Tension regarding accommodation
returned the time I woke up early in the morning. I looked up options on the
Net and found that weekend pricing had gone through the roof. However, I was
comforted by the fact that I could always count on the hospitality of Rosie and
Praveen if I could not find any place suitable or reasonable. When we went
down, after breakfast, to the reception it was confirmed yet again that the
hotel was booked out for the day. 
We utilized the time between breakfast
and 10 am by walking in the Hyde Park and visiting the St Mary’s Cathedral.
Park Street divides the 40 acre Hyde Park, the oldest public park in Australia,
into two. The park is almost at the heart of Sydney CBD and is an amazing lung
area with fig tree lined avenues. The Archibald Memorial Fountain is the
centerpiece of the park. The fountain, designed by the French sculptor Sicard, is
surrounded by open spaces ringed with benches and seemed a popular spot for
people to relax and kids to play. The interplay of water and art is a veritable
feast for the eyes.
The St Mary’s Cathedral is the seat of
the Catholic Archbishop of Sydney. The church is dedicated to the Immaculate
Mother of God, Help of Christians. The church built in the last quarter of the
19th century has 40 windows of stained glass. The walls are covered
in oils depicting the Stations of the Cross. The church has a marble replica of
the Pieta and the Grave of the Unknown Soldier. The interior of the church is
impressive and is visited by tourists from all regions of the world.
Once the tour of Hyde Park and St Mary’s
Cathedral were done it was time to speak to sharemyroom and finalise stay
arrangements for this day and the next. I was lucky this time; I found someone
to speak to. The lady told me that they had been desperately trying to get in
touch with me over the past two days since the credit card details I had given
them were outdated. Since they could not clear up the matter with me the
reservation had been cancelled. The lady confirmed that I would not lose money
in cancellation. I apologized for the confusion and told her that I had made
alternate arrangements. With that cleared up I looked up the Net for suitable
accommodation. After a few anxious minutes I located the Merchant Hotel, not very far
from where we were. We loaded all the luggage into the car and set off for the
hotel in Summer Hill hoping that we would find it as comfortable as the one we
had stayed the previous night.
As it turned out, the hotel had been
opened only 6 days prior and we were one of the early ‘settlers’ in the rooms.
The rooms were commodious – we had taken family and deluxe suites – and well
appointed. Each room had washing machine and dryer too apart from a cooking
range, ironing board and iron. It is a
remarkable accommodation run by Ahmed, an amiable Lebanese guy. The hotel has
two towers with different types of accommodation. We settled in quickly and did
the laundry first.
My friend, Suresh Sebastian, and his
family were in Sydney, where they had come to from Perth for the Easter
vacation. Sunita, their older daughter, works in Sydney and lives in a lovely
apartment in Duntroon Avenue. Shukla and I decided to go over to meet them when
the ladies were at work in the rooms; we would be back in time for a late
lunch. The entire family welcomed us warmly and we spent time exchanging stories
of the drive. Suresh and Ludi gave us excellent tips on what to do on the way
to the Blue Mountains, the route to be taken on the way back and the various
things to look out for. Suresh told us how he froze on the Honeymoon Bridge, because
he looked down the gorge, and had to seek the assistance of Ludi to come off
the bridge! Sunita told us about the Dragon Boat and Thai kickboxing classes
she goes for. It was amazing to learn from her that international Dragon Boat competitions
are held frequently. Ludi gave us huge portions of the famed Strawberry Watermelon
Cake from BlackStar Bakery, which is the signature product of the bakery. The cake
has flower petals, rose scented cream, strawberries, watermelon and layers of meringue
with a biscuit crumb base. A mouthful was all it took to understand why the
pastry is as much in demand as it is. 
After a late lunch of maggi noodles and
beans with ham and cheese we drove to the Olympic Park to visit the venues of
the various competitions of the Sydney Games. Sadly a large part of the Park
was closed as the area was being done up for some event. The Sea Life Sydney Aquarium
was the next destination. One can appreciate the beauty of Darling Harbor from
that location. Ferry services operate from the jetties near there. We marked that
for a trip the next day, if time permitted. The aquarium has a very large
display of fish, reefs and other marine life. The shark walk and the large
stingrays were awesome.
After being done with the Sea Life tour
we wanted to go to The Rocks for a close up view of the Opera House and Harbor
Bridge. Possibly because of the large number of road closures and diversions
even Google Maps went wonky and we spent a fruitless hour trying to find our
way. Finally, I gave up and decided to return to the hotel. On the way we located
an Indian restaurant, the Bombay Street Kitchen, and had a lovely meal of
rotis, dal, malai kofta, pumpkin curry and butter chicken. Sleep was not
difficult to come by in the comfortable room after a packed day of activity.
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