Sydney is HUMID! We had forgotten just how much moisture is in the air in Sydney at this time of the year. It was 29°C when we landed yesterday and my shirt was soon soaked through and sweat was tricking out of my hair. Most uncomfortable.
The day hadn’t started off too well. It was raining heavily all over Victoria and although Melbourne was not so badly hit, nevertheless there was a fair bit of rain and the consequent traffic hold-ups. With a little more than 45 minutes before the limo arrived to pick us up (we always use a limo for airport transfers because taxis are so unreliable out in the suburbs – the limo costs about $10 more but is well worth the difference.) Nick, the owner/driver called and said he thought we should leave 15 minutes early to make up for estimated time lost. No worries there and we were ready for him BUT I hadn’t carried out my normal final check and it was a bit of a last minute rush as I had to move some of Rab’s goods out of her overweight suitcase into my slimmer one. SO…….as we bowled down the freeway commenting on how much traffic there was, I realized that I had left my glasses at home!! OMG! Off we went and headed home, finally departing at the original pick-up time. And the traffic was heavy. Using all his wiles, Nick took back roads and bye-ways and we finally got to the airport just about 15 minutes later than we had planned to do so, but well within check-in time. We’ve always had the view that we’d rather sit for an extra hour in the departure lounge than watch our aircraft take off without us because we were a minute or two late.
We haven’t flown on a domestic service for many years – Rab says 10, I say about 7 – because we have boarded International flights in Melbourne. So it was a bit of a shock to find that the check in desk is a thing of the past! We stood like a couple of yokels wondering where to go until I went up to a pleasant looking member of staff and asked him where to check in. “Right here”, he said, gesturing to a pillar coming out of the floor – one of a forest of similar pillars. Leading me around to the back, I saw there was a screen and he showed me how to use it! Minutes later we had boarding passes and bag tags printed. A few steps away was the weighing/loading machine, so after attaching our bag tags we loaded the bags on the scales – and that was that. I realize that many reading this will say “Geez nothing fancy about that, we’ve been doing it for years.”, but it was very interesting for us.
The Business Class lounge seemed a bit downmarket and run down compared to the lounges we remembered from the past and in comparison to International Lounges, but there was plenty of room, food and drink plus workstations etc. Getting to the aircraft itself showed up some design issues for anyone with any kind of walking disability – and I’m very much more aware of that because Rab’s knee joints are playing up. But we got there OK and settled in to seats that again were not as comfortable as we recalled. The tucker was excellent though and we managed to get the meal served and eaten despite some pretty bumpy weather as we overflew the storms that were flooding towns below. Of course Sydney airport has expanded considerably over our ‘missing’ years and it is a pretty good looking place with good design features. The taxi ranks are well controlled and we didn’t have to wait too long before we were off to the hotel.
The road system which was upgraded for the 2001 Olympics means a very much quicker journey into town than in the old days – although the taxi fare remains about the same at $45 and we were soon at The Rocks where we were spending the night at the Four Seasons with a harbour view room. We have stayed at the Park Hyatt on many occasions when visiting Sydney because it has a terrific magnificent location snuggled under the Sydney Harbour Bridge and directly opposite the Opera House, but their tariffs are sky high and there is no discounting. We got a reasonable discount from Four Seasons, so settled for that. 
We were on the eighth floor and although we had a good overview of the scurrying ferries coming and going into Circular Quay and the Opera House was in the background, the view was over the railway line and highway to the Bridge. No doubt the view was better from the 28th Floor, but we are always happier closer to the ground in hotels, having been caught in one hotel fire and having to evacuate from another.
We were on the eighth floor and although we had a good overview of the scurrying ferries coming and going into Circular Quay and the Opera House was in the background, the view was over the railway line and highway to the Bridge. No doubt the view was better from the 28th Floor, but we are always happier closer to the ground in hotels, having been caught in one hotel fire and having to evacuate from another.
