinese restaurant across the street from Walsh Bay; East Garden in Maroubra; the Imperial Peking (dim sum, twice) at the Souths Juniors Club in Kingsford, lunch at “The Catch” at the Spit, take outs (twice) from the Fish Market; and others I forget at the moment. We didn't have as many pies as we would like, though.
Anne & I bought day-tripper tickets for a couple of days and just went on many ferry, bus, and train rides. I find Sydney Harbor ferry rides enjoyable and don't mind doing them over and over again. Only exception was the trip to Parramatta, it was a hot day (as was most days during our visit) and the boat wasn't air-conditioned. Low-tide made the return trip not possible, so we took the train instead.
Manly Beach. A short walk away is Shelley Beach which is much calmer.
The Gap Park next to Watson Bay, Sydney skyline in the background.
On Tuesday we rented a Benneteau 341 for a day. Tim, Alyson, Alfred, Naomi, Toby and I were not going to be sailor that day as it was raining. We went around (about 30 miles) using the small motor on the sailboat. We first tried to dock at Watson Bay for lunch but failed, Alfred and I did manage to get off at the Fish Market and bought takeout which we ate while anchored in the nearby harbor. The weather eventually cleared up, but we were in no mood to hoist the sail at that point.
On Friday Tim, Alyson, Anne and I drove up to the towns of Berowra Waters and Brooklyn on the Hawkesbury River. We rented a small dinghy (with a 6 hp motor) and bought some fishing gear so Alyson could try to catch some fish, unfortunately to no avail. (Alyson did catch a rather large bream off a pier the next day, which Anne cleaned, we each had a mouthful of the steamed fish.) It was a very quiet area, and we got a bit of sun despite the suntan lotion we put on. There is this Inn well-known for its AUD200 tasting menu lunch that lasts four hours. We were not in the mood for such an exquisite experience, so we ate at the cafe at the Marina instead. We also shared a dozen oysters from a road-side restaurant in Brooklyn, I am glad we ordered the Mornays so we didn't have to worry so much about cleanliness. We got back in time to have (take-out) dinner and then catch the Magic Flute at the Opera House. It's a good 30 minute walk each way.
At the Marina in Berowra Waters. Notice the (free) ferry behind us.
On Saturday Anne and I drove to Curl Curl (one of the many beaches north of Manly) by way of the Spit, which crosses the Middle Harbor. Point Grotto Lighthouse provides a great view of the Middle and Sydney Harbors, the North and South Heads, and the open (Pacific) ocean. The waters were full of all kinds of boats, mostly under sail. We also passed by some aboriginal carvings along the way. The descriptions were sparse, bordering on useless, though.
The Sydney Harbor is very busy on a weekend. Most of the boats are sailboats.
Neck and neck.
Sunday Anne and I went to church (Praise Evangelical Free) in Matraville, we were a bit late. We went to Susanna's house in the late afternoon, and then it was to – you guessed it – dinner again.
On Monday Anne and I went to explore another Hawkesbury town: Windsor. There wasn't much to see, so we decided to drive to Katoomba and visit the Three Sisters. Australia has spent a lot of funds on improving their roads, so the trip out was quick. We stopped by Leura (town just before Katoomba) and visited Sublime Point. Turns out one can get a good view of the Three Sisters from a distance from that location. Anne hadn't been to the area for a while, and she was quite impressed with how much it has changed. We walked down to the first sister (she doesn't look nearly as good close up) and took the cable tramway built at a cost of AUD $12M a few years ago. We racked up about 250 km on the car that day, zipped through quite a few toll roads (hopefully the tolls get paid), and got back in time to return the car and went to dinner.
View of The Three Sisters from Sublime Point.
Returning from a visit to the First Sister.
We are told these Katoomba Falls look more impressive after heavy rain.
I am on UA870 SYD-SFO as I type this. We should get in a bit ahead of schedule. Plane load is moderate, Anne has 3 seats to herself. I just got handed an amenities kit as the flight attendant recognized me as a million-miler on United.
Due to a snowstorm on the East coast, the early flight UA90 SFO-EWR was delayed for 3 hours, so we managed to catch it and got home a couple of hours early. There were a couple of inches of snow on the ground when we arrived.
