Day 350
Manly, Sydney, Australia
Last night we met our friends Silvia and Graeme!
They had flown all the way from Brisbane, Queensland especially to see us, and to have dinner at Doyle's!!!! We felt very honoured and special. That is what you call friendship!
The plan was to meet on the Sydney Opera House steps. We had to catch the Manly
Ferry to Circular Quay and then find our way to the Sydney Opera House. We were messaging each other on our mobile phones and waving from the ferry to two Queenslanders in aqua tops and jeans.
I had no doubt we'd recognise each other though. Over the years we've shared photos of our kids, our partners and ourselves.
We knew each other as any close friends would. The only thing is, we'd never MET before! Seems like a hard-to-understand concept and i've even had people comment on my friend "Silvia".
Comments like, "She's not really a friend you 'know' though is she?" were made. After a while, it was hard to explain that i could have a 'net friend' that I'd never met, that was also as close to me, as any friend I had in Perth, or who i did 'know' in person. If anything, she was more accessible than some of my friends close by. Because, with one click, there she was!
She was always willing to comment or ask more questions or share her views via email, text, or phone. We supported each other when we were down, and shared our loves, losses and trials over a period of ten years. Seems strange that we were never compelled to meet each other earlier. But it never seemed necessary. We had our lives, and we were 'online' friends.
Silvia has also made jewellery for my family and friends. Both Annie and Kath are walking around in her creations. She's a very talented bead maker. And that is the thing i loved most about her.
She had knowledge about So many things! Whenever i had a concern about my dogs, or the budgies (when i tried to breed them), or with my computer, or with downloads, or with anything at all, she was always 'there' with the time to answer. No email was every unanswered. She always replied.
And, her emails always lit up the page. While we've been overseas, i loved seeing her name appear in my email inbox. She was always positive and uplifting. A very wonderful and special friend.
She is also so committed to our friendship that she sent an abundance of text messages at Christmas when we were in Argentina!! Can't ask for more than that! HAHA There was an a mobile phone glitch where her one xmas message was repeated 76 times over a week! Gosh. That was funny!!! (In hindsite!)
The time for us to meet was here!!
Instead of actually making it to the steps of the Opera House, there she was, right in front of me! I couldn't wipe the smile off my face. Her voice was the most familiar! And she looked just as she looked in her photos. It was the 'Silvia' I knew. We hugged each other as old friends would. Seeing her made my day. She soon introduced Graeme and she and Greg exchanged hugs.
Afterall, via the blog, Silvia has also become familiar with Greg too. In fact, she said, as we were walking along Circular Quay, it was Greg she spotted first! I had my head down, checking the text message she'd just sent!!!
The next hour or so seemed a blur as we chatted and caught up on all sorts of things. Greg and Graeme clicked and Silvia and i walked as the million words tumbled out of our mouths.
Our aim was to make it to Doyles. The famous fish restaurant in Watsons Bay. This is a family owned seafood restaurant and cafe that has been operating for five generations. It first opened in 1885! Graeme had a penchant for seafood and we said we also really loved seafood, so Silvia booked a reservation at the restaurant from Queensland.
The reservation was at six oclock, which is when it opens (closes at nine) and we were a little early. So we had a pre dinner drink at the Doyles Cafe next to the Fine Dining Doyles Restaurant. It's a bit like Meads in Perth, where you can have fish
and chips at one of the cafe's, or fine dining at another restaurant.
But Doyles had the cafe and restaurant all in the same vicinity. In fact, when you get off the ferry at Watsons Bay, it is Doyles, situated right on the beach, that you are faced with as you exit the ferry.
It's apparently a famous restaurant throughout the world. Even though I'd been to Sydney a few times before, I'd never been to Doyles! Nor had Greg. We were so glad Graeme had that strong itch for seafood!!!
Graeme is a lovable larrikin. A typical Aussie truck driver bloke. He had us in stitches most of the time we were in his presence. If anyone knew Bazza, well, he was like him, in so many ways!!! A crisp chocolate exterior, with a caramello interior!
We felt very special at Doyles. We were seated, at Silvia's request, in the best spot, for four. There were couple spots outside on the balcony and the four people spots with the most exquisite view were placed just inside the enclosed area. We
had incredible views of the sunset and surrounding views of Watsons Harbour. It was perfect.
We laughed all night! Graeme, with all his cheek and wonderful stories (how could we forget the black sausage story!) had us in stitches. It had been so long since we'd heard this type of Aussie humour. We realised we'd missed it a lot.
Silvia with her Italian heritage and incredible memory (she remembered things about me that i had forgotten over the last ten years!) had us realising how much we'd missed company. Good company. Good Aussie company!
And the dinner! Ohlala. Go to Doyles if you can have half a chance!!! Along with Doyle's semillon, sauvignon blanc, entrees of prawns, salt and pepper calamari were followed with mains of seafood selection (including whiting, king prawns, salmon, perch and crabs), baramundi and the Doyles specialty, which i had, grilled John Dory fillet and seasonal vegetables, were just so DELECTABLE!!!!!.
Everything was So Beautifully presented and cooked. Desserts included cheesecake, sticky date pudding accompanied with coffee and chocolates. It honestly has to be the best meal I've eaten for a very long time! Fresh, light and not heavy stodgy food.
What a night. So enjoyable!
At the of the night, Silvia and I both bought Doyles Seafood Cookbooks, signed by John Doyle, the last of the five generations to be running the place. We felt we were buying a slice of Australian Seafood History!
We won't go into the price tag. But put bluntly, the total bill cost about as much as our whole accommodation in Manly! We didn't mind starving for the next few days to allow us to have the "Doyles Experience!"
And even better, we consolidated our friendship with Silvia and Graeme. So, i guess, now, are no longer just 'net friends' but 'realtime friends'!!! For those of us know about these friendships, whether in the 'realworld' or the 'cyberworld', there is often no difference to the depth of the friendship!
The last ferry had already gone so we had to catch a taxi out of Watson's Bay. That was a challenge! Apart from watching Graeme pull over a police car to ask where the taxi's are, and losing him at one stage, we finally arrived back to Circular Quay in one piece!
But that wasn't the end of the night. We'd just missed the second last ferry back to Manly. The next one was half an hour later, at 11.45pm. In the end...as the photos show, we were SO pleased to be accidentally staying in Circular Quay to witness the night life and the night lights! It's just so beautiful watching the ships in the harbour and the people cruising around at midnight.
We had a little snooze on the ferry on the way home to Manly though! And somehow managed to stagger back to our room!
Another great night. Another two tired little vegemites!
PS On the subject of vegemite - we've gone through a jar already. Breakfast is back to normal! We can have toast and vegemite! YAY! Newspapers are still not quite the same as the WA one's.
4 days to go!
