We slept through until 8am, which was a miracle under the circumstances. We packed up everything and checked out, leaving our luggage downstairs at reception. Walking back towards the station, we stopped for breakfast at a cafe that had good food but really lousy but well-meaning service. While there, Christian rang Heather, and managed to get the time difference wrong and wake her up. Oops.
After breakfast, we got trains back to Circular Quay, and explored beyond the ferry piers; first stop: cheeky ice cream. We stopped for some obligatory bridge photos along the Opera House approach, and then had a look at the Opera House itself (though not inside). They were still packing up from the festivities of the evening before, and we saw the location that they'd been filming the night before, and saw the silly gold sofa they were sitting on.
On the other side, we kept walking into the botanical gardens, and talked to Moreton Bay figs, ibises, and various screeching cockies. We wandered in the direction of Wynyard, taking in a few sights on the way, and waited for the next train that would take us to Summer Hill, as Christian's friend Em was conveniently having a party and we didn't know whether we'd manage to catch up with her again. One came along before very long, and went straight to Summer Hill. The journey wasn't wonderfully inspiring, but gave us an idea of the look of the inner west suburbs. Christian employed the GoPro in train mode to capture parts of the journey.
Summer Hill itself seemed unremarkable on first glance. We were looking for a bottle of wine to buy for Em, but everything was closed. So we went in search of lunch instead. There was a Michel's Patisserie, which we decided to go back to to get cake for Em instead. There was a market that was closed, and then we kept walking and spotted a cafe called Envy, and walked into a lovely beer garden with manicured hedges and fairy lights that was full of happy customers.
We sat at a table, and I ordered a toasted Turkish sandwich and Christian ordered a squid salad with a goji berry shake. They were delicious. Then it was time to go to Em's. We found the house easily, and met Em and her partner, and some of her lovely friends. It was a very brief stay, sadly, but very pleasant, and Em insisted on sending us off with as many sweets as we could carry. Summer Hill felt very comfortable and laid back. I liked it.
We got back to the station as quickly as we could, as time was now getting away from us, and Dad was wondering where we were. We trained back to North Sydney, and collected our luggage and went straight back to the station. We didn't have long to wait for a train, but I neglected to check that the one we were on went straight to Hornsby on the North Shore line. It didn't. It went the long way. We missed a connection at Hornsby by not much, and may have made it had I chosen the right train. Stupid stupid. Christian went for a wander in search of food and cold/flu tablets (he could only locate chips), I booked a hire car from Fassifern, and then we waited for the train, which eventually arrived.
The train ride was fairly boring and not a great intro to the area for Christian, as it was overcast, and getting dark. The hire car was waiting for us at Fassi, and cost $25, but was very comfortable. At Coal Point, we were welcomed by Dad, Jill, and Steve (Emma had had to go home as it was late). Steve showed us his medals, Jill showed Christian around upstairs, and then C and I had leftover barbecue chicken and salad for dinner. We chatted for a while, but went to bed before long.
After breakfast, we got trains back to Circular Quay, and explored beyond the ferry piers; first stop: cheeky ice cream. We stopped for some obligatory bridge photos along the Opera House approach, and then had a look at the Opera House itself (though not inside). They were still packing up from the festivities of the evening before, and we saw the location that they'd been filming the night before, and saw the silly gold sofa they were sitting on.
On the other side, we kept walking into the botanical gardens, and talked to Moreton Bay figs, ibises, and various screeching cockies. We wandered in the direction of Wynyard, taking in a few sights on the way, and waited for the next train that would take us to Summer Hill, as Christian's friend Em was conveniently having a party and we didn't know whether we'd manage to catch up with her again. One came along before very long, and went straight to Summer Hill. The journey wasn't wonderfully inspiring, but gave us an idea of the look of the inner west suburbs. Christian employed the GoPro in train mode to capture parts of the journey.
Summer Hill itself seemed unremarkable on first glance. We were looking for a bottle of wine to buy for Em, but everything was closed. So we went in search of lunch instead. There was a Michel's Patisserie, which we decided to go back to to get cake for Em instead. There was a market that was closed, and then we kept walking and spotted a cafe called Envy, and walked into a lovely beer garden with manicured hedges and fairy lights that was full of happy customers.
We sat at a table, and I ordered a toasted Turkish sandwich and Christian ordered a squid salad with a goji berry shake. They were delicious. Then it was time to go to Em's. We found the house easily, and met Em and her partner, and some of her lovely friends. It was a very brief stay, sadly, but very pleasant, and Em insisted on sending us off with as many sweets as we could carry. Summer Hill felt very comfortable and laid back. I liked it.
We got back to the station as quickly as we could, as time was now getting away from us, and Dad was wondering where we were. We trained back to North Sydney, and collected our luggage and went straight back to the station. We didn't have long to wait for a train, but I neglected to check that the one we were on went straight to Hornsby on the North Shore line. It didn't. It went the long way. We missed a connection at Hornsby by not much, and may have made it had I chosen the right train. Stupid stupid. Christian went for a wander in search of food and cold/flu tablets (he could only locate chips), I booked a hire car from Fassifern, and then we waited for the train, which eventually arrived.
The train ride was fairly boring and not a great intro to the area for Christian, as it was overcast, and getting dark. The hire car was waiting for us at Fassi, and cost $25, but was very comfortable. At Coal Point, we were welcomed by Dad, Jill, and Steve (Emma had had to go home as it was late). Steve showed us his medals, Jill showed Christian around upstairs, and then C and I had leftover barbecue chicken and salad for dinner. We chatted for a while, but went to bed before long.
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