2004-06-18

suddenly sydney

A quarter to three in the afternoon, on Sunday, and it�s much warmer in Sydney than it was when I left Melbourne. My flight was delayed by two hours due to a delayed incoming flight. So much for Lucy booking her ticket within ten minutes of my departure. She�s already in town, at the bed and breakfast, and hopefully (for her sake) has already found a massage. (It�s been all she�s been talking about, and it's pronounced with the Aussie inflection, "mah-sige").

My long-sleeved shirt is too warm for 20-something Celsius temperature. I�m being bounced around an aluminum shell of a van, in my vinyl-upholstered bench seat on the Sydney Airporter shuttle into town. The heat is pleasant, in contrast to the scarved and fleece-hatted outfit demanded by Melbourne�s morning as we brekkied with Cat at Caf� 97.

All I�ve gleaned from the city guide book is that the Sydney International Film Festival is starting today, in addition to memories of my last trip here. I�ve selected a few restaurants I�d like to try, a walk to Manly Beach and the Chinese Gardens as our means to pass the time.

We�ve just stopped at the domestic terminal. Now we�ve changed to a slightly more posh van, but still a far cry from the soft interiors of our minivans. Imagine an extended Volkswagon van (it sounds as old) with an interior floor of a city bus, individual passenger air vents, reminiscent of an airplane (but also dated).

These vehicles aren�t part of my remembered 2002 trip, arriving after 14-plus hours of nighttime flying. I�ll take a midday, rough-and-tumble shuttle, well-rested with pleasant Spring-like weather over a sticky, sleep-deprived, summer plush ride.

Time to enjoy the view. I�m not sure how long this battery will last, nor can I see the screen too well in the bright sunlight. Shutting down now.

earlier - later