Yes, We Are Getting Our Exercise!

Becky, to close...

Friday we awoke to pouring rain. We went down to the Harborside shops (three full floors of shopping and food - an amazing place in and of itself) where we bought a couple of umbrellas. We splashed our way to the end of the harbor and had a taste of home - Starbucks! It's the only place we've been where I recognized the nomenclature of the drinks! Sydney has quite a coffee culture, but I'm just figuring out how to order - lattes and mochas are pretty self explanatory, but regular old black drip coffee is nowhere to be found. The closest thing is a "long black" which is like an espresso with a bit more water in it. I'm learning to like a long black with a bit of milk in it, but it tasted good to have a cup of drip Pike Place.
 
We had about decided to take the monorail up to a theater and watch the latest Star Trek movie when the rain let up. The Sydney monorail is in it's last weekend of operation, so we decided (along with a whole lot of other people, it turned out) to be a part of history and take a ride. We got off right in the heart of downtown at about 3:00 PM. The country bumpkin in me returned as we wound our way toward Circular Quay past designer shops and through thousands of people crowded onto the sidewalks.

We went back into The Rocks in search of a museum we'd read about - Susannah's Place. It's a unique set of four "terrace" houses built by Irish immigrants in the 1800's. They were set to be torn down when the city was cleaning up the dilapidated homes of the poor and working classes after the plague struck Sydney in 1900. About 100 families have lived in these four homes over the course of their existence - the last couple moved out in the 1980's after it was decided that they would be preserved for their historical value. It made for a fascinating look back into the lives of every-day folks who worked hard, loved their families and lived and died in relative obscurity.

After a bit of poking about in shops we began the hike back up - literally and figuratively - George Street toward the City Center. The rush hour was in full flood as thousands of twenty- and thirty-somethings overflowed the sidewalks, many of them texting or talking on cell phones as they hurried somewhere. Remember that here people drive on the left?... the same rule generally, but not always, applies on the sidewalks whenever you meet someone head-on. We were often zigging when we should have zagged. But not everyone was in such a hurry as we passed several pubs that were jammed with young professionals loudly celebrating the end of the work week. It was a fascinating, colorful and noisy journey through the city canyons and crowds.