G’day Sheila

Tuesday 19th December

As the plane flew low over Sydney out came my camera, unfortantly I was over the wing so the pictures are not that good, but the breathtaking views of the harbour bridge, Opera house and central business distict makes this place somewhat special. I arrived in sydney with a sense of desva-vous – hadnt i been here before some 5 or so years ago? Same airport, same coffee shop still standing, but not the same cup of tea as I had before. The journey to the accomodation was adventurous, first by train to circular quay (the ferry terminal), that bit was easy, myself and my rucksack got onto the ferry, but then it went a bit wrong. I had misread the instructions: by ferry take neutral bay service from wharf no 4 at circular quay to kirribilli wharf then its a 1 min walk. I read as “take the ferry to neutral bay and its a 1 min walk”. So I ended up ferry hopping around sydney for the rest of the afternoon. Fun. By the time i finally arrived at the lodge – such a sweet guesthouse rather than a hostel, I found I had been upgraded, initially booked into a dorm room (x4 beds) they put me in a private twin which was lovely, a whole room to myself for the first time since leaving Sheffield with added bonus of a fridge and a TV. After a very needy shower I checked out the lounge with “free tea and coffee” and collapsed into a big heap with a cup of tea or 10 in hand. Night was drawing in, although only 3 hours time difference I was shattered, a microwave meant i was able to cook some soup though the take aways that the others were getting were looking tempting but i resisted incase of the return of that evil acid indigestion.