Sydney

Sept. 9

Arrived Sydney 730 am. Shuttle took us to the Lord Nelson Brewery and Hotel – the oldest hotel in Sydney, located in the Rocks area of the city. Pub door was open, we went in. Nobody around. Shades of the Newmarket in Adelaide 16 years ago (see previous posting below). We hear people on the stairs – the stairway behind the pub leading up to the rooms. It’s a couple of patrons of the hotel. They tell us it is a functioning hotel and where to find receptionist. We find her. She’s very helpful. We’re too early to get into our room, but we can leave our bags in office and she directs us to the Rocks market, a popular weekend gathering place where we have some brunch, it now being several hours since our Qantas breakfast. The whole hotel experience here is very nice - it was a good choice.

On our way to the market we passed the Holy Trinity Anglican Church, also known as the Garrison church because, historically, soldiers were garrisoned in this area. We had decided to go to church here, so that’s where we returned after brunch.



At church a small congregation in lovely, old church, very formal, mostly older people, except one young man, the student minister, with family, including noisy child. Had a communion service. There was tea after the service and we had a nice conversation with pastor’s wife and student minister. Maybe more on this visit later.

One connection (?): On the flight over I couldn't sleep and spent most of the time reading Deliverance, by James Dickey - the book behind the movie most everybody has seen. Well, the preacher's sermon was from Psalms 3, concluding with this verse: Ps 3:8: “From the Lord comes deliverance." Question: Is Dickey using “deliverance” in any sort of Biblical/allegorical sense? I doubt it. His canoeists got their deliverance by violence and dishonesty. Their actions were more in line with: Psalms 3:7 “Deliver me. Strike all my enemies on the jaw.” Anyhow, that's more than enough amateur theology.

After church we caught the City Sightseeing bus for a tour of the downtown area. Well, much of it; I noticed they skipped the Opera House stop. This was no doubt due to the meeting of APEC (the Asian Pacific Economic Co-operation – one newspaper columnist I saw noted this doesn’t make grammatical sense and is not a good acronym – too similar to OPEC, a similarity that tripped up W). APEC ended today with a wrap-up at the Opera House.

There were lots of complaints in the newspaper columns and letters about security provisions. These economic summits tend to spark passionate, sometimes violent protests, so Sydney had prepared diligently – lots of police and barricades. There were signs up on many streets designating them “clearways,” meaning no parking and don’t get in the way of official vehicles should they need the road. Seemed inconsistent with Sydney's relaxed view of itself, but you can understand the official concerns, too.

Here's a representative city shot from the top of the bus

It's a great and beautiful and friendly city. Clean and attractive.

After the bus tour we went back to the hotel, unpacked, and removed 24 hours of grime, plaque, and whiskers from our bodies, teeth, and faces. Back to the street – our on-and-off tour book pass is good for 24 hours. We made our way to Darling Harbor, a popular gathering place, and found something to eat – seafood. Finished the day with an after-dark water-taxi tour: out from Darling Harbour, under the Harbour Bridge, around the Opera House, then return.

Monday, Sept. 10, was more Sydney touring: the Opera House, the Sydney Tower, and a ferry to Manly, on the north side of the entrance to Sydney Harbour. Here's an Opera House view and the Manly beach:

The Harbour Bridge fascinates me. Bryson writes, in In a Sunburned Country, about how the bridge keeps popping into view unexpectedly -- down a tree-lined side street, over the tops of low buildings, at the end of a busy avenue, ... I had same impression. Monday night we walked halfway across it, then Wednesday morning I walked all the way across and back. Got a 530am picture of the Opera House that looks pretty special. You'll have to wait, though, because I didn't get it transferred to my flash drive before finding this internet cafe. Stay tuned.

Cheers,

Rob