down under
In about ten days I’ll be leaving this fair land for a sojourn in Sydney, Australia, where I’ll be speaking at at a C. S. Lewis conference and the Sydney Writer’s Festival. I’ll also be doing several interviews, and in general will be madly busy, but I’m wondering whether our faithful TAS readers might want to pitch in and tell me what I shouldn’t miss while I’m there.
I’ll have a few days at the end of the trip to stay in the Blue Mountains, where I plan to do nothing but a great deal of bushwalking — well, and also lying around — but I’m eager for recommendations for that little part of the world too. Any help out there?
The first time I went to Australia I was 13 and traveling with my father, who was presenting at a conference at the university in Sydney. For weeks prior to leaving he said “Remember, in the Southern Hemisphere, it’ll be winter, and Sydney is on the Southern coast— so it’s going to be cold.” And he kept telling me to make sure to pack warmly. Every time he did I said I knew. So when I actually packed the suitcase (the day before, naturally), I thought to myself “Tropical paradise!” and only bothered to throw in one pair of jeans and no long-sleeved shirts whatsoever. When we got there, it was cold. Really cold.
We had to buy me a coat in Sydney. The whole thing didn’t go over too well with my dad. Of course you’ll be going May, not July, so it should be warmer.
— Freddie · May 8, 03:51 PM · #
Alan
As a regular reader of The American Scene and a political blogger myself (www.lowyinterpreter.org), I’d be happy to have a cup of coffee with you when you’re in Sydney. I’ll be chairing a session of the Sydney Writers’ Festival (a breakfast with the philosopher John Gray), so we have that in common too. Lots to talk about, I’m sure.
And in response to Freddie, temperatures are around the low 20s at the moment in Sydney (celsius, of course).
— Sam · May 8, 11:07 PM · #