Driving
into Sydney was a bit surreal; we had saved the iconic city as one of the last
events of our journey and we were charged up as we glimpsed the Sydney Harbor
Bridge on the horizon. The big city! The one on all the postcards and t-shirts
around this sun burnt country. At this point on the trip, emotions are running
highs as well; a strange mixture of anticipation and despondence. I am so excited to finally return home and
see my family, friends, dog, wardrobe – yet, I have fallen in love with
Australia and it’s going to be indescribably hard to leave.
Ironically
enough, we were visiting and staying with another Canadian in Sydney. Aras is a
friend of Steven’s, another Lithuanian basketballer, they grew up playing
against each other. He visited us in Melbourne when we had first moved over in
January, and now we were meeting him up on his end. We pulled up to his
apartment in Alexandria and were greeted with that familiar old North American
accent and distinct red and white flag on the wall. Getting a little closer to
home every day now.
After
setting up our stuff in his roommates temporarily empty nest, we set out to
explore the city. We took the train down to Circular Quay and were greeted with
the beautiful sight of the harbor – bridge and Opera House in all. Call me
sheltered, but I never knew the two were so close together! I had never seen a
picture encompassing both structures at once. With the late sun, it was
breathtaking. We trotted down to Opera Bar and indulged in some dumplings,
ciders, and a bowl of chips before we split for our date.
Our date
with the Hunger Games: Catching Fire! I had been waiting for this moment ever
since I polished off the series at 4am in my bed, and after the first movie
depicted the story as close to my imagination as it could have been. (Forgive
me, I never went through an embarssing obsessive stage with a fiction when I
was a teenager, so I think I’m going through it now.)We walked to Hoyt Cinemas and
sat back for the show, and it didn’t disappoint! All three of us can’t wait for
the third one. After the movie, Steve and I were beat and head back to the
apartment, while Tim decided to catch a drink with our new friend Hayley that
we had met in Budgewoi.
He got in
late, and in the morning informed us that she had taken him to a local ‘jam’ at
a bar in Surrey Hills, where musicians just got up and chimed in whenever they
pleased. Another one was happening that night, and we were all keen to be
entertained by the talented Musos of Sydney. With those plans in mind, we set
out to 1812; the coffee shop/book store near Paddington for a flat white.
After getting
our caffeine buzz on, we visited Tim’s old house to pick up a few things he had
left there in October while doing some temporary work. We met his friend Lucas,
and the owners Husky/Staffy mix called Bruce, and got some design and
decorating ideas while Tim sussed out his belongings.
It was a short visit since we still had plenty
to do! After dropping off the car back at Aras’ place, we took the train back
downtown to wander and take in all of the splendor of the Royal Botanical
Gardens. Our walk continued us back through the Circular Quay and the Rocks and
over to our pre-planned seafood lunch at the Sydney Fish Market.
We had
waited long enough since our Barra-bonanza to start craving seafood again, and
were looking out for an all-you-can-eat to satiate our fresh seafood fill. Aras
and his friends had suggested the Markets, and we immediately knew that was
what we wanted when they told us that you picked the raw meal you wanted and
had them cook it up in front of you. The website advertised that they were open
until 4pm, so we arrived around 3:30.
Time was
not on our side – the Markets were still open, but they were in the process of
cleaning it all, and the ovens were off. We frantically flitted to every
vendor, in hopes that one would fry us up anything with claws or scales, but it
was no use. We ended up purchasing a few slices of sushi, while Tim ate some
cold crab and oysters on the docks. We were disappointed that we missed out on
our fish-dish, but hey, there are worse things in life (like losing a
surfboard).
Our early
dinner set us up for our night out with Hayley. Steve, Tim, Aras, Megan, Danika,
Natasha and I all reached White Horse for the first Motown jam. We had a drink
there and enjoyed a few classics, but the real show was kicking off at Ginger’s
down the street.
As soon as
we entered the room, music from all forms of instruments crammed into our ear
cavities as a colourful, energized sensation. We found Hayley tucked into a
corner, and we grouped together to find seats. As a voice coach, Hayley attends
these things not only for enjoyment, but also to perform herself once and a
while. We were thoroughly jazzed up by all of the talented musicians ebbing and
flowing from one another, making things up on the spot. They were incredible.
One guy, something-or-other Patrick Harris did a song, and his announcer
informed us that he had opened for the likes of John Mayer! He was that
good.
