Jessamyn in Sydney!

Jessamyn in Sydney! As part of her tour of the Great Libraries & Librarians of Australia, Jessamyn will shortly arrive in Sydney for a few days. A meetup has been suggested for next sunday, 11th March. As she will be staying near Whitlam Square, the tentative plan is for a stroll through Hyde Park & the Botanical Gardens, then perhaps hop onto a ferry to Doyle's. The last ferry back from Watson's Bay on a sunday is at 7:05, arriving Circular Quay at 7:30, which coincides nicely with a 7:20 sunset.
posted by UbuRoivas to MetaFilter gatherings at 2:36 PM (75 comments total)

Damn lucky Sydney-siders. I told Jessamyn that Brisbane was far nicer and she should have come here instead but I suppose our brand new and flash State Library wasn't good enough, or something. Oh well.

Anyway, yeah, I'd come for sure but Sydney is too far away. So have fun, and say hi for me!
posted by Effigy2000 at 4:25 PM on March 4, 2007

Sounds good to me, but I'm sure it will be raining that weekend :)
posted by dhruva at 4:26 PM on March 4, 2007

Are you booking for Doyles (I'm pretty sure you'd need to)? The menu pretty much sucks for vegetarians. Next door, the Watsons Bay Hotel does a mean vegeburger and F&C would be half the price.
posted by tellurian at 4:29 PM on March 4, 2007

The beer garden of Watsons Bay Hotel is actually where I meant. I was under the impression that Doyles owned or catered it now. I might be wrong.
posted by UbuRoivas at 4:46 PM on March 4, 2007

Can we talk Jessamyn and her sis into visiting with aussie elderblogger Olive?
posted by mmahaffie at 4:53 PM on March 4, 2007

No, you're right UbuRoivas. When I heard Doyles I just assumed the restaurant. I'm looking forward to the day.
posted by tellurian at 5:06 PM on March 4, 2007

So where exactly do we meet? Hyde park fountain?
posted by dhruva at 5:10 PM on March 4, 2007

Can we talk Jessamyn and her sis into visiting with aussie elderblogger Olive?

You can try. As far as I can tell from a skim of the blog, she seems to live around Campbelltown-on-the-Coast, between Sydney & Newcastle. Tautologically wild brumbies couldn't drag me there.

So where exactly do we meet? Hyde park fountain?

That's a pretty good suggestion. Or the War Memorial.
posted by UbuRoivas at 5:39 PM on March 4, 2007

Tautologically wild brumbies couldn't drag me there.

...oooh! but a good country meat pie might do the trick! you can't get a decent meat pie in the city, apart from one or two places. (collaroy, i'm looking at you!)
posted by UbuRoivas at 5:48 PM on March 4, 2007

I have not actually been out to Doyle's yet, which is ridiculous. So I'm tentatively in.
posted by web-goddess at 7:34 PM on March 4, 2007

Unforgiveable!

The area of Watsons Bay, The Gap & South Head has to be about the most spectacular of the entire harbour, IMHO. I found myself on a ferry there via Darling Point, Rose Bay, Rushcutters Bay etc the other week & I was kicking myself for not making that trip at least once every other month. Especially during the 18-foot skiff racing season. Doubleplusespecially in sunshowers!

For a ferry excursion on the harbour, the two obvious options are either Manly or Watsons Bay, but the latter is more interesting as it pulls into three or four secluded bays along the way, so you get a better look at all the harbourside suburbs. As the Manly ferry cuts its way from Circular Quay, it's just a headlong juggernaut to the endpoint, which feels like a huge outdoor shopping mall full of European backpackers, unlike the more quaint & villagey Watsons Bay & Camp Cove area.
posted by UbuRoivas at 8:15 PM on March 4, 2007

I'm not a total rube; I've been to Watson's Bay! I had some friends get married up there and it really is the most spectacular setting. I was just saying I hadn't ever been to Doyle's, which as I understand it is somewhat of a Sydney institution. :)
posted by web-goddess at 9:28 PM on March 4, 2007

Umm... I know the ferry trip and Watson's Bay and many other places on the harbour etc are wonderful and the like and I'm sure J and sis will enjoy it but it sounds like nearly 2 hours travel all told which has to be fitted in between J/sis not arriving at the airport until 2 pm and a return ferry at about 7pm. It all sounds a bit tight. I was intending on missing ferry anyway and just driving to the pub.
posted by peacay at 10:56 PM on March 4, 2007

As much as I'd love to join you guys, I can't. =(

Say hi so Jessamyn for me!

