Bram told you last time about the festivities of Australia Day! Much fun and sun to be had. It was great to have a long weekend together… Especially with everybody in a holiday atmosphere, soaking in the sun! Sunday was spent relaxing on our very own roof terrace, much needed for me to get used to the house and calling it ‘home’.
On Monday we took the ferry to Manly, probably the second most popular beach in Sydney (after over-rated Bondi). It is a 30 min boat-trip, but by far my most preferred way to travel! As you depart from Circular Quay, located in the heart of Sydney, you pass the Opera House within arm’s length and sail through Sydney Harbour on to Manly Cove. You can see the cityscape slowly evaporating into the sky, making way for little bays and rugged coastlines. It’s only then that you truly get to appreciate the unique location and surroundings of Sydney…
Tuesday morning the doorbell rang: the handyman. Only 1 week after handing over our list of complaints (how Belgian are we ;-)), impressive! With most of the rooms still empty, the conversation quickly veered towards our origin and purpose of our stay. Bram and I repeated our story for the umpteenth time. And for the umpteenth time, we could see our questioner’s face light up. Almost everybody here comes from ‘overseas’, whether it is 1st, 2nd or 3rd generation. Or they have family overseas and often visit them. You’d be hard-pressed to find somebody who has no family there or has never left Australia.
Turned out the handyman has Sicilian roots. And he is taking his wife on a Disneyworld cruise from Miami to the Mediterranean. Apparently, if you want to make money, buy yourself a timeshare in Disneyworld as it doubles in value every couple years or so – please remember me when you’re rich ;-).
Also, when he learned Bram was leaving again for a couple of months, he cautioned me, saying I should go to the real estate agent and ask for an alarm! That night I kept all doors and windows closed. Alas, I hardly slept, as the temperatures that day rose as high as the emotions around Bram’s goodbye -> a humid 35 degrees!
Oh and the title of this post? It refers to the Sydney Opera House. Bram had a bit of trouble believing it took more than one million tiles to build… so I made sure to take a zillion pictures to convince him.
