The Land Down Under, Part 8: Raining on My Parade

I knew before going that it was winter in Australia, and that I could expect some rain in my time in Sydney. Unbothered, I packed my umbrella and merrily flew a very long distance because rain, shine, or hellfire, I was going to Australia.

Let me just preface all of the following post by saying that I have since learned that the default weather app on the iPhone is not completely precise because it's kind of a "summary," if you will. It's not meteorologist-maintained. It's meant as a guide, but not necessarily an actual reflection of what's happening outside.

But I will forever call it a lying liar.

I set out on Friday morning, with plans to do indoor stuff. Sydney has a large art museum, and I was itching to do my Museum Nerd thing. I set off on the short walk, quickly finding myself at the Library of New South Wales, which had a charming gift shop. I stopped in and saw some wonderful books I wanted for my classroom. I promised myself I'd stop by on my way through later to buy them, then set off into The Domain.

The Domain is part of the larger Sydney Botanical Gardens, and was originally part of the land where Governor Lachlan Macquarie and his wife, Elizabeth, lived during the early settlement of Sydney. Today, it's a well-loved park.

Anyway, yes, I set off, sans umbrella, because the lying liar weather app on my phone said it would rain in the evening, but only be cloudy during the day.

(I know, I know.)

Fig tree--I love the trunks!

Looking back towards Downtown.

As I walked along, it was slightly misty, and some people had umbrellas up. "Hah," I thought to myself. "This is nothing!!" 

Before long, the Art Museum of New South Wales came into artistic-photo view. 

Most of Sydney's national museums are free entry, which is just wonderful. I spent a nice few hours at the museum, learning about Australian and Aboriginal artists and enjoying the works. I had lunch at the museum café--I even sat outside!--then walked around more.

Below, some of my favorite pieces:

Gordon Bennet
Metaphysical Landscape no. 2
1990 

James White
Kunkardi
1897

Raqib Shaw
Blossom Gatherers II 
2009-2011

Camille Pissarro
Peasants' houses, Eragny
1887

Claude Monet
Port-Goulphar, Belle-Ile
1887

Angelina George
Untitled
2008

Ms. N Marawili
Baratjalan -- lightning and the rock
2018

Jimmy Lipundja
Muryana (spirit) looking for guku (honey)
c1950s

Mungurrawuy Yanupinju
Lany'tjun Story (Crocodile and Bandicoot)
1959

Bob Jenyns 
The wedding
c1972

Jenny Watson
Alice in Tokyo
1984

Charles Blackman
Alice on the table
1956

Robert Campbell Jr.
Map of the massacres of blacks on the Macleay Valley
1991

Tempe Manning
Self-portrait
1939

Grace Cossington Smith
The window
1956

Henri Matisse
Nude before a screen
1905

Weaver Hawkins
Jitterbugs
1945

Roy de Maistre
Rhythmic composition in yellow green mior
1919

When I was ready to leave the museum, I headed for the exit and...it was pouring outside. Absolutely pissing down with rain. 

Remember my whole umbrella plan?

Yeah.

But a little rain never hurt anyone, and besides, my next planned stop for the day, St. Mary's Cathedral, was a mere half mile walk.

Rain was flowing down this tree trunk like a river.

I pulled up my hood, tightened the laces, and set off at a quick pace. It wasn't a long walk, at all. But oh, it was a wet one.

I arrived at St. Mary's in a bit of a desperate half-jog, stepped inside, and tried to discretely shake off some of the excess water. The afternoon mass was about to start, and for all the times I've visited Catholic cathedrals in my travels, I've never actually been when a mass is happening. I suppose I could have quietly walked around in the back of the cathedral, but I was feeling like a just-bathed cat and so I plopped down on a pew off to the side and watched, all the while willing my jeans to dry.

A word of advice: jeans when rain is expected...bad idea.

It was an interesting (the motions of the mass) and uncomfortable (wet denim) mass for me, and when it was through, I got up to look around.

I stopped to check the weather. 

Still raining.

I like a good cathedral, but there's a point where you've kinda seen the whole thing, and I was also still miserably soaked through. I donned my dripping hoodie and stepped back out into the elements. My only plan now was to get back to my hotel, to dry off, but with a quick stop at the NSW Library shop to buy a couple of books for my classroom.

"Mistakes were made," I said to the lady who rang up my books. "My weather app lied to me." 

She just laughed and said, "Mine did, too! I wasn't expecting rain right now."

Books bought, I dashed back out into the rain, and speed-walked the half-mile back to The Tank Stream. Parts of my journey were covered, but I still collected a lot of water. 

I spent a few hours in my room, drying off, warming up, and draping my wet jeans across my suitcase. My shoes were soaked through from a desperate dash across a small street-river as I crossed at an intersection. 

My plans for the evening were to see a dance show at the famous Opera House. This time, I dressed in my nicer pants, which are not denim and will dry much faster. The rain had stopped, however, so I was fine. I was even fine wearing only a cardigan over my cute top. Blow-drying my hoodie had been minimal help in drying it.

I set off for the Opera House, and arrived in time to have a glass of wine before my show. I was there to see the Bangarra dance group and their show "Horizon." The group is made of dancers with Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander, and Maori backgrounds, and the show was about the stories of these people. It was captivating and beautiful. 

An Australian wine--and quite nice

There are several theaters within the Opera House complex. My show was in the Drama Theater.

All dressed up and not rained on.

When I left, I was quite hungry, so dinner was a priority. As I walked, I saw the lights of Vivid, but also managed to get a good shot against the clouds of the Pride lights that were beamed out from Sydney Tower. I ended up at a crepe place, having a delicious chicken crepe and a soul-warming mocha. I had no firm plans for Saturday, but I'd figure that out later.