New adventures in old haunts

Whilst it's often nice to return to a familiar place for holidays, it's also nice to throw in some new adventures just to 'value add' to the experience.

I've just spent four days down in Sydney with the Mister for a bit of a get away, and a chance to participate in the annual Good Food and Wine Show.

The familiarity of wandering through Town Hall Station and QVB, over the foot bridge from the hotel to Darling Harbour was a comforting feeling. Like a flashback of something that never actually went away. The smell of the hotel foyer reminded me that there was a weekend of exploration (and inevitable expense) awaiting me. The sound of the car horns expressing their angst in having drivers desperately needing to uphold deadlines in their urgency to get to their next location made me even more aware that I had four whole days of freedom and pleasure awaiting me.

So, Friday was the flight down and the Food Show. There was a little drama on the flight - let me just say first up that a two hour delay in your departing flight at 7am is not an adventure worth having! And then the drama continued. About 20 minutes prior to landing, as the plane was well in to it's descent, I had a slight attack with my heart and then that horrid sensation of wanting to black out... some of you may remember that I had the same thing on a return flight from Tokyo last year, albeit the sensation actually resulted in me completely blacking out. So that was some excitement (and anxiety) for the morning. I really didn't expect it, I wasn't thinking about it at all, and I really didn't want it either!

We eventually made it to the Food Show at the Exhibition Centre on Darling Harbour. I've been attending the show now for about 6 or 7 years and thoroughly enjoy the chance to spend a day wandering between exhibition halls, sampling food and wine, and spinning stories to stall holders to try and score additional freebies! This year was, as is always, a success. Too much drunk, too much sampled and many free items packed in to our bags. By 4pm we were both knackered!

Saturday involved much city discovery, and consequently much shopping. The glory of the boutiques and finery of independent shops throughout historical arcades and malls is always an adventure. The afternoon allowed for indulgence in Sydney Harbour with wine and oysters overlooking the sun setting behind the Harbour Bridge.

Sunday was a first for me - in all the years I've lived in and visited Sydney, I have never taken the ferry out to Parramatta. The train ride was a common occurrence, but never the journey down the river. To visit the old streets of my work and many a lunch feast showed me just what the region had grown in to. The fact that the town was like a dead alive hole also let me see some of the finer points to the buildings and features around it.

Sunday night at the casino - just for a quite bite to eat and a flutter. I can't say I ever missed that place though! If you're not like a moth to a flame for poker machines, I really can't understand the attraction - though $14 steak sandwiches and chips are quite the deal!

Monday, the last day to shop and experience. A trip to Peters of Kensington is always in order, and should I return from a trip to Sydney without a pink bag, I don't believe I've done my holiday complete justice! The bad weather rolled in and the weather chilled. As Mister explained, it was the tears of Sydney farewelling us!

At least our flight home was on time (albeit feeling like it was hours past midnight and we'd been running around for all four days straight) and uneventful (other than my constant stressing about something going wrong again).

All in all, the weekend was full of firsts, lasts, news and olds.. what more could you really ask for?