BTW, You can get a pretty mean meat pie at Harry's Cafe de Wheels at Woolloomooloo. *dreams of pie stack* =]
posted by cholly at 1:22 AM on March 5, 2007

Can we talk Jessamyn and her sis into visiting with aussie elderblogger Olive?

No, you cannot. I don't know who that is and I'm already a bit overprogrammed as it is with librarianing and koala-cuddling.

This, combined with pretty much non-existent 'net access (at least in Perth and Adelaide) means that I'm going to check this thread when I get to Sydney and I'll go where it tells me. Looks like I'm getting in more like 11:30 (VirginBlue flt DJ833 if anyone wants to come fetch me) so if we meet anyplace after about 1, I'm in.
posted by jessamyn at 2:23 AM on March 5, 2007

Does this mean we get a copycat Melbourne meet soon?
posted by PuGZ at 2:37 AM on March 5, 2007

Does this mean we get a copycat Melbourne meet soon?

I'll be there Saturday. If it's dinnertime Saturday and you want to plan it, then yes I'll try to be there.
posted by jessamyn at 2:57 AM on March 5, 2007

After today's weather I think dhruva has a point. We need a Plan B in the event of rain drenched rather than sun.
"It all sounds a bit tight."
"Harry's Cafe de Wheels at Woolloomooloo".
Hmm! Woolloomooloo is central and has quite a few pubs/eating places.
posted by tellurian at 4:44 AM on March 5, 2007

Heh! Effigy2000: Damn lucky Sydney-siders
and
in Perth and Adelaide
and
"Melbourne meet soon?"
I'll be there Saturday.
[noting that these links no longer work in Safari, I hope they are correct for others] ;-)
posted by tellurian at 5:04 AM on March 5, 2007

Sorry, Jessamyn, I forgot you were somewhat out of e-touch on your travels. My reference was to an interesting FPP about a centenarian blogger (blobber, as she puts it) who lives near Sydney. I wasn't thinking it was a real possibility, just an cool coincidence.

Travel safely.
posted by mmahaffie at 5:50 AM on March 5, 2007

mmahaffie: It's also a shame Alan Wadell has already walked Watsons Bay. He doesn't seem to have done Woolloomooloo though.
posted by tellurian at 6:06 AM on March 5, 2007

I'm sure J and sis will enjoy it but it sounds like nearly 2 hours travel all told which has to be fitted in between J/sis not ~~arriving at the airport until 2 pm~~ being available until after about 1pm and a return ferry at about 7pm. It all sounds a bit tight.

I asked J via email what her&sis's program was, and a spin around the harbour was on the agenda (cheap-and-best option being a ferry, rather than one of those extortionate touristic cruises). I suggest that sunday would be the best day for that, as the skiffs & leisure yachts are likely to be out in numbers.

You can get a pretty mean meat pie at Harry's Cafe de Wheels at Woolloomooloo

True. *Dreams of pie floater* - that's a meat pie floating in a pool of mushy peas, for all you septic tanks. Coincidentally, I used to work for the guy who bought Harry's. I believe that Hannah's Pies in Ultimo is probably him as well. It was nice living a block from there...

After today's weather I think dhruva has a point. We need a Plan B in the event of rain drenched rather than sun.

I caught the ferry to WB a few weeks back in some pretty blustery, rainy conditions. Very atmospheric. The Gap in such weather is also suitably Heathcliffean. But yeh - a plan B could be handy. Something with a suitable view, and not too pricey, would be nice. There are some pretty coolo traditional style pubs in The Rocks - not on the main drag, but back towards Darling Harbour a bit, that have some good views...?

