So after a most restful night in the biggest bed I've ever been granted, it was a day of pure fun! I realise that I've never been to Sydney just to have fun; the few times I've been have all been for music tours of some variety, where I've been doing other stuff, and haven't really had much time to look around that much. One day I'll actually go and be a tourist there, seeing as there is so much to do.
Waking up to a beautiful sunny day (!!) with a window overlooking a cosmopolitan street with cafes and what not....blissful!
KD was to come and pick me up from the hotel, which she did. It was nice checking out and not having to settle any bills! And to not have to make the bed (hehe) although admittedly, I really hadn't rolled around much at all. I decided if I wasn't going to be able to enjoy the lovely flowers that I had been given the night before, KD should definitely have them! We wandered around a little for a cafe that looked good for breakfast and settled upon one that looked like it would serve us a hearty morning meal. I have to admit that I love a good cooked breakfast and a morning coffee to go with it. Blissful continued! We had a lovely catch-up over breakfast, chatting about things that had been happening this year that we weren't able to hear about every week. So much has changed and happened this year. Then we went to KD's church, which is currently meeting at Moore Theological College as their original building suffered in a fire and is undergoing the rebuilding stage. It was a great service, really encouraging and also different to my usual Sunday evening one! There were people of a much larger demographic (families! Kids!) and there was a great vibe to it. It's nice going to another church sometimes to visit and to realise that even though the people are different, the songs may be different, the service format, style or vibe might be different, we're still on about the same things fundamentally! This is really exciting and reassuring, I think, partly as I think about how I have no idea what city or country I might be in within the next five or twenty years.
One other thing that struck me about getting around Sydney is how utterly confusing it really is! Even Google Maps on an iPhone do not guarantee that you will get from A to B as expected. On our way to church, the route plotted actually turned out to be not so good as it failed to consider the impossibility of turning at a particular street. We ended up having to follow the road for some while and then find our way back. A fairly frustrating non-anticipation, but in the process of this, we actually drove into the suburb of Woollahra and actually found ourselves passing by the Polish consulate, where we were only the night before! How funny! Google Maps, however, did prove useful when driving to the airport via some cool (large) back streets that avoided much traffic. Whaddaya know?!
After church we wandered along King Street in Newtown, which is close to Sydney University and has lots of shops of all sorts. You might get the idea that we ate lots that day. You wouldn't be wrong. It was great!
KD had a hunch that there was this sort of bookshop/cafe just off the main road and we followed that hunch....and found it! The downstairs part was a lovely bookshop with lots of fun books and gifts. Bookshops are one of those sorts of places that I fawn over so many things that I would buy if I had the means to do so. Perusing the shelves, both KD and I saw these bowls with a dragonfly print on it and looked at each other, with that look and said to each other, "I know somebody that this would be perfect for....!". We decided to buy a gift for the said person just because we could, because we were both in Sydney at the same time in this lovely shop and had this mutual friend that we're both close to. All good reasons for random gifts! Upstairs was a cafe and a second-hand bookshop (which unfortunately we didn't get time to wander through because of little time, pity!) where we ate sweet delicious things on account of not being able to fit lunch in after that large breakfast.
Then it was off to the airport after a very fleeting 24hr stint in Sydney. It was so wonderful to catch up with KD in her new home city (can I say 'new'?!) and to hang out with her for a whole half day. What luxury for us both! It was such a beautiful day all round and a lovely way to round off a really enjoyable weekend. What might seem quite stressful (three flights in three days, one small suitcase, two concerts, meeting-and-greeting) was actually a most relaxing weekend - I'll tel you why. We had one programme to play, which was repeated (such a good feeling!); we were well-looked after; I couldn't bring lots (if any!) work nor my computer, so the only thing I could do was relax; we were somewhat limited in how far we could venture (transport and time constraints) which meant lots of relaxation time; being physically away from the centre of my work (however much I love it) often puts me at ease because I am unable to do it. What a great mini-holiday!
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