All things, Sydney.
We got up early. Here ends the pathetic attempt to pretend we're students. If we don't get up quickly now, rigor mortis sets in. Still, Sydney was at our doorstep and we didn't want to miss it.
Thanks to uncle Google, we were able to walk into the city centre, about a twenty minute walk from where we are. In an unusual burst of proactivity, we had actually made a plan for this morning, a few days ago. It was to go to the top of the Sydney Tower Eye. A sort of shardy thing, but in Sydney. With heads stooped as we gazed at the phone screen, we made our way cautiously to the tower. After a while, it occurred to us that it was much easier to look up and head for the tallest building in the city!
Having already purchased tickets, we sailed to the front of the queue, like VIPs. (The queue was about eight people strong) As you would expect, the views from the top were magnificent. We didn't realise what a watery place Sydney is. We were able to see our accommodation and a pontoon that we walked along on the way to the city, full of boats which can only be owned by the super rich. Or consortiums, I suppose.
From there, we found ourselves in what must have been the most 'up market' area of the city. We have never seen so many expensive shops. The thing is, the likes of Louis Vuitton, Hermes and Gucci don't really do it for me. Actually they don't massively push Kate's buttons either. Give her a double decker train any day. There's something sadly sterile about seeing rows of shops with a woman, made up perfectly, behind a counter and a man wearing a ridiculously expensive suit standing in the doorway. Both manage to look bored whilst looking like they own the shop and you better not come in unless you mean serious business. Hence the invariably empty shops and bored expressions.
The thing is, we went into one if these posh shopping centres looking for food. It was very smart. We bought a kebab and shared it, surprised at the reasonable price. Kebabs were standard fayre for us as students. So we're still living the dream...
Then, as all students do, we went back to our digs for a little nap so that we were rested before going out again in the evening.
Because this evening, we were going to a concert. I had half-heartedly checked what was on at the Sydney Opera House on the dates we are here, months ago. Joy therefore, when I discovered that one of our favourite Mahler symphonies was being performed on the right evening by the Sydney symphony orchestra. It felt slightly odd to a luddite like me to book seats a few months too early and arrange to pick the tickets up on the other side of the world. What are the chances of this coming together, I wondered. Well, it came together.
What a crackin performance of Mahler's fourth symphony.
I was startled, at first to see the 'cellos and basses on the left and the harps on the right but then I realised, of course! It's bound to be opposite in the southern hemisphere. Like water swirling the opposite way down the plug hole. The same can be said of the underground train stations. Here you stand on the left on the escalators. It was most unsettling coming up the escalator on the wrong side then seeing signs for Lewisham and Croydon.
Another reason for our discombobulation may be the fact that it is now three minutes past nothing! (12:03am) Get us. Could we be any more down with the kids? Yes! We bought some chips on the way home. Student lifestyle or what!
Comments
Post a Comment