Sydney is such a contrast to where I live. It’s huge and noisy and crowded, with people, buildings, and vehicles everywhere. I enjoy visiting for a few days – getting a small dose of the bustle and vibrancy of the city – but I’m so glad that I don’t live there anymore!
I stayed in a serviced apartment, not far from the centre of town. This was the view from my apartment:
Sydney - reflected buildings
On the left of the reflection is the brand-new building I was in. On the right, the Griffiths Teas building – an old warehouse, originally built in 1915, and vacant now. I wonder when it will be redeveloped, and transformed to offices or apartments – or demolished.
Sydney skyscape
Looking towards my left from the same spot – the massive amount of development that Sydney has seen in recent decades is evident in the sky crowded with tall buildings. But in the bottom left corner of the image are now-dwarfed buildings that have stood for 100 years or more – the pub on the corner, the Lutheran Church next to it, and the Goldsmith’s Guild building, the sign above the door proudly proclaiming ‘1788 – 1888’ – ie, commemorating the centenary of European settlement in Australia.
You might just be able to see, caught in the sunshine near the middle of the picture, one of the white and yellow turrets of the old Mark Foys building. It was a lovely old department store, opened in 1909, back in the glory-days of department stores. It has great tile-work all along the sides, and I do want to get a photo where it says ‘corsets…. costumes… haberdashery’, but unfortunately the lighting was wrong each time I walked past on this trip. Next time, maybe! The building is now used for NSW District courts – which is important, but it’s more fun to imagine elegantly-dressed ladies shopping for the latest in ‘costumes’…
I had a pleasant couple of days; a little shopping on Saturday afternoon; on Sunday an informal gathering of some people going to the Australian Romance Readers Convention next February; and on Monday lunch with a friend, and then meeting with my publisher before heading home on the evening flight.