The next day, over breakfast, I remembered that the locals had all been talking up the local Sydney Ribfest. Alex and Heidi were due to arrive in Sydney that evening, with us leaving the next day on the ferry, so it seemed a good way to spend a few hours in the afternoon.
I’m not sure what I imagined, but the place was packed. Cars abounded for miles, people were milling about, but more relevantly the lines for ribs were Looooong. With advertising boards proclaiming the greatness of every vendor’s ribs, I must admit I decided to just hit the shortest line. Even then it took a good 30 mins before I got food – and ever the planner, I could see that the people I would have been standing behind in the other lines were still a good 20 mins from getting theirs.
The ribs were fantastic and despite my best intentions of trying more than one vendor, the serving was big enough to fill me up completely. maybe I should have just asked for a half portion.
A quick wander around in the sunshine showed that there really was very little else on – you could listen to a guy playing guitar on stage if you so wished, but in the main it was simply a matter of chow down and get out.
Which I did, only to find myself at the last 20 mins of a local girls soccer game, where I positioned myself slightly away from all the soccer moms and dads, but where I could still hear their enthusiastic and (not very) knowledgeable support. I think the home team lost.
From here it was simply a matter of finding something to do before meeting up with Alex and Heidi. Charlotte and I went for a drive, and before long heard the sound of sirens rapidly coming up behind us. Not once, or twice but three times, and by this stage interest was piqued and we set out to follow the emergency vehicles.
We arrived at a small suburban intersection where about 20 local were gathered, 3 police cars, a fire truck and a paramedic/ambulance were all parked akimbo, lights flashing. We quickly parked and tried to find out what was going on, but before any of the locals could answer us, we were politely asked to move as Charlotte was blocking something that wasn’t already blocked. I never did find out what was going down, suffice it to say that judging by the brief glimpse of such overwhelming response it wasn’t just a kitty up a tree.
Anyhoo, by this time Alex and Heidi had arrived so I popped dwn to the pier/harbour to meet them. We had a drink and a catchup at the local pub, before settling in for a few drinks and a chat down in the carpark, where Vanastasia and Charlotte were getting re-acquainted.
I realised that I had not taken any photos of Sydney harbour and its surrounds, ostentasiously presided over by a huge fiddle! So here they are. Not quite like home!