Woollomooloo is also an option. My fave there would be the East Sydney Tavern, but there's another place *forgets name* that had a tasteful old-n-new renovation recently...coupla blocks back from the water. The bar in the finger wharf is exceptionally nice, too, if a little on the expensive side. However, that's one place where you do get what you pay for.
posted by UbuRoivas at 2:28 PM on March 5, 2007

Ah, but is it very Australian to take her to the only pub with no pokies? :)
posted by web-goddess at 3:59 PM on March 5, 2007

Well, your local drug dealer has to launder his money *somewhere*, right?
posted by UbuRoivas at 4:28 PM on March 5, 2007

If we're looking for old fashioned pubs along the Rocks, I recommend the Lord Nelson. Since I live in Marsfield and it takes atleast an hour to get back home from the CBD, I hope you guys decide on someplace in the city instead of some god forsaken holiday town halfway to Jervis Bay just for the sake of a meat pie :)
posted by dhruva at 4:57 PM on March 5, 2007

The bar in the finger wharf is exceptionally nice, too, if a little on the expensive side.

Just popping in from the Ulney Library in Adelaide to say anything that is "a bit on the expensive side" is unlikly to appeal much. I'll take un-nice over expensive any day. Sis and I don't have proper rain gear, but rain generally is no problem. I'm on the Great Ocean Road to Melbourne starting tomorrow morning.
posted by jessamyn at 5:11 PM on March 5, 2007

Hello to the Unley Library from three suburbs up the road!

Great Ocean Road should be terrific.
posted by Wolof at 6:45 PM on March 5, 2007

Just so you understand fully Wolof's ecstatic greeting, three suburbs in Adelaide means about two blocks up the road.

In this distance, you would probably pass around a dozen pubs, two dozen churches & at least five axe-murder corpses. That might seem like a lot, but it's really no more than about five minutes' walk.
posted by UbuRoivas at 7:03 PM on March 5, 2007

Wolof - check your gmail. I sent details if you want to get together for a beer this evening.
posted by jessamyn at 7:49 PM on March 5, 2007

I would actually vote we return to the Alfred. It's a fine establishment from all points of view I reckon. At least that would mean that parking is no problem and I could also pick up jessamyn and her sister ---- I've not broached this subject thus far because if we were ferry hopping etc, a car would just be a big bummer and I couldn't make it to the airport and home and back in. The Rocks would also probably be a bit too tricky with a car.

So, the Alfred ? ? ? Anyone?!

But I'll be happy enough doing whichwhatever.
posted by peacay at 9:41 PM on March 5, 2007

Hey, the Alfred's within walking distance for me so that's always a plus. I'll back you on that one.
posted by web-goddess at 10:20 PM on March 5, 2007

The beer garden in the Courty has it all over the Alfred, although the food has apparently gone way downhill. Probably still better than the Alfred's food, tho.

BTW, what's with you guys and your "waa waa waah, can't stray too far from home"? It's not as if an excursion to the Rocks or the Harbour is akin to a stint in Guantanamo, or anything.

Maybe the SIMBY (stay in my back yard) approach is more suitable to a local meetup, not necessarily for entertaining an esteemed guest who probably has higher priorities than sitting around in grungy Camperdown.

(disclaimer: Camperdown resident)
posted by UbuRoivas at 10:38 PM on March 5, 2007

If it was SIMBY I'd suggest Cronulla and dhruva might say Hornsby. At present, you wouldn't even have to go 1/4 the distance as us, even if Watson's Bay was the go. In which case we would have our hour and a half travel plus your 1/4 distance, if you follow.

