The forecast yesterday for Sydney was for rain, which turned out to be utterly incorrect. What we got was a monsoon - there were kayaks going down the main street of the city. (Not really, but hey, there could have been.) We decided to spend the day doing some indoor activities, so we started in the most obvious place - the Queen Victoria Building. As I mentioned before, this is an incredibly beautiful multi-level shopping arcade which houses some very expensive stores. We did a little shopping (very little) and managed to catch the hourly show of British history on their clock. I was right - the vignette of Charles I getting beheaded was pretty funny. But the highlight of the day, by far, was the 80 year old man in the highly inappropriate shirt. He was very gracious about having his picture taken, but man, what a character.
Afterward, we went to the Sydney's Art Gallery and took a quick look around. As always, I am stunned that priceless works of art (Rubens, Picasso, Monet, etc.) are just hanging there with no real protection, not even behind glass. I suppose that is the most democratic thing, but then I think about some nutcase breaking the arm off the Pieta with a hammer and I think that democracy may be overrated.
On one of our first wanders around the city, we saw the State Theatre which was showing the new Disney Cinderella movie. The kids and I decided to stay downtown to catch the movie and I am really glad that we did. The theatre itself is absolutely spectacular - one of the last really palatial ones left, I would imagine. It was a special screening (it is not actually in the theatres here yet) and there were actors dressed as Cinderella and the Fairy Godmother and even footmen trying on glass slippers. The movie was actually pretty good (Cate Blanchett is delightfully bitchy) but the very best part was all of the little girls who came dressed up in their princess costumes, absolutely agog at the actors in their costumes and giggling all the way.
Today, the weather was beautiful (once again) and we headed off to Bondi Beach - strangely, not to swim but for a great walk. (We intend to hit the beach tomorrow when it is a bit warmer - today was still great, but who doesn't want warmer??) We did the coastal walk from Bondi to Clovelly Beach, which is a roughly 5 km walk with a lot of climbs and stairs. But, oh boy, the views - absolutely fantastic. Pete and I both agree that we have never been on a more beautiful walk. The sound of the pounding surf is always so relaxing, and it was interesting to see so many public pools on the way that are filled with water coming in from the ocean waves. However, I plan to start a petition to the UN when I get home that would ban all elderly fat men from wearing Speedos in public. Who's with me?
We also passed Waverly Cemetery on the way, which as everyone knows is a must-see for me. Many of the tombstones were works of art, and it is always so fascinating to be able to trace an entire family's history and learn some of their stories just by the markers they left behind. I am sure it will form the topic of my thesis when I get my degree in anthropology. All right, so it's not everyone's cup of tea but I'm telling you, I could have spent all day there.
Well, we're looking forward to a day on the beach tomorrow, which should not affect our pasty skin one bit given the amount of liquid sweater we will all be wearing. I swear, we will come back from a month in a tropical clime looking as if we spent the time in an underground bunker. We really need to investigate whether melatonin transplants are possible.
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