Arty Farty...

It's intriguing to think that in a former 'life', Butch served as a shuttle to Sculptures by the Sea (it says so on his windscreen, plus there was some tell-tale sand in the back- a nice little reference to his history before meeting me.) I know i'm always saying he's good looking but in all seriousness, the European styling is, well... pretty stylin'. My friend, Jed drives a Lexus and (keeping the massive difference in pricetag in mind) said "Hey, they've almost got it perfect" about the interior. That's a pretty big compliment from a Lexus snob (sorry Jed ;) and I happen to agree! I've taken Butch to a few art galleries and come to the conclusion that even with the beefy Turbo Diesel engine, the Focus is definitely a stylish, cultured kind of car inside and out...

So, once again, Sydney was putting on the miserable version of Summer weather (hey, we need to cool off every few days in a Sydney summer... it just so happened that every day I was stuck at work was belting sunshine and every day spent with Butch was a cooler one...) and Mum and I decided to take Butch out and show how stylish he is by showing how his sleek curves and sexy colour fit right into the Sydney Cityscape. Butch and I have spent a bit of time outside the City so it was about time I introduced him to the 'hood. In keeping with Butch's former life as a shuttle, we wanted to show HIM as a little bit Arty, the 'metro' car that he is. So starting close to home, Blackwattle bay, we cruised around the waterfront.

At the other end of this little tunnel is where Butch might have started his life in Australia had he been a slightly earlier model. White Bay is where you used to see hundreds of sparkling new cars parked under the Glebe Island/ANZAC Bridge freshly driven off their respective ships. (I secretly love these industrial areas of Sydney- this is what gives a place a story, history.)

 

Here, we also found the flattest round-about i'd ever seen in my life (and remember, i've lived in Canberra!!) and couldn't resist being a bit cheeky parking Butch in pole position- right in the middle of it!!- with the ANZAC Bridge as a dramatic background. I'll admit, I hated this bridge with a passion when it was built but now it's just a familiar part of the skyline and a very handy and scenic way to get to work. One of my favourite (silly) things about it is that if the wind is travelling in the right direction when i'm lying in bed at night, I can hear cars as their tyres go over this one grate on the entrance/exit to the bridge (the one near the ANZAC statues on the Victoria Rd side for those playing at home). It's a really satisfying "Kuh-thwap" that I listen out for like a little kid whenever I drive over it now! (Ok, so i'm easily amused... but at least I'm over the hate!!)

One one of the offshoots of the enormous roundabout is the very swanky restaurant, Liquidity, and the luxury yacht marina... If we were to test Butch's ability to fit in to the 'high end' of town, this was it... Looking good Butch!

He stared longingly at the yachts, trying to figure out a way to get onboard... but eventually decided, he didn't have any sealegs... I'm glad- he's good at the driving thing and i'm all for playing to your strengths :)

Now, if you've ever wondered what that massive building was on the Western Side of the ANZAC Bridge was for, it's a sugar silo. No wonder Australians are getting Diabetes at an alarming rate! It's enormous! We went for a little explore around the back of that and discovered some nice secret squirrel spots. I don't care how good an architect/builder is, you can't fake a rusted old warehouse. This rusty square block of a building made a nice contrast for Butch's shiny paint and nice curves.

Butch stopped for a moment of silence to pay his respect to the ANZACs. There are 2 statues at this end of the bridge. One is an Aussie digger, one is a Kiwi and they face East and West so one watches the sun come up and one watches it set. (I'm full of factoids today, huh?!)

Looking out over the ex-carpark, I can see the value in this land for homes... but I really hope they leave this area as-is for a while...

A bit further around the bay is Balmain. It's on a peninsula and the locals are pretty protective of it... I suspect they try to scare outsiders out with their insane driving ;) It's a very rare occasion that I don't end up very stressed out after driving in Balmain! Today was a delightful exception but i'd braced myself for the worst. That said, it's got enough little treasures that I was willing to put up with it for some nice photos of Butch. (Bracing myself for the Balmain hate-emails... hey, some of my best friends live in Balmain!)

Balmain wharf was a good way to show how Butch's curves fit right in in Sydney- with that famous curvy bridge in the background and the arch on Balmain wharf. It's a match made in heaven.

Back in the car, over the ANZAC bridge and to Pyrmont. It's a bit of a new favourite for me. I've worked there for almost a year now and because of the nature of that work, have to know certain areas of it like the back of my hand... and when i'm sick of that little area, I don't mind exploring a bit. A walk next to the water on your lunchbreak can be just what the doctor ordered...

This photo was mum's idea (and handiwork!) The diamonds on the shiny buildings, the cobblestones on the ground, the hexagons all over Butch's duco and the city in the background... Butch brings it all together. I like it!

I don't exactly have the longest commute home from work but when I drive in, I take the scenic route around Pyrmont Point as part of the wind-down ritual. There's this great new park there- perfect for a kids summer adventure (if anyone's looking for something new and exciting to do these holidays!) and again, Mum's artistic eye could see reflections of Butch in the cool play equipment... and he played a bit of hide and seek for one photo!

