Although Monday was laundry day and Roy found the time to replace the yoker value on his heads (aka toilet), we had a wonderful morning over a coffee at the Plonk Beach Café, catching up with Anne and Stuart off Time Bandit, who recently returned from their trip home to Scotland. The time seemed to fly by in a flash, but it was, nonetheless, lovely to see them again.
Yesterday, we went "back to work". Well, at least for the early morning commute in rush hour traffic into downtown Sydney. From there another bus ride took us to Drummoyne for Elaine to have the first of her "monitoring" blood tests done, followed by a morning coffee at one of our favourite cafés, Jean Louis Joseph, before heading back to downtown to visit the Chinese Garden of Friendship. We did get a lovely surprise though, when the laboratories informed us that they had decided to only charge us $30.80AUD instead of regular charge of $180AUD for the blood tests, since we were repeat customers and this will be an ongoing occurrence. We can't imagine a medical company of any description in the USA or, for that matter, New Zealand doing something like this! Amazing and very much appreciated! Thank you Laverty Pathology. A delicious lunch at the Naked Duck in the Darling Quarter preceeded our visit to the Chinese Garden of Friendship, which was a very educational, as well as relaxing, affair as we explored the mystery and magic of the garden. Our explorations took in the sights of the Black Bamboo Forest, a symbol of age and humility, the Himalayan cedar trees, cascading waterfalls, traditional carvings, hidden sculptures and the graceful weeping willows that surrounded the Lake of Brightness with its sacred lotus flowers. The Rock Forest tells the story of "Ashima, the Dancing Maiden and the Landlord", a tragic, yet beautiful tale of how the landlord tries to thwart her romance with "Ali". The jewel of the garden, The Gurr, also known as The Clear View Pavilion, sits at the highest point, beautifully decorated with a lavish gold roof, intricate woodcarvings and an ornate latern symbolising prosperity. The garden was opened in 1988 and is a unique symbol of the friendship between the people of the southern Chinese city of Guangdong and Sydney, two sister cities of sister states. The Dragon Wall features two imperial dragons playing with the Pearl of Friendship beneath mirrors reflecting their movements flying in the clouds above, where the flying dragons symbolise majesty and perfection in the Chinese culture. It is also a place where "Yin meets Yang", the Taoist principle incorporating the five apposing elements of earth, fire, water, metal and wood. When perfectly balanced they are thought to form a fluid, nurturing environment. Examples of this are found in the garden where rocks appear to defy gravity and in the contrast of the rushing waters of the waterfalls against the still water of the Lake of Brightness. The garden also incorporates the Chinese philosophical system of "Feng Shui", where "Qi", meaning "Life Force " or "Energy Path" is encouraged to flow. Everything from the plants and trees to the sculptures, rocks and pavilions were meticulously chosen to capture the "Qi" of the five elements and the universal forces that bind them together. While we meandered through the garden and then took the time to contemplate life sitting in the shade of one of the pavilions, before enjoying Chinese tea at the traditional teahouse, the peacefulness and tranquillity we experienced was definitely evident. We also stumpled across a beautiful sculpture depicting the creatures that represents each year within the Chinese calendar. Further research revealed that, while Roy thought his luck in 2018 for work, love, wealth and health weren't that great, Elaine's were even worse at one star out of five each. I guess the year started out the way it intends to proceed! On our return to Paw Paw we ended up spending quite a considerable amount of time chatting to folks on Echo Point Park beach, who always seem fascinated by our lifestyle and the adventures we've enjoyed thus far. When we eventually did get back to Paw Paw, it was dinner time and then early to bed. Today, with the arrival of the rainy, windy weather, we're spending our time on board fending off the boat on the mooring next to us again. This time, instead of a stern anchor, we've tied a line to the emergency police swing mooring to our aft in order to hold us off. So far, so good! We also took delivery of our re-certified liferaft with far less hassle than our first encounter with this company. They have redeemed themselves! A video call to Brooke and the grandchildren wrapped up the day.
