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Last-Minute Shopping |
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We enjoyed another breakfast buffet at the Boulevard. After checking
out, we asked the bellman to watch our bags while we were out. Then
we headed for the Rocks.
The banners on the lightposts, when we left Sydney, had proclaimed it to be Autumn. Now they've been switched to Winter. I guesss they believe winter arrived with the first of June. Anyway, on Saturdays the Rocks featured a market where local artists displayed their wares. We found an amateur photographer that had some pretty decent shots of Sydney and the wilderness. His prices were far better than those found at the Ken Duncan shop, a well-known and much-published Australian wilderness photographer. We also bought actual lemonade (not Sprite) and some fresh corn on the cob. One shop was of interest - it carried Native American goods. We chatted with the store owner. He said that locals love these goods but don't care about Aborigine items. He travels yearly to NW and SW US to buy jewelry and other Native American goods. He figures their popularity here is due to Hollywood films like Dancing With Wolves.
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Early this morning, the harbor was covered in thick mist - you couldn't
even see the other side. But by 1 pm, the mist gave way to the usual
haze of pollution. This has been the sunniest day yet in Sydney.
We walked through the crowd gathered on the Circular Quay to enjoy the
sun and made our way to the botanical gardens. After crossing the
gardens we ended up at Wooloomooloo Harbor which contains Harry's Cafe
on Wheels, famous for its meat pies. I had a beef pie with BBQ sauce;
Daria had a chicken pie topped with mashed potatoes and gravy. There
was no place to sit here, only a curb; the nearby wharf was fenced off.
So we stood among the parked cars and ate the delicious pies. I ordered
another one called the Tiger: a meat pie covered in peas, mashed potatoes
and gravy.
We walked south through residential areas to our hotel. One street had been converted into a pedestrian walkway/courtyard for the nearby apartments. Some poeple were outside enjoying the sun's warmth. At the hotel, we packed our gifts into our luggage and took a taxi to the airport. We bought some duty-free gifts to use up our Australian cash, then went through customs to our gate. Prior to the opening of the gate, many people crowded around it for no reason other than to try to get on the flight as early as possible. This made us none to eager to join their ranks for the trip back to the US.
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Layover in Hollywood |
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After 14 hours in the plane, we arrived at Los Angeles airport at 1 pm - still the 5th of June. Our plane back to DC didn't leave until 8 that evening. We took advantage of this time to meet with college friends Tor and Rich. They picked us up and drove us to their apartment in Hollywood; you can see the famous Hollywood sign from their street. After posing for some crazy shots, they took us up the hill for a view of the valley. We ate dinner at a wonderful seafood place, then they returned us to the airport. Not having much sleep made this visit very surreal; it was weird to be in Australia and Hollywood all in the same day. But we were glad to see them, and we thanked them for their hospitality. We slept as best we could on the flight home. |
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