Friday, February 08, 2008

Can we meet on the street, maybe tomorrow?

Last week my sister and I took an overnight trip to Sydney to see Suzanne Vega at Star City Casino. She did NOT disappoint. I enjoyed the show a lot; but it was a dream come true for my sis. Suzanne had a four-piece band with her, including (apparently) a guitarist who comes from Canberra. They were good, but the songs I liked best were the ones she sang accompanied only by her own acoustic guitar and/or the bass player.

We also packed in a few other activities during our two days.

1. med at ikea_img_8960
"Dissecting probe, stat!" We admired Ikea's creative demonstration of possible uses for these drawers.

Near our hotel, this carpark behind the preserved facade of an old building caught my attention... especially the lighting on the trees showing through the openings.
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So I took about fifty equally blurry photos of the scene.
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The next day we managed to get up early-ish. Some shopping/browsing (Queen Victoria Building for her, Tapestry Craft for me), then a walk down to the art gallery to check out a wonderful August Sander exhibition. As we wandered at a leisurely pace through the Domain, it was packed with runners, soccer players, footy-kickers, and boot-campers sweating their way through the lunch hour.

We headed down to Circular Quay and picked a destination: Balmain because neither of us had been there before. It was a short, pleasant ferry ride and then a long walk up an enormous hill to get to the main street. There we rewarded ourselves with an large, delicious sushi lunch. This picture shows only half of the food we ordered.
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5. Balmain_img_9028

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7. Thames st wharf_img_9030
We had to take a longer ferry route to get back. It was a bit overcast and my photos mostly sucked. I really didn't get any that do justice to the magnificent Sydney Harbour.
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We agreed that it wouldn't suck to live in one of these places.
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It does suck to do without buses and trains. I think this was near Birkenhead point. I don't know who exactly is protesting, though.

Update: Rose Red kindly explained in the comments that The NSW Roads & Traffic Authority want to widen Victoria Road (the road that leads onto the bridge in the photo, the Iron Cove bridge) and also maybe build another bridge beside that one. This will just move the bottleneck of traffic to a point further down the road. Which is why residents want more buses and trains, and even ferries.

9 comments:

Bells said...

I'm so glad SV didn't disappoint. I didn't think she would. She seems to get better and better with age.

Fabulous sushi feast!!!

I love the ferry rides in Sydney. I did Parramatta to the city once and love seeing those places on the shore.

Rose Red said...

How did I not know about Suzanna Vega at Star City?? Sigh.

That is the Iron Cove bridge. The NSW Roads & Traffic Authority want to widen Victoria Road (the road that leads onto that bridge) and (I think) build another bridge beside that one. But of course, this will just move the bottleneck of traffic to a point further down the road. Which is why we want more buses and trains. And even ferries. I could catch the ferry home to Birkenhead Point except the last one leaves the city at 5.15pm. Ridiculous!! (end rant!)

Looks like you had a great time in Sydney!

Donna Lee said...

It would totally not suck to live in a place like that. It looks so nice to be walking around with sandals and dresses and bare legs. I am always envious of folks who can take ferries to work until I remember that motion sickness is a real problem for me. I have enough trouble on my 25 minute train ride.

Michelle said...

Sounds like you had a rather nice time in Sydney Town! It's good to get out of the usual parts of the city. Glad Balmain didn't disappoint!

Olivia said...

Rose Red, thanks for that, I was hoping a Sydney person might help out there.

Donna Lee - actually the ride back was a bit motion-y for me at some points. But if you're ever in Sydney it is a great way to see the Harbour - and some routes are much shorter than 25 min anyway.

Taphophile said...

Suzanne Vega! You saw Suzanne Vega! How fantastic - completely green. She's such a talent.

Damn I miss ferries - such a civilised method of public transport.

Em said...

It sounds like you had a lovely trip, and you're right, it would not suck to live in one of those buildings. The sushi looks delicious, and so does the weather.

Thanks for stopping by my blog and leaving such an encouraging comment, it was much appreciated.

AMCSviatko said...

Rats! How did I not know Suzanne Vega was in Sydney?! I saw her years ago in Auckland and she was fab - would have been nice to see her again...

Alwen said...

My husband introduced me to her music. Now I think I'll go put one of his CDs in while I go pay the winter tax.