A few weeks ago, my friend Lydia came to visit for a long weekend. She's from the UK and has been living in Perth for about 4 years (I think! maybe only 3) and she had never been to Sydney before. For our first day trip, I decided that I would take her to Wendy Whitely's Secret Garden first, then to Circular Quay and the Rocks. Taking into account the above lesson, I wildly overestimated the amount of time I thought we would need for every part of the day. It all worked perfectly,
For those who don't know it, Wendy Whitely's Secret Garden was created by Wendy after the death of her husband, the artist Brett Whitely. Situated in Lavender Bay, not far from Luna Park, the garden cascades down from their former home, to the harbour's edge. A steep staircase takes you down from the road to a lawn-covered landing from which you can pick-a-path to begin your journey into a wonderland of faerie copses.
I decided we would travel to the garden by train but I didn't think too hard about the route the train would take. So when we suddenly emerged from a tunnel into daylight, overlooking water, I remarked casually to Lydia, "Oh look, views!" I turned to look out the other side and there was the Sydney Opera House, its famous white sails billowing before me. "Turn around!" I squeaked to Lydia. While she was squealing with delight at her first view of the iconic building, I had a thought. "Actually," I began sheepishly, "I think we must be ON the bridge." I could feel the whole carriage thinking, "Tourists..."
Later that week, I caught up with another friend, Miko, visiting for a conference. We went to this bar in Bondi that I’ve been wanting to try called Speakeasy. From the outside, Speakeasy looks cosy and welcoming but the armchair I sat on was super uncomfortable, somehow hard and soft at the same time. The outer layer was like a shell that collapsed dramatically the moment my bottom made contact. The tomato risotto we shared was delicious; the service strangely ambivalent. I’ve noticed it in other establishments too. The staff seem to be aware that they are paid to be friendly but their true attitude, disdain, keeps slipping through the cracks.