#7 - Sydney....seems sublime

Traveling by plane always has its issues. Our day started with a quick and easy drive to Cairns airport. We left around 7:15 for an 11:35 flight, the actual drive there is only an hour. 

We stopped in Palm Cove for breakfast. This was a small beach town, maybe 20 minutes outside of Cairns, that had looked lovely in our research but a bit too small and far from the reef and other attractions. We didn't want to be driving an hour every day right off the bat to get to Mossman or Daintree or PD. Someone should have convinced us otherwise.  The town was an idyllic small beach cove lined with palms and beautiful hotels and plenty of choices for lovely meals. It lacked the hustle and bustle of PD and you could see yourself easily walking the beach and lazing at the pool. 

                             

                                                      Cassava Hash....

My breakfast of homemade sour dough toast with fresh coconut jam was perfect, though Steve's cassava hash with avocado, beetroot frizzle and poached eggs won hands down, but he would have enjoyed it much more if he hadn't realized he had forgotten something in the car. In the five minutes between parking and returning, someone had pulled out next to us and left us with a big scrape and small dent across the entire passenger door. Nice to know 'hit and run' is an international sport, not just American. 

Ok, so we just added a little new mission to our airport drive.....find a carwash or store to buy something to make this look better....i.e. Can we fool Hertz? 
First some petrol but the station had nothing we could use in the minimart. Steve's eagle eyes spotted a car wash across the roundabout and without cutting any cars off, he guided us in. What a shame it was a self service, the office closed and the vending supply machine had only ArmourAll.

Then came Klaus, the owner, to our rescue. No worries he said, I think I have something that MIGHT help. Out came the rubbing compound and rags and Klaus got to work on the door panel, getting off all the bumper scrapes and making the dent a bit less noticeable, refusing anything for his trouble. Guess that is our first Aussie pay-it-forward moment.

The rental return was simple, we checked off no damage (well we didn't do any) on the form, lined up, checked our bags and were ready. Except one of the stewards was ill and Cairns is not big enough to have understudies waiting in the wings, so instead we had to delay an hour, awaiting the arrival of the Brisbane plane to steal a steward. Then up and away for three hours plus moving our clocks ahead another hour. But Sydney airport was a pleasure. Can you even imagine your bags arriving BEFORE you do in Philly? Book a shuttle, head on over, shuttle's waiting and off we go. The drive was at rush hour, not on a highway, but through the streets and neighborhoods to finally 'The Rocks', and check in at the Park Hyatt.

     Park HyattRooftop pool

This is luxury. Billed as the finest Hyatt in the world, the rack rate hovering somewhere close to $1,100 AUD a night- even with a favorable exchange rate, that is way out of our budget. Lest you think we hit the lottery, or got an unexpected inheritance, you too can have a Hyatt credit card that gives you two free nights at any Hyatt in the world when you apply. And we just were smart enough to save ours for Sydney. 

                                           

The room is stunning, on the water with subtle contemporary decor and gracious service and, yes, we can see the Opera House from our balcony, which while only on the first floor, is still stunning and right on the harbour (I'm thinking while we are here we should use their spellings, when in Rome).

It's a big decision, should we luxuriate in our room which does have the heated, clean your bum, Japanese Toto toilet Steve loves or get a quick rinse and head out? Guess we can lay in bed later,let's have a look around while it's light and then head to a little place nearby for dinner. Not many shops are open, but the harbour is available 24/7 so we stroll around past interesting old wharves turned into theaters and performing art complexes where you can really imagine those olden days, think 200 years, ship's offloaded contents filling the three story lofts. 

We end up at a small Italian market cum tratorria, Fratelli Fresh, half bar, half restaurant and half market shelves full of imported foodstuffs. The eight foot tall blackboard has the menu of fresh pasta and contornis and we sit and order two Campari Limons. They arrive at our table, tall and tri-colored and are immediately spied by an Australian couple next us. They inquire about our drinks and as Steve is answering, they clearly recognize his American accent and ask where we are from. Philadelphia, Steve replies.  The next thing we hear is "Pats or Genos?.." Really?  We are literally as far from Philly as you can possibly get and someone who happens to be sitting next to us knows Pat and Genos. We answer Paul that they are both disgusting, but, of course, when he had traveled there for business, trying both in the same night and ordering correctly was foisted upon him by his Philly connection. We enjoy our meal and the on and off continuing conversation about different parts of the US and our Australian/NZ itinerary, exchange info including this blog address and get a quick photo of Steve and Paul. 

                                             

                     Paul is a fashion designer for Casinos all over the world....fascinating!!!

And if you think that is a 1 in 1,000 coincidence, then I am sure you won't even believe that we were on the airport shuttle to the hotel with someone who used to live in Rydal, no lie. So I guess one of the themes to this trip is - as far away as possible but always close to home.

On our walk home last night, along the water, the clicking of cameras captured the Opera House lit up in blue, white and red. A somber silent show of solidarity that stopped us in our tracks. Although we are carousing the continent, the news from Paris has been very hard, both because it is a city we dearly love, a place where we have friends, and the complete heartbreak of the new world order. It was so shattering when we heard the news that it made me understand, just a little more, that pacifism and diplomacy cannot always win over evil. There may be a time to fight back and that time is probably now.