So settled in!

The days are just flying by. I’m not even doing anything very exciting, really, but…where did the week go? I did spend a lot of time writing (I’m on the letter ‘p’ in the glossary for the book…almost done!) and reading (how could I not with that library!) and walking. Every day I try to walk somewhere new or different. On Tuesday I walked down to Darling Harbour, where I had been the previous Saturday for dinner with Elena and Richard, but we couldn’t see very much because it was raining so steadily. This week the sky has been clear blue, so I decided to hike down from Sydney University to Harbourside. So you can get an idea of where the university is in relationship to the center:

though Darling Harbour is somewhat left of center, as it were. I enjoyed the walk very much, seeing all sorts of things down at the Harbour area (it’s huge!), as it’s full of museums, statues and fountains, like this curious sheep statue…is this a sheep shearing thing? No sign to tell me more!

And I found this fountain very pleasant…there’s water constantly running around the spiral, so very soothing to look at (and to stand in on a hot day).

There’s a Maritime Museum at Harbourside, which was closed, of course, as it was after 5 p.m. Still I got to look at the outdoor stuff on display…I enjoyed musing at the juxtaposition of the old ship with the skyscrapers and the lighthouse with the office buildings.

And I found the welcome wall quite moving.

On Wednesday, I walked down to University of Technology, Sydney, to have lunch with Elena. The two universities are very close, as you can see from this photo – that tall building in the distance belongs to UTS.

On the way down I was quite impressed to see this swimming pool on the University of Sydney campus. On the way back from UTS, it was like 30 degrees C, and I wished I could have jumped into the pool, clothes and all!

Then in the evening, I took a long route home…I walked down to Bicentiennial Park, which I mentioned a few blogs ago, a vantage point for the Anzac Bridge. It was tempting to stay and enjoy the views, and watch the kids play and the runners run, but I knew I still had a good walk ahead of me, and the evening was getting on. I went a different route back to Norton Street this time, and loved the late evening walk, as the sun started going down and the air began to cool down, walking through the quiet residential streets of Sydney, to emerge to the bustle of Norton Street.

Yesterday morning (Thursday) I went down to Circular Quay to the Museum of Contemporary Art, and toured the free exhibit, which was a collection donated by Ann Lewis, an art patron who started a gallery in the 60s, and had an amazing eye for art. She helped launch a number of Australian artists into the art world, furthering indigenous aboriginal art as an essential part of contemporary Australian culture. The collection was certainly well worth seeing (I felt Ann Lewis' delight at some of the artwork) and I will probably go back for the special exhibit, by a Danish artist named Olafur Eliasson, called “Take your time”. Sounds like a good idea! This is what I saw when I came out...


The Opera House really is spectacular with the sunlight sparkling off the roof tiles.

Today, Friday, I battened down the hatches...it was 37 degrees C out there! That's 99 F! So I stayed at the university in a cool office, working away. And I didn't emerge until evening was well underway...and, of course! the rain started. And as I was waiting at the bus stop, a bus came by and managed to speed past right on a puddle and splash! Much like the dumpling in Beijing, but this time I was on the receiving end of the splash. Oh well...it did nothing to dampen my spirits...now it is pouring down with rain! I can hear the kids downstairs, enjoying their Friday evening with lots of talk and music. They are sweet...once again they invited me to sit with them for a chat. We have lots of chat in the shared kitchen and dining space, (no exciting dining out experiences this week, as I decided to cook in...ok, so one night I did go out for sushi...) and you might have noticed that I walked a lot this week, so I think it's time for some rest!