Back to the beginning
My first Saturday back in Australia started earlier than pretty much any Saturday in the last year. It turns out that my new, early work schedule will bleed a bit into the weekends, which I'm actually okay with. Turns out that when you wake up early, you get more of the day to do things!
After waking up about 7:30, I went on a 5 kilometre run around the neighborhood. While out, I was impressed by the number of solo runners and walkers, as well as families, who were also out using the multi-use trail which runs along one of the main roads in Menai.
By the time I got home, it was getting toasty. It is unseasonably warm here for April (the beginning of autumn) with temperatures getting up to 30 (mid-80s) during the day. After cleaning up, and catching up with a few people back in the states, I got ready to knock some things out for the day.
Paul and I ran over to buy some things for lunch at the little independent market in the shops just outside the subdivision. Following lunch, Paul left to go babysit, and I decided to strike out and meet up with Candice in the city. Plus, it turned out a friend of the family was hoping to rent a room in her place which happened to be just down the street from Candice's.
I took a train up to Redfern, my old neighborhood, and spent a few minutes at her place before heading down to check out the room. The walk was nice, and the room was an interesting option, but not quite what I was looking for. I regrouped with Candice and we struck out on a walk toward Erskinville and stopped in at the local hotel (Australian for bar/pub, as explained thoroughly in this post from 2012), where I had been years ago.
It is worth noting that Sydney is a city comprised of small town centers, known as "suburbs" by Australians or "villages" as the City likes to officially say, that each seem to contain: 1) a train station bearing the name of the area, and 2) a hotel hearing the name of the area, 3) a smattering of old commercial storefronts surrounding the preceding locations. Many also have an old town hall, a post office, and a church or two.
Today's City of Sydney was created by the amalgamation of all of these independent local governments into a single municipality, but the development pattern of the city is very legible. Each small "suburb" bleeds into the next, making Sydney an incredibly walkable urban area, linked by commercial streets, with each neighborhood serviced by rail.
I digressed...
After we had a schooner (see this post from 2012), we struck off to walk to the next suburb over: Newtown. For those who have read this blog for years, you may remember that I used to live very close to Newtown, and spent a fair amount of time there back in the day. It was great to be back.
Our intended destination in Newtown was a place called The Bank, where I visited during my second week in 2012. The place is a popular pub at the busy center of Newtown, adjacent to the train station along King Street. While it's a little larger than the average hotel, and has undergone some major upgrades in recent years, it is nothing of particular note for most.
However, The Bank is potentially the reason I am currently in Sydney, the reason I am getting a PhD, and the reason my life is the way it is. Sounds like an overstatement, but let me explain. The first night I went, I was brought there by some friends that I made my first day in Sydney. I remember that I almost didn't go as it was getting late and I was tired, but I ventured out anyways.
When we arrived, we joined a group of rowdy people at a table in the courtyard—friends of the friends who brought me. They were intrigued to meet an American, and as the evening progressed I got to know the girls at the table (including Candice). We hit it off, and all decided to get together for breakfast the next day.
It turns out the friends who brought me to The Bank that night drifted out of the picture soon after that, but a few of the people that I met became my close friends. I cooked New Orleans food for them, I hung out at their house every week, I traveled with them, and when I came back to Sydney in the following years, they let me stay with them.
It is not an overstatement to say that I loved Australia because I met them. If I hadn't met them, there's a good chance I wouldn't have felt the same way about coming back. And because I wanted to come back I began to speak at conferences and get involved in academia. And so here I am now, because of the wonderful people I met at The Bank more than six years ago.
Candice and I spoke about that for a bit while we had a quick drink at The Bank. From there, we headed back out onto King Street and walked down to one of the many Thai restaurants for dinner. We had a great time, and I am so thankful to have such great friends!
We parted ways at Newtown Station, and I caught a train into the city to transfer at Redfern and head back out to Sutherland for the night.
It was a great trip down memory lane, and I look forward to many more good times in Newtown over the next few years.
After waking up about 7:30, I went on a 5 kilometre run around the neighborhood. While out, I was impressed by the number of solo runners and walkers, as well as families, who were also out using the multi-use trail which runs along one of the main roads in Menai.
By the time I got home, it was getting toasty. It is unseasonably warm here for April (the beginning of autumn) with temperatures getting up to 30 (mid-80s) during the day. After cleaning up, and catching up with a few people back in the states, I got ready to knock some things out for the day.
Paul and I ran over to buy some things for lunch at the little independent market in the shops just outside the subdivision. Following lunch, Paul left to go babysit, and I decided to strike out and meet up with Candice in the city. Plus, it turned out a friend of the family was hoping to rent a room in her place which happened to be just down the street from Candice's.
I took a train up to Redfern, my old neighborhood, and spent a few minutes at her place before heading down to check out the room. The walk was nice, and the room was an interesting option, but not quite what I was looking for. I regrouped with Candice and we struck out on a walk toward Erskinville and stopped in at the local hotel (Australian for bar/pub, as explained thoroughly in this post from 2012), where I had been years ago.
It is worth noting that Sydney is a city comprised of small town centers, known as "suburbs" by Australians or "villages" as the City likes to officially say, that each seem to contain: 1) a train station bearing the name of the area, and 2) a hotel hearing the name of the area, 3) a smattering of old commercial storefronts surrounding the preceding locations. Many also have an old town hall, a post office, and a church or two.
Today's City of Sydney was created by the amalgamation of all of these independent local governments into a single municipality, but the development pattern of the city is very legible. Each small "suburb" bleeds into the next, making Sydney an incredibly walkable urban area, linked by commercial streets, with each neighborhood serviced by rail.
I digressed...
After we had a schooner (see this post from 2012), we struck off to walk to the next suburb over: Newtown. For those who have read this blog for years, you may remember that I used to live very close to Newtown, and spent a fair amount of time there back in the day. It was great to be back.
Our intended destination in Newtown was a place called The Bank, where I visited during my second week in 2012. The place is a popular pub at the busy center of Newtown, adjacent to the train station along King Street. While it's a little larger than the average hotel, and has undergone some major upgrades in recent years, it is nothing of particular note for most.
However, The Bank is potentially the reason I am currently in Sydney, the reason I am getting a PhD, and the reason my life is the way it is. Sounds like an overstatement, but let me explain. The first night I went, I was brought there by some friends that I made my first day in Sydney. I remember that I almost didn't go as it was getting late and I was tired, but I ventured out anyways.
When we arrived, we joined a group of rowdy people at a table in the courtyard—friends of the friends who brought me. They were intrigued to meet an American, and as the evening progressed I got to know the girls at the table (including Candice). We hit it off, and all decided to get together for breakfast the next day.
It turns out the friends who brought me to The Bank that night drifted out of the picture soon after that, but a few of the people that I met became my close friends. I cooked New Orleans food for them, I hung out at their house every week, I traveled with them, and when I came back to Sydney in the following years, they let me stay with them.
It is not an overstatement to say that I loved Australia because I met them. If I hadn't met them, there's a good chance I wouldn't have felt the same way about coming back. And because I wanted to come back I began to speak at conferences and get involved in academia. And so here I am now, because of the wonderful people I met at The Bank more than six years ago.
Candice and I spoke about that for a bit while we had a quick drink at The Bank. From there, we headed back out onto King Street and walked down to one of the many Thai restaurants for dinner. We had a great time, and I am so thankful to have such great friends!
We parted ways at Newtown Station, and I caught a train into the city to transfer at Redfern and head back out to Sutherland for the night.
It was a great trip down memory lane, and I look forward to many more good times in Newtown over the next few years.
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