Our early morning arrival in Sydney was greeted by rain, rain and more rain but as the temperature was in the mid 20s it didn't feel too hard to bear. Manchester was cold and bleak when we left but almost immediately that memory disappeared and it was hard to believe we had stuck it out for so long!
By the afternoon the sun was out and having dropped our bags, we headed down to Balmoral Beach for a recovery taste of urban heaven. At last a decent flat white coffee and a true long black! Holiday January in this city means that the traffic is quieter than usual and there are more children in the water mid week. This goes on until the end of the month when the schools start to go back. In the meantime families are holidaying up and down the NSW coast and many academics are somewhere else- usually in the northern hemisphere: this is the main break of the year and universities don't resume courses until March so there is time for longer travel. Georges Heights is as spectacular as ever- the city skyline from here is undoubtedly the best.
It feels good to be back. We book some arts events online and then resolve to sit back and relax. Our first date is lunch with Deborah at the Kensington Street Social: the chef is British - Jason Thereon who is Michelin starred no less. It is located within The Old Clare Hotel in Chippendale, an industrial heritage-listed site that was formerly the Carlton & United Brewery administration building. The menu is Mediterranean sharing plates and we enjoyed the taste of the happily small portions. A lovely chat with Deb and great to catchup after a year: next meet with her is in a suburban park in the Inner West for her daughter Miri's 1st birthday party. We last saw her when she was a few hours old.
Although we have been away Ernest's presence is still being felt on the street scape of Ultimo where his billboard art camouflages the ever-expanding University of Technology building programme going on at a fierce pace. The photos show Central Park lusciously planted walls behind.
Soon settle in to a gentle routine of walking, cycling, Pilates, visiting medics, eating salads, drinking coffee and taking in the harbour.
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