And as I said, the main reason I've made this suggestion is that I will be able to pick up the ladies from the airport, and of course, in the required tradition, they will then be better able to afford the first shout (you know what a shout is jessamyn?). So there is a kind of double-edged logic that could be to your benefit here, UbuRoivas.
posted by peacay at 12:18 AM on March 6, 2007

Is she hitting the National Library, in Canberra?
posted by barnacles at 12:22 AM on March 6, 2007

UbuRoivas: True. *Dreams of pie floater* - that's a meat pie floating in a pool of mushy peas, for all you septic tanks.
Can you believe that I went to Harry's a couple of months ago and the people who were working there had never heard of the pie floater? They apparently don't serve them anymore. *cries*
posted by cholly at 1:28 AM on March 6, 2007

Where are you going to be in Melbourne (i.e. central?). Presumably. I'm quite happy to put the call out for a Melbourne meetup.
posted by sien at 1:54 AM on March 6, 2007

Jess wrote to me and I blew her off.

Ph33r m3.
posted by Wolof at 3:57 AM on March 6, 2007

Dammit, I would have loved to have met her Jessness, but had to look after my beautiful child ce soir.
posted by Wolof at 4:05 AM on March 6, 2007

peacay: I would actually vote we return to the Alfred.
I'll be in that. Games of (free) pool must be had this time though.
UbuRoivas: The beer garden in the Courty has it all over the Alfred, although the food has apparently gone way downhill.
I'll be in that too [although disagreeing with the downhill thing, being a regular there] (assuming you mean the Courtyard Hotel in Newtown). How is parking there for you peacay?
cholly: "the people who were working there had never heard of the pie floater?
I asked for a portabello floater and they were similarly nonplussed.
posted by tellurian at 5:33 AM on March 6, 2007

peacay: Cronulla? Meh. Ferry to Bundeena would be the go there.

As an aside, I take a few months of time out from the inner city every now & then to stay at my parents' place in the Shire (lovely hilly bush frontage). It always irks me that people think a half-hour train trip is too much to bear to come & visit, especially when a bus from Newtown to the city takes about the same time.

I'm also coming down from a trip to India, in which a four-hour bus ride in stinking heat on potholed roads is considered an easy, short hop. So, you guys are teh lame gay :P

tellurian: yep, Courthouse Hotel, Newtown.

Overall, I'm easy wherever it is. Just that J expressed interest in a trip on the harbour, so I thought it might be a matter of killing two koalas with one boomerang to do the Watsons Bay option.

Portabello floater? You might be onto something there (thinking more steak & portobello on peas, with mashed potato & gravy piled on top). Only your problem was more that you fucked up: everybody knows it's portobella.
posted by UbuRoivas at 2:21 PM on March 6, 2007

Are we actually voting here? Is somebody keeping track of responses? Because I'm really not bothered one way or the other. If I'm being totally honest though, the less distance to be travelled, the more likely I am to actually turn up. My weekends are lazy time.
posted by web-goddess at 2:34 PM on March 6, 2007

I vote Alfred so that we have a web-goddess. All pub outings require a goddess. And free pool.
Say 130pm?

[as an alternative, and to answer tellurian, I'd be happy about the Courthouse - parking's a slight bummer but not insurmountable]

If it is either of these venues then I will meet oh Illustrious #2 and her sister at the airport and take them to their digs, wait for them to do the necessary and take them to the pub.

If it is harbour I won't drive and there can be no pickup from airport.
posted by peacay at 2:50 PM on March 6, 2007

Anywhere the pub chef can throw together a portabella floater wins the day.
posted by UbuRoivas at 2:53 PM on March 6, 2007

Can we really deny Jessamyn the delights of the Peacay Taxi Service? We can not. Put me down for the Alfred, and I promise to turn up. (Of course, you're going to have to put up with me knitting in the pub. The Royal Easter Show waits for no man.)
posted by web-goddess at 2:57 PM on March 6, 2007

ok, has anything been decided? I'd vote for the Alfred or the Courthouse because i am a lazy f*ck, but it has to be said, south head or ... missendon road. Bit of a gap in experience there.

Of course the alfred *is* closer to a hospital.

