Our last night in Sydney turned out to be a wonderful occasion with four friends met through FlyerTalk over the past several years.
We started off with wine and cheese in our room at the Four Points, where we had an excellent view of Darling Harbour.
From there we walked several blocks to Chinatown to eat at a restaurant we never would have found on our own, the Kiroran Silk Road Uighur Restaurant, a modest little establishment on the second floor of a small building.
Uighurs? They've certainly been in the news. But tonight is all about food.
It's an increasingly rare treat for us to find a cuisine that tastes completely different to us, and one that we immediately enjoy, but Uighur cuisine really impressed us. It was familiar yet unfamiliar, evoking memories of visits both to China and Turkey, yet still distinct. And where else have we have ever eaten dishes that contain both potatoes and noodles?
The total bill for mounds of food for our table of six was $90, quite a treat in not-so-cheap Sydney. Thank you, John, for sharing your "find" with us.
We enjoyed the stroll back to our hotel and a little more visiting before John, Ben, Trish, and Brendan had to depart. We'll see Brendan in the SYD Koru Lounge and on our flight to SFO today, and look forward to seeing him and our Australian friends down the road.
It was a great finale with the best of company to a fabulous visit to Oz.
Kathy and Brian
Two retired educators alternating joyfully between seeing the world and enjoying our eight grandchildren (in order of birth), Jake, Avery, Taegan, Lily, Peyton, Riley, Blane, and Jace.
Kathy and Brian met in the clarinet section of the University of California (Santa Barbara) Symphony Orchestra several decades ago.
Brian's Western Canadian roots and Kathy's Colorado ties resulted in their making beautiful music together along with producing a cross-border crop of descendants.
Kathy spent a year studying in Vienna at the Institute for European Studies and the University of Vienna.
Brian started the school band program in Hope, British Columbia, and later became the high school's vice-principal for 6 years and subsequently principal for 15 years before retiring in 2001.
Kathy, in between raising our three children, taught kindergarten and first grade, middle school, and high school - mathematics, computer studies, ESL, and her first love, band, before retiring in 2001.
We enjoy sharing our travel experiences and providing the odd travel tip to friends, relatives, and visitors.
Happy travels - John.