I work this morning to hear the dingle-dangling sound of an annoying song playing over and over and over again. It was JQ's phone, with the alarm set for 6:30 a.m., and apparently, the thing never stops until you actually stop it. At 7:30 a.m., I heard the CLUNK of the ghosts (of the people living next door, as they close the door to their house), so I got up and turned off her incessant noisemaker.
Then I made myself some eggs and bacon, worked on my blog, and chilled. Our favourite fragile flower descended around 8:45 a.m., did some laundry, then wilted on the couch and fell back into another leg of her 100-year-slumber. I hear Sleeping Beauty did that, too - woke up every now and again, wandered around her castle, fell asleep somewhere else. 😜
Anyway, I started sorting my belongings and repacking some of them into my luggage. When you're staying in the same place for a while, you kind of explode all over the house. Since we're flying to New Zealand tomorrow, it is time to start reversing the process. It is significantly less fun.
All week, I have been trying to get to the Sydney Fish Market, which is 5 minutes away from our place, so it shouldn't be hard to do - except that the market closes at 5 p.m., and we're usually arriving back home after 5 p.m. Today, with nothing else on the agenda, we head out around noon, planning to visit the fish market. 🐟
But, first, a quick pit stop at the neighbourhood Post Office, where I discover that the Post Office really does set its own rules - and apparently even has its own time zone, or something. What exactly is that date on that clock on their wall??? Weird. I've heard of leap years, but I still don't think they work that way.
Also, protip: never visit the Post Office at noon. Everyone on their lunch break swarms in to pick up their packages. Oops.
Anyway, after that brief diversion into the twilight time zone of non-existent calendar dates, we are back on track, heading down the street toward the Sydney Fish Market. In a green space just set in from the sidewalk, I see a stone engraved with the word "Paradise". Aha, this is one of the stones from those quarries! This must be where the Paradise quarry was located. Good thing, I guess - I'd have hated to have to climb over giant rocks to get to the fish market. 😜
The Sydney Fish Market has a very unprepossessing exterior, and is very obviously a working fish market, much like a farmers market. There are a number of freestanding buildings/restaurants, a lot of commercial traffic and boats a bit further out, and then there's a mall containing a number of vendors selling souvenirs, pastries, and - yes, you guessed it - seafood.
I am specifically here for the fish, so I eyeball the vendors and decide on Nicholas Seafood Traders, as I want fish, and not shrimpy-type things. Yikes, there is octopus salad! I don't think I've seen that before. It looks... tentacle-y. I decide to order the Barramundi, which looks reassuringly fish-like.
As you may know, JQ despises fish, and so she is ensconced in the safe confines of the Blackwattle Deli, which is more of a pastry and coffee shop. She has purchased a coffee beverage and a gluten-free dessert, and is now in her happy space.
Nick, the owner of the deli, took a shine to JQ, and plied her with extra gluten-free cake on top of the one she'd already purchased. JQ, ever the researcher, asked him questions about tourists, who is the worst and why. Even on vacation, she just can't resist doing some sort of research project. 😀
We return home, and you'll be really surprised (or not, if you've been following the last few blog entries) that JQ announces that she is not going to leave the house again today - she wants to spend her last day at home relaxing. I think she is a crazy person - it is our last day in Australia! Why waste it lounging on the couch in your underwear, drinking coffee and playing Sudoku? However, I have learned not to argue with the aforementioned crazy person; just smile and nod, and we each do our own thing.
I am about to head outside, and I suddenly realized that I can't find my Tilley hat. Oh noes! I walk upstairs, I walk downstairs, hither and yon, crawl under tables, but it is nowhere to be found. This is a dilemma. Did I take it with me to Jenolan Caves yesterday? I can't quite recall, but I think I might have, and then I would have decided I didn't need it (because there ain't no sunshine in caves). Did I leave it on the top shelf on the bus? I remember being annoyed that I was too short to see up there, and JQ had already got off the bus. Maybe I did leave it behind. 😢
Since it obviously isn't here, I call AATKings, our tour group, and ask about it, giving them my contact information in case it turns up. The fact that we are flying to New Zealand is a complicating wrinkle, but if it's gone, it's gone. What are you gonna do? I'm gonna wrinkle up like Crocodile Dundee - that's what I'm gonna do.
