CONQUERING THE CITY (SYDNEY)

CONQUERING THE CITY
Sept. 3,2000

We took our breakfast t Paul’s apartment then immediately after we went to St. Leonard train station where Mikee was already waiting. From there we took a long, long countryside trip all the way to the far Palm Beach. We passed by the Hanging City Harbour bridge on our way home.

In the afternoon, Mikee treated us to a Chinese restaurant in China Town. Still bloated with the foods from the restaurant that serves snake soup (though we did not try it ), we walked to Paddy’s Market, where we bought some goods and fresh fruits before going to St. Mary’s Cathedral to hear Mass. For a while, we strolled at the well-manicured Hyde Park besides the Cathedral.

After the Mass we climbed the country’s tallest building, the Sydney Tower. Rising well above the foliage of Hyde Park, the 300 meter spire has an observation platform, which offers an extensive view of the city, its suburbs and even of the Pacific Ocean. We had picture-taking at the Archibald Fountain, a well known Hyde Park landmark which was donated to the city by Jules Franchois Archibald. In 1880, Archibald founded an influential, weekly news-magazine called the Bulletin.

After the Center Point experience we went to Rackdale where a sumptuous dinner, again of my favorite seafood prepared by the Policarpio family awaits us. On t he way back Paul’s apartment we passed through t he long, clean and impressive undersea tunnel.

A DAY OF REST
Sept. 4, 2000

We rested at Paul’s apartment. We did some laundry and ironing of clothes. Took note of the important incidents experienced during the trip and finally time for reflection. From the balcony of Paul’s apartment I have a panoramic view of half of Sydney… from the city at the far left and all the way to the Stadium Australia at the Olympic Park in Homebush. Immediately in front of me and way down below Paul’s balcony are communities among full-grown trees of many varieties. Many birds of different colors were flying all around but I have yet to see one stray cat, so common in my country. At night, same view was more attractive because of the glowing city lights that we enjoyed watching together with the four stars that formed the Southern Cross. It was included in the Australian flag because said cross formation was seen only vividly in Australia.

With Paul in the office, only Terry and I were left in the apartment. After three days of being together, added to thirty years of our marital existence, we run out of important topics to discuss or we should again be victims of boring repetitions of what we have discussed a hundred times. So, we both tried to be of help to Paul by doing whatever we thought could ease Paul’s daily routine.

Australia is clean, green and ecologically preserved. Generally, residential houses are built among big trees and other healthy flowering plants. This is possible because luckily, typhoon or earthquake very seldom visit Australia.