burning koala

Two weeks ago, our friends John and Kathy came up from Canberra to visit Sydney for the day. They were able to kill two birds as it were, as they took in a design show at the local Powerhouse Museum and then we met for lunch. John worked with Angela and Tim for a spell when he came to visit them in Pittsburgh when they were working on the Post Office Project. Since the museum was up near Darling Harbour, we met there. We also called Tim and he and his wife Sara joined us soon after we arrived. The harbour is nice, yet probably the most “touristy” section of town we have seen. The entire rim of the harbour was lined with restaurants, gift shops, and even an IMAX theatre. But it was all very tasteful and the weather was perfect. Here you can see the harbour looking out towards the bay.

We arrived before Tim and Sara, so the rest of us headed off to find a restaurant. Of course the direction we initially took led us to all the high end eateries. Not dissuaded, and because of the pleasant afternoon, we walked all the way around again and landed at a nice spot that served one of Australian cuisine’s specialties: The meat pie. I, for one, am not overly familiar with the meat pie, but Angela – having spent a good deal of time in England – found them all the rage. Going for something a little more exotic, I ordered the “Tandori” pie with chips (or fries to you and me…, unless you are well traveled, English, or Australian – then it would just be chips). It wasn’t bad at all. Just after we ordered, Tim and Sara arrived. They live on the the North Shore, so they took the Ferry across the harbour – very cosmopolitan. It was nice to have a chance to catch up with John and meet Kathy for the first time.

Lunch was tasty and the conversation was excellent, but we lamented that it wasn’t the same as having wings at Ryan’s Pub in Regent Square. To those of you who have experienced said wings, you will understand all the lamenting. After lunch we decided to take a walk over to the Market area in China Town, as Kathy was familiar with a Farmer’s Market that was “to die for”, but I think she said it differently. It wasn’t far and it took us through a lovely little park that had a great view of the city.

We got to the market and had a bit of trouble finding the actual fruits and vegetables part of it. Paddy’s Market is a huge space that is mostly devoted to selling cheap bric-a-brac and clothing. Much like the open air markets in China and Hong Kong.

Nice, but not what we were looking for. But Kathy is nothing if not diligent. She keenly guided us on until we found a promising entrance that lead into the basement of a hugh market selling all kinds of fresh produce. They even had a fish and meat market. Unfortunatly the light level wasn’t that good, so I couldn’t get anything but some blurry pictures inside. This gives you an idea:

After Kathy and John (and Tim and Sara, actually) picked up some fresh food items, we left and Tim and Sara headed back home while the rest of use headed back to the car. Kathy was set to meet an old friend that lived near Angela and I, so we all headed off in the car to Surry Hills. Kathy’s friend owns a fabric dying business and have moved into the flat behind the shop. It’s right near a bunch of cafes and pubs so we headed off to have a drink. A nice time was had by all, but John and Kathy needed to head back for the 3.5 hour drive back to Canberra. So we all said our good-bye’s and promised a trip down to John and Kathy’s farm as soon as possible. May be the first chance I get to see a Kangaroo, and with any luck a Dingo eating a baby.

Of course, I’m kidding about the Kangaroo…