Sydney Day 5 & 6

Wednesday was Manly day, meaning the F1 ferry from Circular Quay to the Manly wharf. The weather was very pleasant, sunny but not hot. After a train from Museum to the Quay, I think I went across on the Freshwater ferry. It shot across the harbour at a speed I've never experienced on a Sydney ferry, 40 km/h, 25 mph. The trip normally take about 30 minutes I think, took exactly 21 minutes. The return trip was much more normal at 25/15 and taking about half an hour.

Manly was very normal. I had rest on a seat outside the ferry terminal, and a couple sitting to my side asked me, just double checking, that The Corso from the protected harbour through to the open water beach was the direction they thought. The woman praised Sydney's public transport, which normally  would not please me but I took it as a credit to Australia rather than Sydney. After a pregnant pause, the woman asked me if I thought they were American. Err, I am so sorry. One hundred apologies. Yes I did think that. So you are Canadian. It transpired they were from Vancouver BC, and cruise ship passengers. But Vancouver has good public transport, I proclaimed. Well, yes, if  you live in certain areas. So that is much the same as here. So you have visited Vancouver? Yes, several years ago and we liked the city. We discussed accents; Australian, Canadian and New Zealand. That was nice encounter.

I had lunch at Fusion Point, cheap for the area, but perhaps not quite as good as it used to be. Armed with an ice cream in my hand, I sat on the South Steyne strip of parkland and observed the comings and goings along the beach. This story is quite true but for some reason no one will believe me. As I was taking a snap of the beach, this man stood up from the beach below the seawall and photobombed my snap. 

The harbour was as gorgeous as ever.

The photobomber.

Looking south from South Steyne.

It seems like a family group at the Quay.

After a drink at The Riley, dinner for the night was a half a leftover supermarket sandwich and leftover Thai food.

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Thursday meant more Metro investigation. I caught a tram from Town Hall to Wynyard Station, but before further travel, I sought out this odd but nice art installation in Angel Place, thanks to an idle remark by MC that he would be attending a concert nearby. Pretty cool, hey.

This is a nice big bush for your decking, near the birdcages. 

Exits from Victoria Cross Station.

The stations were all quite nice, this being Victoria Cross. But I do feel better about our soon to open underground Metro stations. Maybe they are ok too. 

I walked to Martin Place M1 station and caught a train to Victoria Cross on the north shore, and surfaced for a brief look around and to see the station, then the same at Crows Nest Station. Although I knew there would be a motorway around the outskirts of Sydney, or one somewhere, as I popped out at Crows Nest, I was next to Highway 1, the road that runs right around Australia, mostly near the coast.

There was some nice artwork outside the station, with a useful screen. You can note how frequent the Metro runs.

Back underground, it was to the original southern M1 terminus at Chatswood, with its combined Metro Station with a normal Sydney Trains overground station. A Middle Eastern cafe where Ray and I once had a nice lunch, had turned into a sushi bar. I walked on and found myself in the Victoria Avenue mall. The centre was lined with two rows of takeaway food tents, with the customers being Asian, and me white fella, was well out of place and vastly outnumbered. I rested for a bit on a bench, studying the way Asian customers interacted with Asian food vendors. I reached no conclusion, other than the interaction between younger Asian customers and the mostly younger Asian vendors seemed more friendly, than interactions with older Asian customers. I am a bit used to seeing that with older Asian people who seem offhand, even grumpy when they are being served in shops. 

But I is hungry. The was a drab shopping centre on one side, and a Westfield shopping centre on the other side. I entered the latter, looking for a food court. I saw some places, but nothing I fancied. Then I was very bad. I spied a KFC and indulged in original recipe deep fried chicken, chips and a thick shake. It was not as if I had been eating well, and this was a one off indulgence. It was a bad. I was feeling rather weary by all walking I had already done and made my way back to the station.

I dined at the Oxford Hotel that night, and you would think I was over chicken after my KFC, but no. At least there is something green on the tray. 

I will write a bit about my journey back in another post, with a comparison between the Metro and Sydney Trains. If bouncing breasts appeals to you, stay tuned.