Sunday 9th February More exploring of Port Jackson

The dinner at O went very well yesterday evening. All diners were well behaved and seemed to get on very well together. The revolving restaurant was 47 stories high and gave us some superb views of Sydney and the harbour both in daylight and after darkness ascended. Good food, excellent wines and stimulating conversation - a very good evening.

Once again today is cloudless and hot with the forecast high around 29C. We decided to explore Port Jackson further by taking a round trip on the ferry to Parramatta and then going on to Watson's Bay for a swim.

It was a very interesting trip and we saw a lot more of the harbour than ever before. As we went upstream and west the harbour slowly narrows until it becomes the Parramatta river and navigation seem to end at Parramatta town. Lots of very expensive properties along the waterfront to start with and then becoming quite wild with mangrove like swamps.

The ferry to Watson's Bay was very busy and clearly lots of Sydneysiders had decided to escape the city heat by heading down to the slightly cooler parts of the harbour and Doyles the fish restaurant was doing a roaring trade as usual. We enjoyed our swim and then took another crowded ferry back to Circular Quay.

This evening we will probably eat early down by the Rocks before getting ready for our flight to Queenstown tomorrow.

Saturday 8th, Paddongton, Coogee Beach and Watsons Bay

Another lovely hot day with cloudless skies and the sort of intense sun you only seem to experience in the southern hemisphere. Not entirely sure why that is but there are theories about holes in the ozone layer down under. Whatever the real reason it does seem to be the case.

We had decided to buy a day ticket on the buses and ferries and head off to the coast via the Saturday market at Paddingdon. Eventually we found the ticket office and headed east to the suburb of Paddington which consisted of wall to wall designer shops which did not appear particularly upmarket from the outside but did seem to require a new mortgage if one entered.

The market was interesting with mainly clothes, paintings and craft items. All very good quality and the market clearly attracts large numbers every Saturday.

Off to the bus stop again and having surveyed the options for a beach visit we had decided upon Coogee which is some way south of Bondi. The journey involved a change of bus at Bondi Junction where a very helpful lady directed us to the bus station as a priority over finding her lost husband.

The bus to Coogee duly arrived and off we went via the busy and attractive suburb of Randwick.

As we descended down the Hill into Coogee we both could see that this was a good choice and the beach looked great. 

Braving the threat of great white sharks, box jellyfish, Mitchell Johnson and other Aussie nasties we launched ourselves into the surf.  It was brilliant! Crystal clear warm water and exciting waves. We loved it and could have stayed much longer but the sun was so strong and respite was needed.

Off then back to Circular Quay to take a ferry trip around Port Jackson via Watson's Bay. 

The harbour looked stunning and I have never seen so many yachts and dinghies many of whom seemed to delight in tacking as close to the ferry as possible.

By now we really had experienced enough sun and it was back to the hotel for a cup of tea - how very english!


This evening we are having dinner with Geoff and Genevieve Norman and Anthony and Louise Alexander. The two couples have not met one another but Geoff is a client of Rosemary's at Stafford and Anthony was a partner at Oppenheimers when Rosemary first started as a lawyer. The restaurant is called O (apparently O for organic) and is on the 46th floor of a building in Australia Square. Should be an interesting evening!

Friday 7th January Sydney in the sunshine

A beautiful morning in Sydney with clear blue skies and mid 20s temperature. The LLW had some work to do so I headed off for a walk to Circular Quay and the Opera House.

It was peak commuter time and the ferries from all around the harbour were arriving laden with workers heading for Sydney's CBD. Just as I arrived at the Opera House a huge P&O cruise ship the Pacific Jewel crept slowly round the point and inched its way to berth at Circular Quay - quite a site.

Work finished for the LLW we headed off to explore some areas of Sydney that we had not really seen before. A long walk though the botanic gardens on past Woolloomooloo, up the steep McElhone steps to an area known as Potts Point , where there were lots of Georgian and Victorian villas.

After Potts Point we descended to Elizabeth Bay where a very welcoming breeze from Sydney Harbour helped cool us a little. BTW, henceforth we will refer to Sydney Harbour by its proper name Port Jackson.

After a quick pit stop at the Bird & Bear coffee shop we walked south through Kings Cross, Darlinghurst and Surry Hills where we had a light and very good lunch at the Clock pub. All very interesting and totally different to the areas of Sydney we had visited on previous occasions.

We took a bus back to our hotel which is very close to Circular Quay and after a short
rest the LLW walked to the offices of Quay Partners and Stafford, one of her clients where she had a meeting with Dom Tayco. I joined Rosemary, Dom, Daan and Megan a little later for drinks at a pub in the Rocks district.

Afterwards Rosemary and I had dinner at a very nice restaurant at Campbells Storehouse with a wonderful view across to the Opera House slightly obscured by the very large rear end of aforementioned Pacific Jewel. Offense was clearly taken about the large rear end comments and with much hooting, and shepherded by tugs the cruise ship left in a huff! Seems a great shame to visit a truly great city such as Sydney and only spend ~12 hours there.

Thursday 6th Singapore to Sydney

After 2 hours at Singapore Airport and a further 7.5 hours from Singapore to Sydney in a Boeing 777-300A) we landed at Sydney Airport under cloudless skies and temperatures in the low to mid 20s just as dusk approached and within an hour were safely in our hotel.    The LLW was calm and collected throughout the flight and remarked "what a long way she had come in terms of flying"!!! 

Wednesday 5th February off to Sydney

We left Skinners Cottage bright and early and were collected by our lovely taxi driver Camilla (no not that Camilla) and off we went to Heathrow. Plenty of time had been allowed to negotiate the dreaded M25 and we arrived early.

Our first time on Singapore Airlines and the LLW had donned lippy ready to compete with the legendary SA hostesses.

An excellent flight to Singapore on my favourite plane the Airbus A380-800. All very smooth with good food, wine and excellent service. It is now 08:36 on Thursday 6th here at Singapore Changi airport and very shortly we will be off to the gate to board our plane to Sydney.

The airport  is huge, very efficient and buzzing with people going in all directions. Slightly puzzled by a quite large model of the leaning tower of Pisa which featured in one of the concourses; I think it must be a promotion for holidays to Italy.

Autumn in the Lakes

We spend a delightful weekend with Hilton and Anne in the Lake District and saw the area at its Autumn best

A lovely walk around Buttermere was cold and at times wet  but in between the showers we were treated to some stunning views

 While Anne headed off to play the organ at church Hilt decided to test our climbing mettle with a gentle stroll up Little Mell Fell. Fabulous views all around with the fells topped with snow

Later we enjoyed a leisurely stroll around Brotherswater

Wednesday 18th. Lovely villages around Bayeux and ferry back from Ouistreham

Poor weather as we left Cancale but as we came close to Bayeux it improved and we left the Route Nationale, put down the roof and enjoyed a leisurely drive through some lovely villages around Bayeux including Cerisy la Foret and Le Molay Littry.

We had stayed at the Hotel Du Commerce in the latter village many years ago with Hilda, Sadie and Elsie whilst visiting Bayeux and the Tapestry. The LLW never ceases to remind me that on one occasion I was determined to eat out (I'm not normally a fan of eating in hotels) only to be persuaded otherwise and we had the best Cote de Boeuf ever - well what do I know!

Bayeux was out lunchtime stop and we enjoyed  a wander around the town which is as lovely as ever

We still had plenty of time before our ferry so meandered through the countryside and stopped at a lovely village called Creully which had a beautifully restored castle.