SYDNEY Sojourn - 2005

It had been 2 years since I had last been to Sydney, and seeing as Kev was going down to see some clients, plus the Archibald Prize was on at the NSW Art Gallery why not jump on a plane and head down there! Previous times we’ve been in Sydney at the same time, we’ve seen bits and pieces with friends, like Manly, Bondi, Cremorne Point, Mosman Bay, Balmoral Beach, walked all through the gardens and seen the NSW Art Gallery a few times, including the Archibald Prize, even included a trip to a fabulous Greek restaurant in the suburbs with our mates Nick & Steve that ended up at the Greyhound races (crazy night!!). So this time, we wanted to explore further afield. We set off on the ferry to Manly with a daily pass and caught a bus as far as we could go north. We jumped off at Narrabeen, and then made our way to Palm Beach…think Home and Away..anyway, its pretty nice here, didn’t see Leighton or Bec, but there is nothing there, apparently the locals have a strong hold in keeping progress at a standstill, ie. No café’s, bars etc, just huge pine trees and a beautiful beach with mega houses on the hill behind. On our way back on the bus we saw a great pub on the beach and very spontaneously jumped off the bus with plans for a lunch meal. As Kev went to pay for our meal he noticed no wallet!! It must still be on the bus!! Well the next 2 hours were spent in a daze, canceling cards, phoning the lost & found bus service, speaking to bus drivers to see if there is any way to track down the bus we were on the get a message to the driver etc. Well, we made our way to the depot and just waited there, to be told that someone had handed our wallet in and the bus was not far away!! The emotions had hit rock bottom and then we were jumping up and down cheering, Sydney isn’t a bad place after all!!

The following day, we walked from the unit in the city to Surrey Hills to see Brett Whiteley’s art studio. The studio is where he used to live and work, it is a renovated warehouse and the top floor is as he left it before he died, paint brushes, paint pallets and a half finished canvas. The bottom floor is dedicated to some of his art, and 2 adjoining walls takes up his massive masterpiece ‘Alchemy’ that I was really hoping to see. Its really bizarre, but interesting all the same. He seemed to have a bit of an infatuation with the female form. Anyway, you can view it on the web, when you get there, click on the large letters: IT

http://www.brettwhiteley.com

Outside Brett Whiteley's studio

The afternoon we caught the ferry to the iconic Watson Bay to have fish & chips at the famous Doyles..a very touristy thing to do, but a must if you ever go to Sydney!

Doyles, Watson Bay

We then decided to hike our way to South Head, so we followed the path all the way around to the Heads. We passed the point where Captain Arthur Phillip set up camp as he explored the harbour to determine the best anchorage for the First Fleet in January 1788, then through the National Park, passing a nude beach, which was a little busy considering the temperature! Anyway, the vantage point at the heads provided us with a spectacular panorama of the harbour and the Pacific Ocean.

That night, we visited our friend John Simonsen who lives in an apartment looking over Hyde Park in the city. He cooked us a beautiful meal and had a great time talking about his travels he made by car throughout northern Italy, while we drank way too much red wine.

View from John & Simon's city apartment overlooking Hyde Park, Sydney