Needless to
say, when the emcee asked for any other singers in the crowd, our whole table
baited Hayley out by pointing and cheering and ushering her up on stage. We
were all uber impressed at her talent in joining a song she had never
rehearsed, and winging it with fervor and heady style. The gang got drunk while
I sipped a DD-ginger ale and we all grooved along.
We drunkenly
bought Metric tickets. (Well, I used my credit card responsibly while everyone
else drunkenly agreed).
The next
morning it took a little effort to get the boys going. After a quick brekky, we
took the train downtown and then the 12pm ferry to Manly Beach. The Lady
Northcote, in all her green and gold glory, carried us across the harbor and to
the shores of the Northern Beaches. We were welcomed by fresh Spanish Blowpipe
Licorice and the smooth crooning of up-and-coming pop star, TajRalph. Talk about heaven. (Watch your back, Beibs!)
The day only got better with golden sun and refreshingly
cold waves to help us pass the afternoon. We stayed until 4ish and than ferried
back to whip up some pasta and white wine for dinner. Tim went out on a D.A.T.E. but Steve and I
crashed early in preparation for an early morning.
Our date was with Aras and the Blue Mountains. We caught the
trainaround 8am and got off at Wentworth Falls. It was a short walk through
the town to the beginning of the trails, and in no time we were clipping along
the Charles Darwin Walk. 
From there, we diverged onto the Wentworth Falls
Track, the National Pass, and finished up with the Short Track. The whole day
was filled with beautiful ferns, palms, flowering trees, and dappled sunlight
on crisp waterfalls. We even saw a Water Dragon, looking pretty prehistoric amongst the rocks. Getting outside of the Sydney human traffic jam was so
refreshing, to feel your heart knock around with your shoes in the dirt,
trotting over tree roots. The mountains in the distance looked blue, from the oils of the eucalyptus leaves evaporating in the sun.
By the end of it all we were all so exhausted, we cat-napped
on the train ride back. A heavy day called for a heavy meal, and Aras arose to
the challenge. He whisked up a standard
Lithuanian favourite, kugelis (a potato cake served with sour cream and bacon).
After a little Ace Ventura, Pet
Detective, we hopped undercover.
Our last day in Sydney was a ripper! We started out by
taking the bus to Coogee to start the walking trail over to Bondi. We meandered
along the coast, dropping in on little bays and swimming holes, and climbing up
high along the escarpment, looking down into the relentless Pacific. We passed
the massive graveyard where thousands of headstones rest while looking out to sea.
Finally, we turned the last corner and saw Bondi Beach stretching out along the
coast. It really is a beautiful beach, and since the morning had been a tad
cloudy, it wasn’t chalk full of people jockeying for a good spot.
We played in the waves and tanned,
knowing full well that it may be our last beach day in Australia. We had big
plans for the evening though, so we didn’t have too much time. We found the
famous Messina (gelati shop and taste tested some interesting flavours (including Nacho
Libre; green gelati with corn chips and salsa!) I ended up getting salted
caramel with white chocolate chips, and another scoop of milk chocolate and
peanut butter fudge. Steve also had the
latter and opted for Oreogasm on top. Deeeelicious!
Rushing back to Aras’ apartment,
we cooked up some Mexican chicken burritos for the pre-drink crew. Downing our
drinks before the walk, we speedily cleaned up and set out for Newtown. Our
endgame was the Enmore Theatre to see Canadian band, Metric. They ran on at 8:30 with high energy,
sounding exactly like the radio or albums. Emily and her band mates threw their
hearts on the stage, pumping out new hits from Synthetica and some old
favourites. We jumped and swayed and sang as Emily’s white hair flew up around
her face and around her golden microphone.
During one of the breaks between
songs, she chatted to us; “I’m not sure where music lives anymore, with all
these shows like American Idol out there. But I think it lives in moments like
these, between us.” They also dedicated their last song, Gimme Sympathy to their late friend and musician Lou Reed. It was a
great song to end a fantastic show, and a touching dedication; we all left full
of their spirit and song.
The last dregs of the night saw us
getting a few drinks and meeting up with some others at The Bank Hotel, and
burgers at Oroporto before heading back to the apartment. We woke up and nursed
ourselves back to life with giant Powerades, while recapping the night.
Today we say goodbye to Sydney,
and scratch off yet another day on our road trip. The hours and minutes are
getting scarcer, and we are all starting to feel the omnipresence of reality
pressing on us. By Saturday we will have come full circle back to Melbourne,
and thus the end of the trip.
....But we’re going to enjoy the
last days as much as we can!!
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