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Published: January 14th 2013
Christmas Dinner
With Viv & Kev and Sandy & Brett. Jo took the picture.G'day All
Everyone recovered from Christmas?! Made & broken resolutions?! Excellent - good to know life is carrying on as usual without me!
When last we met I was about to experience the Australian Christmas. It turned out not to be that different to the UK one except for a slightly higher temperature (but we did have some rain). There was turkey, roast potatoes, roast pumpkin, veggies, mince pies, Christmas cake, presents, screaming excitable children and lots of drinking. Viv had very kindly included me in the presents, giving me a stocking of gifts which she had also done for her daughters, Sandy & Jo. I had bought games for the kids and wine for the adults! Mum had very generously left a few things there for me when we visited before which was so thoughtful, so I didn't feel at all left out. Sandy had got me a few little things and Jo bought Sandy, Viv and myself cinema tickets for Boxing Day evening to see Les Miserables which came out that day - it was brilliant and I highly recommend it. I've seen the West End show a few times and the film doesn't disappoint.
Jo
Presents!
Great excitement, like all households across the world :-) had bought all the kids tennis rackets for Christmas so Viv arranged for us to take the girls to a local holiday park's court to let them have a go while I was there. It was fun to do a bit of basic coaching and help them to get the hang of it. While I was staying with them we also went on a walk through a local rainforest and visited the koala hospital that Mum & I had been to when we were there before.
On my last evening we all went out to a local club where the children went to a kids club and us adults had a nice meal overlooking the river. Whilst having a drink later Paul, my brother, rang to let me know he has been awarded the MBE for his work at the Olympics - I was so proud and thrilled for him that I must admit I got quite emotional. What a fantastic honour :-)
The next day I said my farewells and got the train back to Sydney in time for New Year. My next accomodation had been described as a B&B but was more like a hostel and,
to be honest, a bit depressing. But it was relatively cheap considering the time of year & its proximity to Darling Harbour so I just decided it was OK for somewhere to sleep and I'd make do.
New Year's Eve in Sydney Harbour was one of the main events in my itinerary when planning this trip. I'd seen it on the TV news each year and it looked amazing so I'd always wanted to be there at least once. The reality of it for me was a very long, hot, exhausting day but it was worth it to have been there in person for the show and the atmosphere. I'd decided to go to one of the most popular sites - Mrs Macquarie's Point, which is the next bit of land round from the Opera House. I'd been warned I'd need to get there early as there would be a limit on numbers (just 17,000!) so I made it by 11am to be met by a two hour long queue in the sun :-( Once into the area I found a spot to lay down my towel, sit and pass the time reading and chatting to the people around
In the rainforest 2
With all the kids - Asha, Lauren, Lily, Tahlia and Kathryn. me. In the early evening there was an aerial display by two small planes then the 9pm firework display for the kids. Everyone rushed toward the water's edge for a better view and I found somewhere I could just see the bridge but only saw the fireworks through the branches of a tree.
I decided I needed to find a better view for the main event at midnight so I got closer to the water (not at the edge because other people were already established there) where I could still see the Opera House and the Bridge and hopefully have a better view of the fireworks. There was no room to sit, so I then had to stand in place surrounded by Spaniards for over two hours. By the time the fireworks started my feet were killing me and I was really tired, but the display was fabulous and everyone loved it all so it was worth it. Once it was over, I had to walk back to my hostel which took about two hours. The streets were filled with people and there were quite a few police about just keeping things in check so I felt perfectly safe.
My new career?!
Starting off the next Ozzie tennis champions ;-) By the time I fell into bed I was absolutely shattered.
A couple of days later, I'd arranged to meet up with Steve (friend/ex-client) again for a game of tennis in the evening. He'd organised a couple of friends to join us so that we could play doubles (thank heavens!). We had a really fun, close match and I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to play again. His friends were lovely and we all went back to Steve's for a take-away curry with his wife Aretha. It was such a great evening.
Over the next few days I visited the Museum of Australia, the Botanical Gardens, Taronga Zoo, did the Opera House tour and generally soaked up Sydney as I was due to leave soon. I also took every opportunity to travel by ferry wherever I was going as I couldn't get enough of the harbour setting.
My tennis obsession was frustrating me because my hostel TV only had one channel and it wasn't the tennis one, so I trawled various bars looking for somewhere showing the Brisbane tournament where Andy Murray was playing. Unfortunately there was some big cricket test match going on so I was out
of luck. A cheeky text to Steve asking if I could pop over to watch the final the next day if Murray was in it, elicited an invitation to do just that and to stay for a BBQ after - excellent! Murray won the title in Brisbane, then some friends joined us for the BBQ which was delicious. I'm so grateful to Steve and everyone else I've spent time with in Australia so far. Travelling alone would never be my first choice so being able to meet up with familiar faces and meet some new people has been so special to me.
You may have seen that this week Australia has been experiencing record temperatures and suffering numerous bush fires which look extremely scary. I feel safe in the city but would be so uneasy anywhere else. Last Tuesday the forecast was for high 30's, low 40's in Sydney so my priority was to find somewhere with air-conditioning and ideally also showing the Sydney tennis tournament! Steve to the rescue again - he suggested the local casino, about a 10 minute walk from my hostel. It is enormous, with thousands of pokies (fruit machines to those in the UK!),
New Years Eve 2
Final flourish of fireworks off the Harbour Bridge - beautiful. card tables etc. It's also a hotel, has various restaurants and most importantly to me, a sports bar showing every sporting event taking place all over the world, it seemed! I walked there mid-morning in what was probably 30 degrees and spent the day watching the tennis and chatting to an Australian lady and her son who had an encyclopedic knowledge of women's tennis which seemed to be used mainly for gambling and pub quizzes ;-) When I left around 8:30pm it was even hotter, probably up to 40 degrees and there was a hot wind blowing as well - very uncomfortable.
The next day I'd arranged to meet up with my friend Gill again for a day at the Sydney tennis being held at the Olympic Park. I was so glad we hadn't chosen to go the day before as I'm not sure I could have sat in that heat. I've absolutely no idea how they played tennis in it. It was hot enough when we were there, but bearable. We were just 4 rows back and saw three brilliant matches with Radwanska, Vinci, Harrison, Isner, Niemenen and the new Aussie hopeful Tomic, who went on to win
Sydney Opera House
Evening view of the iconic building from a ferry across the water the tournament - his first ATP title. I had a lovely day catching up with Gill and I'm sure we'll meet up again when she and Rick are next in the UK.
That evening was spent sorting out my things again and packing for my flight to Melbourne. I'm booked into an apartment in Fitzroy for just under 3 weeks so that I can easily get to the Australian Open (20 minute walk) on the 6 days I have tickets, do my own catering which should be so much cheaper than eating out all the time and follow the tennis on the TV and online at my leisure. I'm hoping to also get to know the city, perhaps meet up with a couple of people and plan the following two weeks in and around Melbourne before I move on to Adelaide mid-Feb.
Sydney and the other parts of New South Wales I have visited have been fabulous. The beaches are beautiful and so well looked after, the city is generally like most others but is set apart by the gorgeous harbour setting, and the Ozzies themselves have not disappointed. I feel lucky to have had people to meet
Sydney International Tennis
Aussie Bernard Tomic on his way to his first ATP title and spend time with, especially after Mum went home and with a few contacts people have given me I hope that will continue.
More from Melbourne next time...
Best wishes to everyone
Jo :-)
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