A story of changed plans – Part I
Friday afternoon saw us step on to a plane to Sydney to enjoy a weekend before one of us, not me, was to attend a conference and return home mid-week. However, not long before we step on to said plane, conference is cancelled due to this fiasco and stupidity called Covid19 overreaction. So, what do we do when faced with such situations at home, as we have already had to accept changed plans for our leave commencing 2 April 2020? We go right ahead and come to Sydney to enjoy, explore, spend a little money and do what we love to do – travel.
It is an opportune time, I think, for all of us to consider our reliance upon China and other countries for a lot of what is on our shelves and in our day-to-day use, and what we are prepared to pay for, whether we are prepared to re-establish industry in Australia, pay the higher prices and not be held to ransom by the rest of the world. Instead, no that does not happen. No, a “stimulus package” is rushed through, along with the other kneejerk reactions stopping gatherings of 500 people (let’s see, does that stop the ferries and trains running, access to shopping centres and markets…), providing $750 to people who are a. not likely to spend it because they are pensioners and may simply keep it for a rainy day; or b. goes to those in receipt of Centrelink benefits who, no I shall stop that thought there; or c. to lower income earners. What about those taxpayers out there who are funding this stimulus package? I am trying to work out why it is we work and pay taxes. Oh, that’s right. Because we need to eat, and spend money in our local community and support those who contribute a limited amount to society but I shall leave that thought right there lest I cause an argument about who should receive this money.
Anyways, back to our trip for the moment.
Our flight time is a lovely 65/70 minutes – enough time to settle in, receive service of cheese and biscuits, order and pay for a drink, consume said drink then prepare for landing. It is a nice smell to have avgas in your nostrils – it means, like airline food, that you are generally going somewhere.
This trip is reminding me to appreciate things: fresh air in your room (where we are staying does not really allow an opportunity to open the windows), a quiet sleeping place (oops, we are near the freeway and in the city, note to self for next time), a soap dish in the shower, good friends, good food, wine and walking.
Friday night we spend with some dear friends, enjoying a lovely Italian meal and some beautiful Chianti and Sangiovese with our antipasto platter then simple but very Italian pizzas – it is our small effort to provide some assistance to the Italians. After dinner, we go for a lovely walk around Darling Harbour to reduce some of the impact of said pizza, take in the views and then retire to our digs.
It is over 20 years since I have been here. I do not recognise what has changed as I really did not take a lot in when I was here last to see the Faberge Egg exhibition at the Powerhouse Museum. It is about 6 years for the other half of this mischief pair – he’s struggling with some of the changes. There is what seems to be a lot of building work in the city. I love the contrast of the old buildings, the timeless elegance of the arcades like QVB and skilled artisans who carved the stonework for the cathedrals.
Saturday morning is a walk to Circular Quay, a wander around the iconic Opera House, a gawk at the Sydney Harbour Bridge and marvelling at the size comparison of the cruise ship that has docked as against the various ferries that scurry in and out of the dock nearby.
Breakfast is at the gorgeous Rocks Café – a lovely “olde worlde” establishment where the staff are friendly, they wear aprons and the food is simply delicious. They use little paper notepads and biros to take your order, you sit under a number that has been something like letterasetted to the wall behind the bench seat set against the wall, we were upstairs so you climb a winding staircase that all coffees and meals are taken up and you are delivered a printed menu in formal cover and a glass of water. The corn fritters with poached egg, bacon, tomato and relish are divine. I hear that the avocado on toast with poached egg and shaved feta was pretty good too.
We walk about 21,000 steps today. During our travels, there is a cacophony of sound, at times, from the street performers, a violinist and a pianist as well as others. The music is amazing but there is so much noise as well from the shops. At other times, there is only the sound of cars. Moseying on, we explore, just walking wherever fancy takes us, and locate a suitable café at which to try the most magnificent lemon meringue pie we had seen – so tall and crazy yet so yummy and not sugary sweet.
A visit to the Sky Tower keeps us amused for a while as we look down over the city in every direction. There is development for as far as we can see, which is a little restricted today by the inclement weather. We then hang with family for a bit, enjoying a lovely lunch of blackened fish with sweet potato mash and “leg of lamb” with pickled cucumber. There’s little evidence remaining of lunch as the plates are wiped clean. To round out the night, we ventured to Hard Rock Café, something that has become part of our travels. We stumbled upon Hard Rock our first night in Osaka so now we pop in wherever we get to. Not a bad joint to have a sit down, feet up for a few minutes.
I continue to wonder as I round out this long post about what the impact of this over-reaction to what was described by a registered nurse, today, as “just a fucking cold”. Contracts for employment in the hospitality industry, over the coming winter period, are not being offered so people have no surety as to work. Street markets are closing as of today. What happens to the stallholders who make their income from the street markets?
Attendance is already down, although we weren’t terribly aware as there seemed to be a lot of people. We asked questions – most people were thoroughly over the impact of the Covid19 measures which have had an immediate effect on so many jobs in so many lines of work. What is the impact to be long term? I wonder how this nonsense all started. Where the feed of information came from. I wonder what has caused us to be so soft. Is it the immediacy of social media with information and mis-information? There has to be something at the step before anything becomes a news story, of any form so who was feeding that information? At 9.30am today, there were about 12 people in Martin Place – CBD Sydney. 12 people. Why? Because the impact of the governments positions on Covid19 is already biting.
For now, I close my ramblings/rantings and say that although it was a day of inclement weather, it is a day that has been thoroughly enjoyable. It has been about 27 hours of much walking and exploring, good food and coffee/beverages, history, family and friends. We are blessed with good health, seemingly stable and steady employment, a challenged sense of humour and a desire to continue to travel for as long as we can, as much as possible on our terms (although our Europe trip is now deferred) and not as dictated by another. I wish you sweet dreams and safe travels. Until next time….
