Sydney Musings

To cut a long story short, we were supposed to spend a week in Sydney and a few days camping/trekking around Ayers Rock and Alice Springs. But Qantas had other ideas, grounding our flight to Alice Springs and striking for three days. The good news was, that gave us almost two weeks in Sydney, which we have really enjoyed. (And some of it will be paid for by Qantas - silver linings and all that!)

So with plenty of time to explore Sydney, we've been able to take it easy. We've spent lots of time chilling out in the sun in parks and at beaches and have read lots of books/newspapers and struggled with many crosswords!The Botanic Gardens (with views over the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House) has been one of our favourite haunts. Haunts being the operative word, as loads of bats live there, hanging out (tee hee) in the trees near the cafe (presumably handy for ransacking bins at night). The gardens are lovely - very peaceful as there's acres of space for everyone and the views over the city skyline and the harbour are wonderful. We went to see Don Giovanni at the Opera House and, thanks to the subtitles and synopsis, enjoyed it very much (though inevitably Joss dozed off for a short while - the songs did slightly blur in to one towards the end of a long first act).

Sydney boasts almost one hundred beaches and we've been to several during our stay. All were lovely and we have major beach envy (London - you really fall behind in the beach stakes!). Bondi is probably the biggest and busiest but as it's spring (still 28 degrees and sunny though) and we've been on week days, there has still been plenty of space. Bronte is quieter, prettier and has a fantastic sea water pool looking out over the beach. Palm beach has amazing soft sand and a back drop of pine trees. It is also where they film Home and Away (Summer Bay) and the surf club in the TV show is a real surf club that properly saves lives and everything. Pretty cool!

With time on our hands, we've been able to explore the suburbs of Sydney too, full of quirky, arty shops, second hand book stores, little cafes and excellent cheap eats. Speaking of which, we have eaten A LOT in Sydney. The food is very good and we've frequented a couple of our favourite places several times - a trattoria in Bondi, a pizzeria in the The Rocks (the old town) a cosy pub with an excellent beer garden, a chocolate shop selling divine desserts...and many more besides. Oh dear, we will both be on strict wedding diets when we get home!

And the indulgence doesn't end there, as we also took a day trip to the Hunter Valley wine region and sampled so many different wines that we could barely tell our *rse from our elbow by the end, let alone distinguish between an excellent vintage and an even better one. Undetered by our sullied palettes, we purchased several bottles and some cheese and crackers from the nearby cheesery, all of which have been consumed in our hotel room, either as an aperitif before going out for dinner or as a midnight feast afterwards!

After much uncertainty about our onward flight into flooded Bangkok, we leave in two days time (keep your fingers crossed for us!). Hopefully we'll avoid the crocodiles on the streets and make it across the border to Cambodia for the next leg of our trip!

Joss