17 August 2011

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First thing Neil and I went out to get in basics for breakfast. It was only about 10 minute walk, but given the cost of everything over here, managed to spend £60!

Before coming out I’d purchased hop on hop off tickets for exploring Sydney and rather than get the train across I suggested that it would be nice to get the ferry across from by Luna Park into Circular Quay. It took just 15 minutes to walk to the ferry and a boat arrived as soon as we’d finished taking iconic photos through the bridge to the Opera House. The ferry took just 10 minutes and we sat outside. As we came into Circular Quay the 2 AMP buildings were prominent.

We picked up the bus and sat outside on top. Sadly the weather was very cloudy and spotting a bit with rain! We’ve been on a lot of these bus tours and this was the worst. Not only was there no person giving a personal commentary but the pre recorded commentary was very poor, not helped by the fact that it kept cutting out and the wrong piece was playing for where the bus was located. The bus was also extremely slow in getting round its loop as it waited ages at stops. Anyway, it did give everyone the opportunity to see the whole of Sydney.

We got off near Darling Harbour and initially walked to the Fish Market. As a fish lover I was in heaven!! It was also dry inside the market. After some chocolate covered strawberries we stopped at one of the many fish stalls which sold cooked fish. A couple had standard fish and chips, a couple had large prawn and I persuaded Tux and Neil to join me in a lobster thermidor. It was the first time either of them had eaten lobster, so it was good training for Doyles! They both liked it although we all agreed that the cheese sauce was not too good – very thick and no mustard.

We then walked across to Darling Harbour, saw the monorail and bars and walked along to the Convention Centre. It was raining harder by now, so we all agreed to get back on the bus and complete the tour. We got off at the Rocks, bought some postcards and walked to Circular Quay and then on to the Opera House, for lots more more photos!

With the weather still wet we decided to get back on the bus and go to the Sydney Tower, which at one time was called the AMP Tower. Despite the poor weather, the view from the top was very good, although views of the bridge were partly obscured by skyscrapers. You could also see the Olympic Arena and next door the Sydney Cricket Ground.

Eryl, Michael and I decided to head back to the house to get ready for the evening, while the others went off to do their own thing.

At 7 we all left the house to catch the train from North Sydney station 3 stops to St Leonards. After a wrong turn we found the Bazaar Beer Café nearby, where 8 people were already waiting, including Phil the organiser and his wife Dee and Simon my best man. Unusually I was the oldest OF there, but this was soon to be corrected by the arrival of Hugh Richardson and his wife. Given this was Phil’s very laid back supper I decided for the first time not to wear my OF tie. At previous suppers I’d been the only one with a tie! However, this time Simon was properly attired complete with OF tie!

We all had a great time and Simon very generously paid for all the wine and was still buying it right through to the end! Apparently his wine cellar at home had over the last few years been reduced from around 1000 bottles to 300 with the help of his kids. We arranged to be at his local station of Gordon around 7.30 on Friday, when he and one of this kids would come and pick us all up.

The other big news during the evening was a call I received from the estate agent just as we were eating our food. They had increased their offer to £815,000 which I indicated I was happy to accept but James said that he thought he could get a bit more out of them. Given I had already said £820,000 was acceptable it seemed a small difference, but after about an hour he came back and said they had agreed to £817,500. Although it had taken a long time to sell (fingers crossed) and a bit below the best we had hoped for, I’ve been very impressed buy the Estate Agents.

We caught the train home. The trains by the way are double deckers.

I rang my sister to let her know of the sale but she was at work, so left a message with Ian.

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