JQ loans me her stylish hat, and seems excited to think that it might make me stylish. I put it on my head, and successfully drag the hat down from "chic" into "dumpy". If I were trying to be fashionable, this would rate as a "fail." However, I am wearing it solely for its ability to keep the sun off my face, and it does that exceedingly well.
Goodbye, JQ! I will try not to lose your hat, but make no promises.
First stop, I head to Darling Harbour and go down to the line-ups for the Wild Life/Sea Life/Madame Tussaud's exhibits. Our passes expired yesterday, but when we went to the Wild Life, we got two $5 off coupons for another visit to any attraction. I hand the coupons to the people who are at the end of the line (sometimes it pays to be last!).
As I am walking downtown, I see a tourist (with their wheeled luggage trailing behind them) kneeling down and tucking a pastry and some money into a homeless person's sleeping bag. So kind! I don't know the numbers, but we have seen a few people sleeping on the streets. Sometimes they are sitting with their belongings, and sometimes they leave them set up in a little camp, with a sign asking for whatever you can spare.
Today, I've decided I should use my Sydney Museum Pass to see The Mint, so I head up the streets with that in mind, but am once again waylaid by the green, winding mysteries of Hyde Park. As I wander among the shady trees, which are welcome on this sunny day, I realize that the park is larger than I first realized. If you cross the street, it continues on the other side. Whoa! Off I go. Perhaps today I will find the mysterious Ataturk that Meric wants me to hunt down. There is the Anzac Memorial... but, unfortunately, it is behind a giant construction fence. They are refurbishing the monument, and I can't go inside. Unless I can impersonate a construction worker... but no, JQ's hat gives me away.
Aside from the construction, there are so many barriers going up in corners of the parks, and portable lights and facilities - the city is getting ready for the big LGBT Mardi Gras bash tomorrow night. JQ and I learned about it too late to change our plans, and are sad to miss it, as it's supposed to be spectacular. Next time!
Still in Hyde Park, I come across the Fanciest Water Bubbler in Australia. Disclaimer: I have not done a rigorous study of Australia's water bubblers (aka drinking fountains) - in fact, it's been a pretty small sample size. So let me amend that to say it's the fanciest one I've seen. And it's hot out today, so I waltz on up to that water palace, and I drink my fill. Glug, glug.
A little further up the lawn, there is a statue of Captain Cook (I told you he was a big deal down here in Oz). The statue is inscribed with "Killed at Owhyhee 1779". That would be 'Hawaii', in case you were wondering.
Okay, walking toward The Mint. Hey, look at the Cook & Phillip Park. It's another park, with points of historic interest, and the Aquatic & Fitness Center has a water feature on top of the building. At home, the aquatic centers only have pools of water inside the building. These Aussies are way ahead of us.
Finally, I reach The Mint. I am melting in the heat. I go inside, and they give me an informational booklet, and I immediately start fanning myself with it. Where am I? What was I saying? Oh yes, Sydney's oldest public building, something something heatstroke. Yes, that was it. Thanks for visiting the Mint!
I return to the Royal Botanic Gardens to seek out some shade. Although I am a trifle warm today, it's not as hot as our last visit, when we only saw a fraction of the park. Today, I take my time wandering, and am at liberty to view the statues. In a way, it is like they are the statues of liberty. Hahahah! 😄
There are flowers of every kind, of which I can name only a few. Like, roses. I know roses. There are fountains, and there are birds, and the ponds have... eels? Yes, some of them have eels. They don't put them in there, but the eels keep getting back in. A plaque says: "We drain the ponds regularly and after refilling the eels are back within weeks. Staff have seen baby eels (elvers) squirming across the damp grass at night from the harbour!" Yikes. I feel like there's a horror story in there somewhere.
