19 March 2013

Basking



I am reveling today. In Sydney. In Australia. I have had a couple of coffees sitting outside in the sun at Grosvenor place. I have been sitting on a stone bench which is next to a fountain that is near my office. I have been basking in the joy of being home and in the sunshine. It is so nice to be able to sit in the sun without the horrible humidity. The weather today in Sydney is perfect. There is not a cloud in the sky. 

I have a grin on my face that spreads from ear to ear.

I took my lunch outside as well. I grabbed a ham and salad roll from a local outlet. The bread had a crispy and crunchy crust but was soft inside - just the way I like it. The dough was unsweetened. All bread in Singapore is sweet because they bizarrely add sugar. I don't know why but I don't really like it. My salad roll contained slices of beetroot as well as all the normal salad greens. To add beetroot is the norm back in Australia. We put it in our burgers as well. 

It is all the sweet we need.

I had my lunch amongst other office workers and tradies and tourists today. We sat in the sun. Tradies are tradesmen. They are builders and plumbers and electricians. Tradies wear khaki shorts and solid work boots and tight tee shirts that show off their big muscles. These blokes were eating big lunches. They are big boys. 

They are strapping.

A young Asian couple sat near me on an adjacent stone bench. They were eating their lunch and had also spread out a tourist map of Sydney before them. They were studying it intently. I could tell that they were Singaporean from the way that they were speaking. I smiled an introduction and had some banter with them. I threw in a couple of 'La's" and 'Can's" which delighted them. I explained that I lived in Singapore and was just visiting Sydney which also seemed to delight them.

The Singaporean couple told me that they were only in Sydney for a couple of days and they were keen to do some walks on some beaches. They explained that they were a bit nervous about swimming because they were afraid of sharks. They were afraid of being eaten. I asked them if they wanted any suggestions as to where I thought they should go and what they should see and they said that they would. 

Like my suggestions. 

I thought they might like to catch the ferry over to Manly and I also told them that Watson's Bay was beautiful. A couple of the Tradies bought in on the conversation and started to make a few suggestions themselves. Then a few be-suited office workers weighed in as well. In a blink there were half a dozen of us surrounding the Singaporean tourists and we were pointing out places on their map that we thought that they should go to. We gave them fairly detailed instructions as to what buses to catch and how long it would take to get there. We gave them advice on what sights they should look out for on the way. Palm beach, Milson's Park, Double Bay and Bronte were all thrown into the mix. 

The Singaporean tourists were loving it. 

We others were loving it as well.

And all the time we were basking.

No comments :

Post a Comment