How had it changed?
Some bars had changed around a little, but it felt very much the same at when I had lived here, as if the place
had plateaued. From my brief visit I felt that it had not improved around Oxford Street anything like as much as
London's West End, or Wellington had in the same period. Drinking outside is banned, so the cafe / bar culture
which the climate and the verandahs are so suited to has not really developed. This is a shame.
Persuading John to take me around Kings Cross, it all seemed incredibly tame. Perhaps it was just the time of
day, since I read in the papers a few weeks later of trouble happening there, and of course I didn't go inside.
The magazine vendor on Taylor Square was still there (as he has been for decades), and told me that the whole
area would soon be transformed, with a tunnel going from the airport right under the city. Perhaps this would provide
the change I had been hoping for.
It was great to see John again, and to remind myself what a fun city Sydney was and I guess still is. But perhaps
I was hoping for something more. I might give the place another go in the future, but there are other places I
need to live in first.
|