Anyway, here are some flowers, and fountains, and greenery:
As I am walking past the park towards Mrs Macquarie's Chair, there is the deep horn of a cruise ship. Coming past the trees, I am just in time to see the Diamond Princess leaving Sydney Harbour. She must have far to go, as most of the cruise ships leave harbour in the later evening. BWAAAAAHHHH, goes the big ship, and Toot Toot goes one of the ferries in the harbour. I'm presuming that was a friendly goodbye.
Reaching my destination just opposite the opera house, I sit on Mrs Macquarie's Chair, and I can't quite hear the sound of her rolling over in her grave far away in Scotland. But then again, tourists have been plunking their butt down on her chair all day forever. Maybe she's used to it by now.
On the other side of Mrs Macquarie's Chair, I am staring into the naval base. No doubt, the naval base has plenty of equipment that is staring back.
As I continue along Mrs Macquarie's Road (everything around here belongs to her!), I see a swimming pool perched on the waterfront. It's the Andrew (Boy) Charlton Pool. Yes, that's what it's really called, and, no, I don't know why. Do you call it Andrew Charlton, or Boy Charlton? Or do you have to be really formal and say, "I am going to the Andrew Boy Charlton Pool." Huh.
Just past the pool, there's a set of stairs descending down to the water. A fishing spot, and some art down on the shore. I kind of like that it's hidden away here.
In the trees, the cockatoos are screaming. They do not sing or tweet or whistle. They shriek and scream and screech. And swing around upside down on branches sometimes. I don't know if they're not so smart, and they don't realize the branch won't support them, or if they're just having fun.
Okay, time to Circular Quay to catch a ferry home, because I've been walking for a while. I have to backtrack through Royal Botanic Gardens, through the Lions Gate. As I walk along, I see a long wall made of Sydney sandstone. Yes, it's Mrs. Macquarie's Wall. I didn't show you a picture the Macquarie Culvert, but that is also here in the park. I feel like the Royal Botanic Gardens are kind of sponsored by the Macquarie's convict building program.
There's a sign pointing to an "Australian Rock Garden". I was expecting... something different. But I like this! It's like the graveyard of fancy pieces of building ornamentation. There's a baby magpie and mama magpie wandering through the rock garden, hunting bugs.
And for those of you afraid of poisonous Australian spiders, there's... a spider... of some sort. Probably harmless.
I am steps away from Circular Quay to catch a ferry home. But first, I stop to pick up a Chocolate and Raspberry gelato. It is divine.
I catch the ferry to Pyrmont, and I really should have gone home, but it's my last day and I want to see and do everything. So, instead I wander off into Darling Island and find my way back to Pirrama Park, take the first set of cliffside stairs I can find, and I am pretty sure I am back up top on the stretch I explored the other day, just a little further out. Walk along cliff side and come to Giba Park to watch the twilight sky before the last bits of light go. Down into Pirrama, then up Harris for several blocks to home.
Time for a bath. Time to pack. We fly tomorrow at 1:55 p.m., but checkout time is 10 a.m., so we'll get off to an early start.
Then I made myself some eggs and bacon, worked on my blog, and chilled. Our favourite fragile flower descended around 8:45 a.m., did some laundry, then wilted on the couch and fell back into another leg of her 100-year-slumber. I hear Sleeping Beauty did that, too - woke up every now and again, wandered around her castle, fell asleep somewhere else. 😜
Anyway, I started sorting my belongings and repacking some of them into my luggage. When you're staying in the same place for a while, you kind of explode all over the house. Since we're flying to New Zealand tomorrow, it is time to start reversing the process. It is significantly less fun.
All week, I have been trying to get to the Sydney Fish Market, which is 5 minutes away from our place, so it shouldn't be hard to do - except that the market closes at 5 p.m., and we're usually arriving back home after 5 p.m. Today, with nothing else on the agenda, we head out around noon, planning to visit the fish market. 🐟
Also, protip: never visit the Post Office at noon. Everyone on their lunch break swarms in to pick up their packages. Oops.
