I was thinking of calling this Grumpy Day but on reflection, that's not how I feel about it all. I have a leaflet (somewhere) which suggested that I could go and visit the old Royal Mint building and even have a cup of coffee in their cafe. When I got to the building on Macquarie Street it wasn't obvious where the trail began. I made my way into the building; there were some plates describing various artefacts and the building but I hadn't worked out where the beginning was. I tried to break in to somewhere that said it was 'reception' and someone pressed release on the door button. Apparently, the building is the HQ of the Historic Houses Association but, although they live in a rather wonderful and historic house, the building no longer functions as a museum. "Oh, we keep telling people" but yes, leaflets like the one I have in my hand suggest that we can come and look around. A shame as the building does indeed look rather good. Interesting even.
Ok, next step in the plan was the Museum of Sydney. I've visited before but it has new exhibitions so I thought it would be worth the $10. Hmm the cafe was shut for refurbishment. Lunch went on hold. I had been attracted by an exhibition called "Iconic Houses" so I made my way up there. But I wasn't happy with the exhibit. It talked about how architecture in Australia has changed but for me, I need to understand the building at a very basic level, what it looks like, how the rooms flow. There were hardly any floor plans. A definite lack in my book. There was a video show, the architects talking about their works. But the order didn't relate to the order around the room. And you know, videos take time which the audience might not have allocated to you. There was, however, a very interesting section on the Chinese community, how they arrived, how they have been treated and their contribution to Australian society. This is one huge difference between this visit and my last trip to Oz. There are so many oriental people, most of whom are Chinese, in Australia. Lots are visiting but many live here.
The master plan for the day included a walk through Queen Victoria Building on the way to Central Station. I made it to QVB and I think I took my lunch break in a cafe I'd visited before. A senior gent called Rex struck up conversation. It was lovely to talk to him. Some changes to QVB since my last visit included escalators, sympathetically inserted but still ugh. But then there are two magnificent clocks dangling from the top floor; I have photographed them before and I thought what would be the point of repeating the snaps? Well, it wasn't possible to improve on history with my new, super duper camera because there were advertising banners wafting about bang in front of the photo opportunities. What is the world coming to? I think I'm turning into a grumpy old woman, saying it used to be wonderful in the old days. I found the 'concierge' and asked if I could give her my feedback about the ruination of the building. She was very polite and said she would pass on my comments.
At Central Station, I booked my ticket to Canberra for Friday next week, even enjoying a 10% discount with my YHA membership. I plodded back uptown to Circular Quay, passing through the bottle shop, and made a cheese and vegemite toasty for my tea. With fruit and veg, it's not as bad as it sounds. I retired to the balcony with my liquid purchase, under the shelter with the other folk, overlooking the damp vivid below and afar. It carried on regardless of the weather (could have been Britain). The rain did mean that we could see some of the laser pathways which was interesting as you always wonder where the feed for these things is coming from. I chatted to a Maltese/30 year Australian lady as well as some folk from Melbourne. The good thing about Melb is you can always talk about the crap weather "We get four seasons in a day" is something I've heard more than once. My reply is that it sounds like living in the UK! One eye over the balcony, watching the illuminations meant that we spotted the fireworks that popped up next to the Opera House quite quickly. They were good. No idea why they were there today but not yesterday, but who cares!
Tomorrow morning I shall tour the Sydney Opera House. In the evening I shall be at Carriageworks with a ticket to see the Pet Shop Boys. The whole reason I have ended up here at this most amazing time. It will be a good day.
<whoop whoop>
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