Good friend Jan Galbraith picked us up promptly as arranged and we headed out to the North Shore suburbs to catch up with Ros and Richard van Niekerk. 
Rab, Ros and Jan were in Europe at the same time during their youthful travels about 49 years ago, so it was good to have a bit of a get together, although communication between all parties seemed less than perfect as Ros was not at home when we got there, having thought we were meeting today. She was mortified because her perfect house had not been thoroughly dusted, that she hadn’t baked the cake and so on – but that’s Ros and we managed to overcome her shame. The girls are talking about a 50th anniversary reunion next year and including John Arnott another pal from those times who now lives in Melbourne. It is quite amazing that these four, from such widely spread home towns should now be living so relatively close to each other. 
On the way to Ros’ house we had popped in to see the house we had when we were in Sydney for a couple of years in 1987/8. Seems to me it is never a good idea. It was never a good looking house, but Rab was very disappointed with what the subsequent owners have done. Interestingly they have put a pitched roof on it to replace the flat roof that led to a bit of flooding the week we were going to sell it – but that is another story.
Rab, Ros and Jan were in Europe at the same time during their youthful travels about 49 years ago, so it was good to have a bit of a get together, although communication between all parties seemed less than perfect as Ros was not at home when we got there, having thought we were meeting today. She was mortified because her perfect house had not been thoroughly dusted, that she hadn’t baked the cake and so on – but that’s Ros and we managed to overcome her shame. The girls are talking about a 50th anniversary reunion next year and including John Arnott another pal from those times who now lives in Melbourne. It is quite amazing that these four, from such widely spread home towns should now be living so relatively close to each other. 
On the way to Ros’ house we had popped in to see the house we had when we were in Sydney for a couple of years in 1987/8. Seems to me it is never a good idea. It was never a good looking house, but Rab was very disappointed with what the subsequent owners have done. Interestingly they have put a pitched roof on it to replace the flat roof that led to a bit of flooding the week we were going to sell it – but that is another story.
We usually have a meal down on the quayside when we are in Sydney. There is a multitude of fine restaurants to choose from in the area known as The Rocks and on a fine evening, sitting outside watching the passing traffic on the harbour is something very special. The weather was not kind to us as the humidity turned to rain, but we decided to press on for a fish and chips at Doyle’s, famous for their cuisine and a restaurant we have visited before. To get parking close enough we had to pay the rip-off merchant running the car park $25 for three hours – a bit steep even by Australian capital city standards. But we were soon seated under the canvas outside the main restaurant enjoying a chilled beer and admiring the view. The prices on the menu took my breath away somewhat – apart from paying $8.50 for the beers, the fish and chips was $45 a head. But…..an experience is worth paying for so I put that to the back of my mind. The serving when it arrived, somewhat quicker than I thought it might have done was enormous – far too much for one person and reminiscent of the serving sizes in the US, where we have taken to sharing a main meal. Wish we could have done that at Doyle’s. I was disappointed in my fish. It was not moist and I thought it had either been cooked earlier or overcooked later. The tartare sauce was also not to my liking. But we all ate away manfully and I said nothing until Jan spoke up, true to form and asked what we thought of the meal. Rab, also true to form spoke her mind freely, echoing my views – and Jan’s. 
So good-bye Doyle’s you won’t see us again. I mentioned, politely and emphasising that my comments were intended only to be informative to the manager on duty, who became so defensive that I suspect that we were correct in our view that the meal had been pre-cooked. Pity about that, but the views were, as ever stupendous and Jan is wonderful company – so we enjoyed our evening.
So good-bye Doyle’s you won’t see us again. I mentioned, politely and emphasising that my comments were intended only to be informative to the manager on duty, who became so defensive that I suspect that we were correct in our view that the meal had been pre-cooked. Pity about that, but the views were, as ever stupendous and Jan is wonderful company – so we enjoyed our evening. 
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