It’s been awhile since I have been around the Aussie banter of jokes and sporting facts, but it was a great weekend to get back in touch with this again.
As food-obsessed Sydneysiders we enjoyed a melange of cuisines from traditional English breakfast at the Side Café, to Italian at the cheap and cheerful Pani’s (twice) and yum cha at a local Chinese restaurant.
We managed to squeeze in some shopping, only because Newcastle has a great selection of guy’s boutique clothing stores (see previous post). I’ll be waiting to see Ben hit London with his new Vice ‘pantaloons’.
As Aussies do, sport was on the agenda, and on a cool and sunny Saturday afternoon, we followed a stream of black and white jerseys, up the city streets to St James Stadium to watch Newcastle United get a whipping on their home turf by Portsmouth.
It was really all over in the first 10 minutes since Portsmouth scored 3 goals. But we hoped for a miracle, and it looked like it was happening when Newcastle scored a goal.
But for the rest of the game, Newcastle was in no such luck, especially when Portsmouth kicked and scored their final goal. From the sideline. With just 10 minutes left of the clock, half the stadium got up and left, and Portsmouth won 4-1.
There was no time to feel too sorry for Newcastle as we hit the Secco Bar for drinks and an impromptu dinner at Pani’s with basically most of my Newcastle friends. Thanks everyone for coming and making the Aussies feel welcome in town!
After a cosy night of all of us sleeping in my studio, we managed to roll out of bed (and sleeping bags) and to Chinatown for yum cha that Joyce recommended. We were impressed with the food, especially the steaming cha siew boas. It’s been a good 6 months since I have had yum cha and it is nice to know that I can find a decent meal a 10 minute walk from my place!
I headed back down to London with the guys, on a rather packed Sunday afternoon train, as I was to see the Design Council on Monday.