If anyone is counting, Courthouse gets my vote. And just to confuse things further, the bistro at the Town Hall is very very good.
posted by arha at 3:02 PM on March 6, 2007

(my car's just out of rego, but i could probably borrow one of three others in the family. this could involve a trip to the Shire & pickup there. i can also park at work, near Wentworth Ave, or in my secret all-day unlimited free parking spot in Woollomooloo. a two-man team at the airport is also good...one can wait inside for the gals to clear customs, while the other drives round & round in circles to avoid the dollar-a-minute fees in the airport carpark)
posted by UbuRoivas at 3:10 PM on March 6, 2007

Fine, then. Since the Alfred is fast becoming MeFi HQ down under .... And since I know my way there, it's fine. I propose we meet at the Alfred and then wing it.
posted by dhruva at 3:16 PM on March 6, 2007

Aye. Alfred.
posted by tellurian at 3:54 PM on March 6, 2007

Just sticking my oar in. I can't come, because I have family obligations, but if I were a yankee with limited time I would definitely pick something more harbour-y.
If the trek out to Watsons bay is time constrained (which it sounds as though it is, you would only be at the bar for an hour or so) can I suggest a Rocks venue? At least that has some views and bustle as opposed to Camperdown (disclosure ex-Stanmore & Glebe resident who misses it).
Or to make a day of it, catch the train to Milsons Point, walk back over the bridge to the Glenmore or the Australian in Cumberland St?
posted by bystander at 3:57 PM on March 6, 2007

What Effigy2000 http://metatalk.metafilter.com/goldstar.gif said.
posted by dg at 4:10 PM on March 6, 2007

The Australian!!!! Yes! Yes! Yes!

That was specifically the place in the Rocks that I was thinking of before. It's right up by the Harbour Bridge approach, and has a rooftop terrace that looks across the Rocks & Circular Quay to the Harbour beyond. From memory, everything is at standard prices, and there's pub grub available. Might've been a BBQ-type arrangement on the roof.
posted by UbuRoivas at 4:23 PM on March 6, 2007

I don't have to clear customs if I'm coming in from Melbourne do I? My plan is 1) get to airport and get ride if someone is there (m and my sister look like this) 2) else, take train to Y downtown. Check in, check internet, figure out where meetup is, go there.

I get to Melbourne Saturday morning and fly out Sunday to Sydney. I'm staying at the Mayflower on Lonsdale Saturday evening and if something could happen near there around suppertime, I'd love to attend.

Otherwise I'm on the (great, ocean) road til Saturday and unlikely to be able to check in, though I may be surprised. Look forward to meeting you all.
posted by jessamyn at 4:50 PM on March 6, 2007

*wavering* It does say ample parking too.
posted by tellurian at 4:58 PM on March 6, 2007

no, no customs coming from melbourne. my mistake - shorthand for "going through airport landing hassle".
posted by UbuRoivas at 5:00 PM on March 6, 2007

Heh. It turns out I was thinking of the Glenmore, after all. They're right next door to each other.

There can be only one cromulent solution to this impasse:

*TRADITIONAL ROCKS PUB CRAWL!!!*
posted by UbuRoivas at 5:07 PM on March 6, 2007

Actually, the Australian *is* pretty nice. And they do crocodile pizza! The goddess approves.
posted by web-goddess at 5:15 PM on March 6, 2007

Finally my intimate knowledge of getting drunk in Sydney is paying off in the respect of peers ;-)
posted by bystander at 5:22 PM on March 6, 2007

I'm wavering as well- much as I like the Alfred, I'm getting a bit bored with it :)
posted by dhruva at 5:57 PM on March 6, 2007

I just called the Australian about the parking. She said that they don't have reserve parking and that there is metered parking out the front but can't say if it's particularly busy on Sundays.
posted by tellurian at 6:13 PM on March 6, 2007

there's masses of parking all around the rocks - they need it becoz of the sydney theatre company's wharf theatre.

