Thank You Mr Michael

Mr Michael has now left Australia, having headed back 'home' to Singapore for a week before flying back 'home' to England for three weeks.

It's been brilliant having him here. Because I am still 'between jobs' I have been able to spend most of my time with Mike, except for those occasions when I have been summoned into the City to be interviewed by one recruitment agency or another. It's been the perfect excuse to get out and about and see more of this City.

H and I do miss our friends back home and it's been nice being able to talk to Mike about it, now that he is an old-hand at being an expat. It's also been handy having him around as I have had someone to enjoy the odd game of Pro-Evo 5 with (usually in the early hours of the morning). We finished the winter season level, having both won 45 games each (90 10 minute games of Pro-Evo in just over two weeks isn't bad going, and thats not including the hack-fest which got abandoned after I was left with 6 players on the pitch - Mike was down to 7). It's all set up nicely for the summer season at Christmas time.

Anyway, Thursday night was his last night here and we all decided to spend his last night in The Rocks, which is one of the oldest, if not the oldest part of Sydney (it claims to be home to the oldest pub here, The Fortune Of War). We wanted to take Mike there so he could enjoy a proper pub atmosphere. They don't have them in Singapore. Just trendy bars.

We started the night in The Orient.














Before going for an Italian.














And then for drinks, and pokies, in The Fortune Of War.




























From there it was a short walk to Circular Quay.














Where we got the last ferry back to Manly.














It wasn't long before the beer had taken it's toll and we had fallen asleep.




























And I had another David Gray moment.














During his time in Sydney Mike and I developed an healthy passion for Subway, in particular the foot-long Italian BMT (we had no idea what the BMT bit stood for). We ate them as often as we could. At one stage Mike had one of these for four days on the bounce. And I don't doubt I could polish two off in one go. It therefore seemed fitting that our last meal should be the BMT, from our regular Subway in Manly Wharf.

































Thanks for being such a fantastic guest Mr Michael. See you at Christmas.

The Pylon Lookout™

On Tuesday Mike and I went up the Pylon Lookout, which is part of the magnificent Harbour Bridge.

I love the Harbour Bridge. If there was a choice between the Opera House and the Bridge, the bridge gets my vote every time. I love the Opera House but I love the Bridge that little bit more.











































To get to the Pylon (which is just behind Mike in the picture above) you have to climb up a lot of steps, not just in the Pylon, but also as you go up to the bridge via The Rocks. Given that Mike is recovering from traumatic knee surgery I was delighted to tell him that he had climbed 388 steps as he reached the summit.





























The Pylon is 89 metres above sea level and the view is stunning. It's the fourth time I have been up there and I never get tired of it. Whenever more people come to visit it is one of the things that H and I will take them to see.





















































































I have never done the Bridge Climb before. To be honest, I never really saw the need to what with the Pylon giving you such a great view anyway, but the more and more I see people up there the more I think I should do it, especially now I live here. The summit is 134 metres above the water.

























































After going up the Pylon it was clearly Beer o'clock. We drank in a bar in the CBD whilst waiting for H to turn up after work. Whilst there we entered ourselves into their weekly pub quiz. I forgot how much fun they can be. We came third and didn't win anything.

Wales

OK, so on the weekend we went to a symphony at The Opera House and the AFL at the SCG. But the fun didn't stop there. On Sunday we went out into the Pacific to go whale-watching.











































Unfortunately we didn't see any (I think the season ends this weekend so most of them have probably migrated north by now). It didn't really matter though because we saw loads of dolphins, and the weather was fantastic. Also, all of these trips also offer a "Whale Guarantee". Because we didn't see one this time around we were given a certificate allowing us to go on another trip within the next year, or we can put the money towards another cruise. Winner! So H and I will go again next season, or we will do something completely different when Mike and Ella come back in the summer.





























Whilst out at sea we had a cracking view looking back towards Manly beach. You can just about make out our block of units if you zoom in very closely (and if you know where to look) in the picture below.















And this is looking towards Manly, with Curl Curl beach to the right.

Where's Mike and H?

Anyone?

Giving It The Fingers

Following on from Friday's evening of classical culture at the Opera House, it was time for something completely different on Saturday.

It was time for Aussie Rules Football, or AFL - the battle of the tight vests, even tighter shorts and mulletts.

We went to the SCG to watch the AFL game between the Sydney Swans and the Richmond Tigers. Mikey had always wanted to go to a game and given the fact that me and H didn't go to their last home game (because we were nursing a hangover in Bondi-ville), this fixture was the perfect opportunity to see what all the fuss was about. Personally, I was just as excited about seeing the fabulous SCG ("Yes Shane! Bowling Warney").

When we arrived (via the excellent Sydney match-day transport system) we went straight to the club shop. Mike had thought about getting one of the vests that they wear but left instead with a T-shirt, an old-school Swans scarf and two inflatable fingers. He looked the part.















The gates for the game opened more than three hours before kick-off, and we got in there nice and early to soak up the atmosphere. Given the size of the stadium it took ages to fill up, but the beer was flowing and the hands were being waved around like they just didn't care.
















































It also meant I had time to look around the stadium, from up high.















So after a warm-up game between the two reserve sides, which Sydney easily won, the main event started. Both Mike and I had watched some AFL on the TV back in the UK sometime and although we didn't know the rules, we knew that there wasn't much to it. Just lots of punching, kicking, elbowing, and hair-pulling. Only last weekend we'd caught the end of the Swans game on TV, which they'd lost by two points in the last minute. We were hoping for a close game on Saturday.

Unfortunately that wasn't the case and Sydney thrashed the Tigers by 48 points. Considering each game consists of four quarters of thirty minutes I thought I may lose interest after a while. But AFL is most definitely a game you can dip in and out of. You know that you wont miss much if you go and queue for a beer, as the goals come thick and fast.















In fact, the referees often provided us with the most amusement (given the photos captured here you can see why).

The local butcher!














Throw-in!














A Behind!














The Scorecard!














and finally, GIVING IT THE FINGERS!














The end of the game and a Sydney victory meant for much tomfoolery with the inflatable hands.....

And randoms.....














So all in all we had a great night out, drinking beer, playing with inflatables and watching the AFL. I look forward to going back to the SCG in the summer to watch the cricket. We may buy Mike a Swanny's vest for Christmas so he can wear it to the beach and look like a real man.