Sydney Diary September 2019

Tail end of Winter

It's been a month since that 14 hour flight out of LA on the Dreamliner, an extraordinary feat of engineering. When that giant chunk of metal taxied then gracefully glided up into the air over the Pacific Ocean I couldn't help marveling at the accomplishments of my species. Of course I was flying economy but I felt privileged. My brain doesn't come anyway near those humans endowed with the intelligence that advances our civilization. At the same time it is equally astonishing that our species is responsible for the leadership mess in the US and the UK, not to mention Australia!

Sydney is our home this autumn. Spring, to be accurate. Daryl has taken up duties as a visiting professor at the Maths Institute attached to the University of Sydney. I'm working on a book (just so I can sound pretentious!).

September in Sydney was similar to March in Santa Barbara. Chilly days and summery days interspersed among mostly mild days. Some blustery days in the first half of the month and a couple of rainy days. Each day the sun rises a little earlier and sets a little later. The avenue of plane trees lining the road below our apartment were bare when we arrived, and are now clad in bright green foliage. Around the city most of the trees (many graceful mature ficus varieties) are evergreen and provide no hints of the season.

Our apartment building - The Cove

We had a bit of a rocky start on our arrival. The Glebe apartment we'd booked many months ago turned out to be unsuitable for many reasons. Below street level, it had a chilly, gloomy interior. But it was the presence of mold around the doors and windows that made it intolerable.

Ten anxiety filled days after our arrival we packed our things and moved into a high rise called The Cove, designed by a famous local architect. Our suburb is The Rocks, and the Opera House is a quick walk from us. Through the floor to ceiling living room window we have views of the Harbor Bridge and Circular Quay. We have access to a rooftop terrace, a gym, pool, sauna and steam-room. Safe to imagine our days here border on luxurious.

On Day 1 we walked along the waterfront for a quick look at Sydney's sights. This is a side view of the Opera House from across the Museum of Contemporary Art

What have we been up to in our free time?

On the cultural front we attended two events at the Sydney Opera House. Before the start of every performance, respects are paid to the First Nations. The Gadigal clan, who originally lived on the land occupied by the Opera House, is honored.
We enjoyed a gripping performance of Holst's "The Planets" by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Vladimir Ashkenazy (now in his early 80's). This was preceded by a heartwarming piano concerto by a Russian composer we hadn't heard of before. Probably because Nikolai Medtner was Rachmaninoff's contemporary. Alexei Volodin, a Russian pianist, did a phenomenal job of making the piece accessible!

Our second Opera House event was a finely tuned performance of Tom Stoppard's 1982 play "The Real Thing" at the more intimate Drama Theatre.

Cast of The Real Thing taking their final bows

In the hands of an outstanding cast, the play's probing questions on love and writing kept us stimulated and captivated. Not to mention laughing hard at the many witty lines. So glad we got to see this and even better, I managed to get a discount coupon from the Welcome committee and saved $60 on 2 tickets!
I must add that the walk back from the Opera House to our apartment is always entertaining. The outdoor bars buzz with folks lingering over drinks. All along the quays you see clusters of the city's cosmopolitan residents and visitors, basking in the lit up skyscrapers and the Harbor Bridge, outlined in bright colors these past evenings.

Sydney Harbor Bridge at night

A city that feels so alive energizes me.

Sydney's culinary scene is excitingly diverse. A week after our arrival in Sydney it was my birthday. For dinner Max, Daryl and I celebrated at Manjits, which promised fine Indian cuisine with a Darling Harbor view. It delivered on both fronts. A robustly spiced roasted eggplant dish and a rich kofta dish were divine. Max gave his grilled fish dish a definite nod of approval. The last time he and I were together on my birthday was way back during our student days in Durban. He took charge of the wine, choosing a crisp Chardonnay (currently trendy varietal in Australia) which worked pretty well with our meal.

A couple weeks later, at Mercado, one of a collection of upmarket Angel Place restaurants, we indulged in superb Mediterranean fare. Starter share plates of creamy hummus with housemade pita bread (resembling thick roti) and a polenta flavored with parmesan were faultless. As were the delicate pumpkin ravioli and smoky wood-fired broccoli. The wine list had looked intimidating with its mainly highly priced European selections. As a rule we go for local so we chose a Hunter Valley Shiraz which at A$52 was one of the cheaper options. It turned out to be an excellent choice, lots of structure with a great balance of dryness and fruitiness.

Jounieh, at the Harbor Bridge end of the newly developed waterfront precinct called Barangaroo, was another Mediterranean restaurant we tried and loved for its polished creativity. Their homemade flatbread came piping hot and was instantly addictive. We used it to scoop up three yummy dips - a smoky babaganoush, good hummus and labneh. The other starter dish we shared, called kabees, consisted of marinated olives and pickled turnips and chillies. For mains we had an usual green falafel accompanied by chargrilled eggplant. The terrace with pleasant water views was a delightful setting, tempting us to prolong the meal with dessert. We ordered baklava, prepared to be underwhelmed. To our surprise the larger than expected block consisted of delicate layers of rectangles separated by something creamier and less sweet than honey. It more closely resembled a high quality mille feuille.