nobody really drives to the area during the day when you can catch trains, buses & ferries there with ease, but for the evening theatre, there's no way those well-heeled poonces would brave public transport all the way from distant mosman, so it's pymble-tractor sized parking spaces as far as the eye can see.

incidentally, it seems all those finger wharves have been redeveloped now - mostly swanky postmodern nautical style apartments, like the woolloomooloo finger wharf. the good part is that there is public access to wander around all of them :) - a few little bars & cafes, too. well recommended for ppl to explore some (other) time.
posted by UbuRoivas at 6:35 PM on March 6, 2007

So, how does this sound?
Plan A
Meet at Hyde Park (the Fountain).
Walk down to Circular Quay via the Botanical Gardens, catch a ferry to Milsons Point, then walk across the Bridge to The Australian, The Glenmore, and victory.

Plan B (wet weather)
Meet in Museum Station, figure it out from there.
posted by zamboni at 10:21 PM on March 6, 2007

Plan U (aka UbuRoivas uber alles): get everybody tanked up in the Rocks, intoxicated by beer & views, until a ferry to Watsons Bay for sunset is an irresistible option.

Or we could just use "favourites" to vote on all the excellent suggestions so far.
posted by UbuRoivas at 10:38 PM on March 6, 2007

I hate you bastards with your boat-filled harbours, your poopy beaches, your shitty Royal National and Nielsen Parks and your stinking ferries.

I just wanted to put that on the record.

/ex Sydney person
posted by Wolof at 11:21 PM on March 6, 2007

I concur that something more downtown near the Harbour would be good for a visitor. I can't speak to this "Australian Hotel", but I do know some Australians and I find them quite likeable.

Plus it's easier to get to than the Alfred...
posted by qwip at 11:41 PM on March 6, 2007

***Sydney***MeFi***MEETUP***
***************************
Where:
The Australian Hotel
100 Cumberland Street
The Rocks

When:
Sunday, 11th March 2007

Time: ~130pm

MAP

***************************
***************************
posted by peacay at 6:34 AM on March 7, 2007

And Jessamyn, I will pick you and your sister up from the airport - I emailed comfirmation.
posted by peacay at 6:39 AM on March 7, 2007

Wolof: I would trade it all for one single sweet sweet sweet unpasteurised Hahndorf mettwurst (damned salmonella-hating NSW health regulations!). And the chance of swimming with real Great Whites, instead of wobbegongs.

quip: kudos for the cromulent spelling of 'harbour'. You're clearly fitting right in :)
posted by UbuRoivas at 2:14 PM on March 7, 2007

The Australian will take bookings for a table. You will probably want to sit outside.
posted by bystander at 3:13 PM on March 7, 2007

peacay: that google map is kinda confusing.

ppl would be better advised to switch to satellite view & zoom out about two or three levels.
posted by UbuRoivas at 4:57 PM on March 7, 2007

Does this help? Remember to turn left at NZ.
posted by peacay at 5:36 PM on March 7, 2007

Thanks, mate. I think I made a wrong turn at Alberquerque.

This is more what I was thinking of.

(heh - funny to see that even Google refuses to acknowledge that ~~Tasmania~~ New Zealand's West Island is a part of Australia)
posted by UbuRoivas at 6:39 PM on March 7, 2007

(oh, and you forget: NZ is the Left Pole of the world. When travelling away from NZ, you can only possibly head right)
posted by UbuRoivas at 6:46 PM on March 7, 2007

as of friday midday, the forecast for sunday is 18-29, fine, with a *late southerly change*.

the southerly changes at the end of hot summer days are one of my favourite things about sydney, especially when the temperature suddenly drops around ten degrees, and rain the size of golf-balls pelts down, with lightning storms in the background.

(it's a lot more peaceful than it sounds)

best of all is if you can contrive to be in the surf when the change hits :D
posted by UbuRoivas at 7:38 PM on March 8, 2007

Jessamyn in Sydney! March 4, 2007 2:36 PM Subscribe

Jessamyn in Sydney!
March 4, 2007 2:36 PM Subscribe