Sunday, May 31, 2009

Blue Sky on the Horizon



It’s been some time since I was last up the road in Sydney, back when summer was summer, shorts were short and skies were blue. Blue sky was at a premium at the end of May, always seemingly just out of reach on the distant horizon as a further shower or two fizzled overhead. With dodgy weather and the sun setting before 5, it’s a good job they’ve distracted the tourists with a cunning display of lights around the city, culminating in a not quite frequently enough changing opera house illuminati.



After a Friday night getting feet wet hoping the Opera House would turn as yellow as a politician’s nation-building fluoro vest, Saturday was filled with beauty of a natural kind, as a I looked in the mirror… nah, I mean headed north to Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park with my friend Jill. This is a beautiful series of bays and bush and boats set around the southern shores of the Hawkesbury River and Pittwater. Sadly, with frequent showers far too much time was spent in the car, but a few stops for views and a fantastic lunch sheltered beside the inlet at Cottage Point made it a worthwhile jaunt.



Heading back to Sydney, with familiar blue skies distant but rain lashing overhead, we managed eventually to navigate the Pacific Highway (which sounds far more glamorous than it looks) to Greenwich, and a break in the weather late in the day for a short harbour-side amble.


The next morning provided a surprisingly blue sky, at least long enough to enjoy breakfast at Globe in Coogee, site of probably the best breakfasts I’ve had in Australia (Eggs Florentine with a side of bacon and a flat white in case you are interested or, now, hungry). This made me very happy and was more in keeping with the cruisy, sunny weekend I was envisaging. Taking advantage, we walked off at least a very small amount of the fat and calories from that Hollandaise Sauce by walking to Bondi, only to add it back on and more with a final stop for coffee and cake in Randwick. I should have inflated my tyres a bit more to cope with the extra weight on the drive back to Canberra!


No comments: