Happy St David’s Day.

Don’t go back. Don’t ever go back.

We disembarked and walked up to The Rocks to make a dinner reservation overlooking the water. We always eat at Wolfies if we can. The food is excellent and the service is superb and the view is breathtaking. Then we pootled around The Rocks for a bit, dodging a few raindrops. I went down the other side, to the nearest dry cleaners. That’s a LOT of stairs. My knees may never forgive me. Then we went to Pancakes on The Rocks for lunch. Like I say, NEVER go back.

Before we go any further, be warned there is absolutely no disabled access to the branch of Pancakes on the Rocks at Metcalfe Buildings. If I had realised they had other branches, I would never have suggested my parents negotiate the entire flight of wooden stairs to get there. The restaurant is also on a different floor to all the toilets. Spiffing. If you go to Pancakes on the Rocks, go to the branch at Darling Harbour. It’s on the flat. And the rest of what follows may also not apply.

So, anyway, the meal. First they sat us under building work and bits of ceiling kept falling on our heads.  So we moved tables. Then, when I ordered the beef ribs, which had been so amazing previously (about half a cow!), I got TWO ribs. TWO. It was embarrassing. That’s not a portion, under any definition. That barely justifies a plural. And they charged EIGHTEEN POUNDS for those two ribs. Seriously. What they thought they were playing at, I have no idea, but there is no way I will ever set foot in any branch of that chain ever again. It’s a shame, because they were very tasty, but I will not be conned like that twice. Considering how over-generous the portions used to be, they have clearly gone too far the other way, now. But their marketing fails are not my problem. Charging nearly forty dollars for a portion that small is not going to do well for them in the long-term. Shame, really. On the plus side, the service is nowhere near as lethargic as it used to be. But it doesn’t matter how good the service is, if the food served up is so disappointing.

Then we took the Hop on hop off bus around Sydney, disembarking at Darling Harbour. We pootled the cafes and shops for a while.

There is shockingly little wifi available in Sydney, considering the average age is so young around here. The only old people we saw were from the ship! Which may also explain the lack of disabled facilities/ toilets/ ramps/ consideration anywhere in this place. It’s rubbish. If you want wifi, you have to go to one of a limited number of cafes and restaurants, mostly big chains, and then only if you buy something. The concept of free wifi has definitely not made it across from New Zealand. So near, yet so far.

We got the bus back to The Rocks, and had our LOVELY dinner at Wolfies.  Absolutely superb meal. The main and dessert were so good, I didn’t believe they were gluten-free, and they had to go back to the kitchen to check!

Then bed. Utterly shattered. This heat and humidity is exhausting, and the excessive number of stairs seems to have damaged my right knee in some way. It really hurts. I hope it will be okay by tomorrow.  I think we are at GMT +11, but don’t quote me on that. I don’t really have the slightest clue. 83 in the shade will do that to a person.