At Indu, another high end restaurant at Angel Place, the idea of modern Sri Lankan village food so intrigued us we decided to go for the multi course vegetarian feast set menu.  Course after delicious course arrived - slices of warm cumin bread with a creamy spread; a roasted eggplant and bell pepper mini-casserole, spelt dosa stuffed with curried potatoes and crispy kale; pumpkin curry, dhal, rice, paratha, beetroot raita, grilled brussels sprouts. An impossible amount of food. All of it meeting the high expectations of food snobs. The desserts borrowed heavily from the west - a cube of carrot cake and dark chocolate mousse with orange sorbet. Thankfully we were allowed to bring back leftovers in a to go box.

Just to be clear, we eat home cooked meals at least 5 nights a week. Produce from Paddy's market and from weekend farmer's markets provide the inspiration. As spring approaches produce shopping is increasingly pleasurable. Asparagus is in season now. Isn't that cool?

To balance our restaurant indulgences we spent hours on walking trails every weekend. Coastal tracks abound along Sydney's curvaceous harbor and coastline. During our first week in the city, when the air still held a winter chill, the Glebe Foreshore track provided an easy escape from our gloomy apartment. Within two minutes of shutting the door I found myself on a paved path which followed the Wattle Bay shoreline, under the Anzac Bridge, past several parks bordered by graceful, mature trees. City skyline views across the bay were splendid.

Anzac Bridge from Glebe Foreshore

Further along, the high rises disappeared and the horizon at sunset was delightful. I loved the neighborhood atmosphere on this walk late in the day when I merged with joggers, residents walking their dogs, cyclists, fitness buddies, and others. On the Sunday before leaving Glebe for our new digs Daryl and I walked all the way to the end of the track and arrived at the Tramsheds. A collection of restaurants and gourmet food stores occupy this converted tram depot. In the central court a food market with several stalls of produce and artisanal foods conferred wonderful atmosphere. We felt excited, anticipating more Sydney discoveries in the months ahead.

We knew we had to do the Bondi to Coogee trail while the weather was still cool. Arriving by bus at Sydney's most famous surf beach on a calm Saturday afternoon we were surprised at the tame surf.

View of Bondi from the Bondi to Coogee Track

The sandy beach and sapphire ocean were as dazzling as they appear in movies. Even though we'd done this walk multiple times in past visits, we still gasped in awe at the sheer limestone cliffs, city views and little beaches along the path to Coogee.

The next day we boarded a ferry for Manly, the other popular beach area. Harbor, bridge and Opera House views from the water never get stale. With so many options to choose from in Manly we went in the opposite direction to the crowd. Unlike the previous day's hike which was entirely in an urban setting, this walk had more variety.

Cliff on Manly walk 

A water dragon in Manly

We quickly found ourselves in the bush, then in a posh neighborhood, then a secluded beach hidden in vegetation. We followed the trail upwards, greeted periodically by giant lizards (water dragons?) and arrived at the top of a steep cliff.

In various places signs were displayed, urging you to call this number before considering stepping off the cliff. The walk led downwards to the popular Shelly Beach before looping across the Corso back to the harbor.

On a different weekend we walked 8 km from Rose Bay to Watson's Bay and saw new parts of Sydney. The ferry ride to Rose Bay provided a different angle from which to view the city skyline and Harbor Bridge. The start of the walk took us to a built up neighborhood of gorgeous mansions before returning us to the coast where we entered the Hermitage Foreshore Walk.

City Skyline from Hermitage Foreshore Walk

Much of it was on timber boardwalk through the bush with views of small beaches and bays. We saw and heard lots of birds, including a family of kookaburras.

Crested pigeon? On Hermitage Foreshore Walk

At times we caught glimpses of the city skyline across the bay. The walk continued through parks and neighborhood before we reached the ferry dock at Watson's Bay three hours later.

Could a Sunday get any better? Guess what! Back at Circular Quay we boarded a ferry to Pyrmont Bay to check out the wine festival in Pirrama Park. Wineries from Orange, a region 200 miles inland, beyond the Blue Mountains, were showing off their cool climate 2018 wines. On this sunny day, sitting on the grass in front of a live band, the bay in the background, any wine would have tasted fine. But the pinot noir I tried was impressive. When Max joined us - his apartment was a five minute walk away - we tried a couple of Chardonnays. Unexciting. I tried a red blend from a vegan, organic vendor. I liked it. It tasted young, but held great promise at maturity.

Wine Festival, Pirrama Park

The wine scene in Australia is dynamic and full of pleasant surprises. At the moment we're exploring wines from New South Wales but in a non methodical manner. Don't ask us for advice!

September has been a busy month. And now we're looking at our already crowded October calendar!