Anyway, after that brief diversion into the twilight time zone of non-existent calendar dates, we are back on track, heading down the street toward the Sydney Fish Market. In a green space just set in from the sidewalk, I see a stone engraved with the word "Paradise". Aha, this is one of the stones from those quarries! This must be where the Paradise quarry was located. Good thing, I guess - I'd have hated to have to climb over giant rocks to get to the fish market. 😜
|
|
The Sydney Fish Market has a very unprepossessing exterior, and is very obviously a working fish market, much like a farmers market. There are a number of freestanding buildings/restaurants, a lot of commercial traffic and boats a bit further out, and then there's a mall containing a number of vendors selling souvenirs, pastries, and - yes, you guessed it - seafood.
 |
| Blackwattle Deli's non-fishy wares |
Nick, the owner of the deli, took a shine to JQ, and plied her with extra gluten-free cake on top of the one she'd already purchased. JQ, ever the researcher, asked him questions about tourists, who is the worst and why. Even on vacation, she just can't resist doing some sort of research project. 😀
We return home, and you'll be really surprised (or not, if you've been following the last few blog entries) that JQ announces that she is not going to leave the house again today - she wants to spend her last day at home relaxing. I think she is a crazy person - it is our last day in Australia! Why waste it lounging on the couch in your underwear, drinking coffee and playing Sudoku? However, I have learned not to argue with the aforementioned crazy person; just smile and nod, and we each do our own thing.
I am about to head outside, and I suddenly realized that I can't find my Tilley hat. Oh noes! I walk upstairs, I walk downstairs, hither and yon, crawl under tables, but it is nowhere to be found. This is a dilemma. Did I take it with me to Jenolan Caves yesterday? I can't quite recall, but I think I might have, and then I would have decided I didn't need it (because there ain't no sunshine in caves). Did I leave it on the top shelf on the bus? I remember being annoyed that I was too short to see up there, and JQ had already got off the bus. Maybe I did leave it behind. 😢
Since it obviously isn't here, I call AATKings, our tour group, and ask about it, giving them my contact information in case it turns up. The fact that we are flying to New Zealand is a complicating wrinkle, but if it's gone, it's gone. What are you gonna do? I'm gonna wrinkle up like Crocodile Dundee - that's what I'm gonna do.
JQ loans me her stylish hat, and seems excited to think that it might make me stylish. I put it on my head, and successfully drag the hat down from "chic" into "dumpy". If I were trying to be fashionable, this would rate as a "fail." However, I am wearing it solely for its ability to keep the sun off my face, and it does that exceedingly well.
Goodbye, JQ! I will try not to lose your hat, but make no promises.
First stop, I head to Darling Harbour and go down to the line-ups for the Wild Life/Sea Life/Madame Tussaud's exhibits. Our passes expired yesterday, but when we went to the Wild Life, we got two $5 off coupons for another visit to any attraction. I hand the coupons to the people who are at the end of the line (sometimes it pays to be last!).
As I am walking downtown, I see a tourist (with their wheeled luggage trailing behind them) kneeling down and tucking a pastry and some money into a homeless person's sleeping bag. So kind! I don't know the numbers, but we have seen a few people sleeping on the streets. Sometimes they are sitting with their belongings, and sometimes they leave them set up in a little camp, with a sign asking for whatever you can spare.
 |
| Anzac Memorial, from over the fencing |
Aside from the construction, there are so many barriers going up in corners of the parks, and portable lights and facilities - the city is getting ready for the big LGBT Mardi Gras bash tomorrow night. JQ and I learned about it too late to change our plans, and are sad to miss it, as it's supposed to be spectacular. Next time!
 |
| Fancy-shmancy water for plebs |
A little further up the lawn, there is a statue of Captain Cook (I told you he was a big deal down here in Oz). The statue is inscribed with "Killed at Owhyhee 1779". That would be 'Hawaii', in case you were wondering.
