Floods and ships

Woke to absolutely torrential rain….and we established through K paddling that it was ankle deep on the balcony! Looking at our list of things we’ve wanted to do in Oz there’s not a lot left on the list now so we had a bit of a brainstorm to draw up a list of what to do for the next few days.
We weren’t sure how the weather would pan out for the day but since the forecast said it would be less heavy by 10am we waited and pootled around for a while then set off to the original Bill’s (as in Bill Grainger the chef) in Darlinghurst for brunch. Delicious smoked salmon, scrambled eggs, greens etc to share followed by the legendary ricotta pancakes to share (extra, with recipe!)…yum!
From there we walked into the city centre and stopped at the impressive war memorial with its striking 1930s design and the very moving addition of the basement area, open to the sky, for those who were killed in the Second World War too. Listed every town in NSW around the walls, with a sample of the soil from each (extra…note all those Scottish place names), then on the floor under the skylight they had soil from all the battle sites they had died at.
From there we wandered through town, through the old malls with their stained glass and ornate floors and stylish shop fronts and along the various streets. We got the last couple of things for the grandkids (not getting anything for others as there’d be too much to take!) as souvenirs, including a classic punching kangaroo pen!
I felt whacked so sat for a reviving cup of tea whilst K browsed a book shop for a board book about wombats for baby Otis, then we walked to the Museum of Sydney and spent a long time looking round, including watching a very moving film focussed on the descendants of a first settler and a First Nation leader. Also some interesting background on town planning arguments around the development of circular quay and of Woolloomooloo . So fascinating to see the mistakes and the near misses with the city’s skyline. This model was of the 11 ships of the first fleet that arrived ….hard to capture in one photo.
After that we wandered down to the contemporary art gallery again but found it closed so had a little drink in the Rocks and the sun finally broke through so it was a lovely end to the day, then trains home and another quiet evening. Only 5miles today so a less energetic one!
The flood on the balcony hasn’t drained…still about 1cm deep so we messaged the owner.