Okay, walking toward The Mint. Hey, look at the Cook & Phillip Park. It's another park, with points of historic interest, and the Aquatic & Fitness Center has a water feature on top of the building. At home, the aquatic centers only have pools of water inside the building. These Aussies are way ahead of us.
|
|
I return to the Royal Botanic Gardens to seek out some shade. Although I am a trifle warm today, it's not as hot as our last visit, when we only saw a fraction of the park. Today, I take my time wandering, and am at liberty to view the statues. In a way, it is like they are the statues of liberty. Hahahah! 😄
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
There are flowers of every kind, of which I can name only a few. Like, roses. I know roses. There are fountains, and there are birds, and the ponds have... eels? Yes, some of them have eels. They don't put them in there, but the eels keep getting back in. A plaque says: "We drain the ponds regularly and after refilling the eels are back within weeks. Staff have seen baby eels (elvers) squirming across the damp grass at night from the harbour!" Yikes. I feel like there's a horror story in there somewhere.
Anyway, here are some flowers, and fountains, and greenery:
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
As I am walking past the park towards Mrs Macquarie's Chair, there is the deep horn of a cruise ship. Coming past the trees, I am just in time to see the Diamond Princess leaving Sydney Harbour. She must have far to go, as most of the cruise ships leave harbour in the later evening. BWAAAAAHHHH, goes the big ship, and Toot Toot goes one of the ferries in the harbour. I'm presuming that was a friendly goodbye.
 |
| Sail away, sail away |
 |
| I'm sitting in your chair, Mrs Macquarie |
On the other side of Mrs Macquarie's Chair, I am staring into the naval base. No doubt, the naval base has plenty of equipment that is staring back.
As I continue along Mrs Macquarie's Road (everything around here belongs to her!), I see a swimming pool perched on the waterfront. It's the Andrew (Boy) Charlton Pool. Yes, that's what it's really called, and, no, I don't know why. Do you call it Andrew Charlton, or Boy Charlton? Or do you have to be really formal and say, "I am going to the Andrew Boy Charlton Pool." Huh.
Just past the pool, there's a set of stairs descending down to the water. A fishing spot, and some art down on the shore. I kind of like that it's hidden away here.
 |
 |
In the trees, the cockatoos are screaming. They do not sing or tweet or whistle. They shriek and scream and screech. And swing around upside down on branches sometimes. I don't know if they're not so smart, and they don't realize the branch won't support them, or if they're just having fun.
Okay, time to Circular Quay to catch a ferry home, because I've been walking for a while. I have to backtrack through Royal Botanic Gardens, through the Lions Gate. As I walk along, I see a long wall made of Sydney sandstone. Yes, it's Mrs. Macquarie's Wall. I didn't show you a picture the Macquarie Culvert, but that is also here in the park. I feel like the Royal Botanic Gardens are kind of sponsored by the Macquarie's convict building program.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
There's a sign pointing to an "Australian Rock Garden". I was expecting... something different. But I like this! It's like the graveyard of fancy pieces of building ornamentation. There's a baby magpie and mama magpie wandering through the rock garden, hunting bugs.
And for those of you afraid of poisonous Australian spiders, there's... a spider... of some sort. Probably harmless.
I catch the ferry to Pyrmont, and I really should have gone home, but it's my last day and I want to see and do everything. So, instead I wander off into Darling Island and find my way back to Pirrama Park, take the first set of cliffside stairs I can find, and I am pretty sure I am back up top on the stretch I explored the other day, just a little further out. Walk along cliff side and come to Giba Park to watch the twilight sky before the last bits of light go. Down into Pirrama, then up Harris for several blocks to home.
 |
 |
Time for a bath. Time to pack. We fly tomorrow at 1:55 p.m., but checkout time is 10 a.m., so we'll get off to an early start.
Comments
Post a Comment