A quick photo below the old Harbour Master's house before taking Butch on the familiar drive home from work for the last time on our adventure... Only one more full day of driving before I'd have to take him back on the morning of the 29th... *sigh*

A very Butch Christmas.

Christmas with my family has become more and more low key as the kids have gotten older but one of the highlights is spending Christmas Day at my Granny's place in Queenscliff looking straight down Manly Beach. Unfortunately, it wasn't much of a beachy day but I did my best to keep Butch in the Christmas/Summer Adventure spirit by taking him to some of my favourite spots before we busted open some presents. My sister decided that she'd lend her services as a beach bikini girl and drape herself all over "the Butch one"... Now THAT got us some attention!

First stop, Manly Beach. Despite the overcast and windy weather, it was crazy-crowded!! Meanwhile... is that another Focus driving past? I think so!

Next, to Harbord/Freshwater. Just after I moved out of the area a couple of years ago, they renamed the suburb Harbord to match the name of the beach- Freshwater. My experience of trying to use the right name is that whichever name you choose when talking to any single person, it's guaranteed to be the one they don't use... the confusion doesn't ruin this quiet little beach though... or at least it used to be, as I was wondering out loud where all the millions of people had come from, my sister told me that "Freshie" had made some list of top beaches in Sydney (a move sure to ruin anyone's secret favourite for a few months...) Oh well, at least they have good taste!

Staying in Freshwater, we headed up the hill to the Harbord Diggers' club (see why this gets confusing?) where I knew a statue of a digger had some of the best views of Dee Why and Freshwater you could find. We discovered very quickly, he was on a secluded cliff face all to himself and it was tough to get even an awesome car like Butch anywhere near him... but we did ok anyway I think!

Bikini girl just couldn't stay in the car and check out my little leg flick- isn't that what the young ladies do in old movies when they're in love? ;)

One last look out over Dee Why before we headed back to meet Ma, Pa and Granny... but then who should we run into???

Santa and his helper!! Santa told us he was pretty tired after his night delivering presents. So we bought some gorgeous native flowers for Granny- not because we didn't already have presents for her but because you can't spoil Grandmothers enough- and continued on our way.  (I'll be stopping by to deliver this photo in the next week or so. Santa deserves pressies too!)

We arrived at Granny's place just before Mum and Dad pulled up in Dulcie. Dulcie parked Butch safely in for the day and both of them enjoyed one of the best views Sydney has to offer. BTW: Granny's house is for sale at the moment, so if you want a piece of this view, now's your chance!.. The downside is that this will probably be our last Christmas here... and Butch got to share it with me :) Dulcie and Butch managed to play nice for the day... but unfortunately, after a lovely Christmas lunch and Mum's pudding made to the secret family recipe, I had to cut it short and head back towards the City for work on Christmas night. (Yeah, shiftwork can suck but I was grateful to have the day off at least!)

From Granny's balcony, I got to see a side of Butch i'd never seen before and 'reflected' on our time together so far...

Wowee!!

Butch got some pretty nice exposure today... @Cardecisions on Twitter posted this about our adventure. 2000+ followers!! So excited!

Everything's Dirtier in the South...

The next morning, the phrase "everything's dirtier in the south" (which I saw on a t-shirt once with a picture of the Southern US) was decidedly true for Butch. The Christmas beetle plague around Golburn meant that he looked like he'd been in the wars. I think he won but some of the big ones sounded like stones when they hit him! Yowch!

So we went through a car wash first thing... I have a confession to make... I LOVE going through carwashes!! (And possibly a little too easily amused.) So apologies to anyone else who doesn't find this exciting. I think it comes from a book I had as a child in which 2 kids get out of the car inside the carwash and have to avoid the carwash monster.... anyway...ah-hem!! back to reality...

 

Hols had formulated a plan... She ordered me to one of the new areas of Canberra in the North to a new suburb called... wait for it... Forde!! (Ok, so it's got an 'e' on the end... play along anyway! I'll photoshop and no one will ever know!) There were some awesome road signs promoting developments out there... see for yourself how we made Butch into "The Ford(e) Focus"!!

Next, an early lunch on the deck at Zambreros looking out onto Lake Ginninderra. Zambreros is almost worth the trip to Canberra in itself- these are the BEST Burritos i've tasted in my life and they're made fresh- kind of like Mexican Subway! There's a store opening in Sydney on Oxford Street in the new year. Can't wait!!! Note: Holly and I thought it appropriate that we drink Focus water ;) Or in the case of this pic... out-of-focus water!

Back to our adventure and we were off to the Parliamentary Triangle. We were approached by a friendly member of the AFP when we stopped for this photo on the Forecourt at Parliament House. How could 2 gals in a gorgeous car be a threat to national security?! ;)

Next, Reconcilliation place on the foreshore of Lake Burleigh Griffin. Only weeks ago, this place was transformed into a venue for an awesome music festival named, funnily enough "Foreshore". It was a great weekend- definitely marked the start of my Summer of fun! :)

We stopped at the Art Gallery which has almost as much art outside it as in. We left Butch playing with a ball while we went for a walk... ;) On Australia Day this year, Hols and I and some others made out own 'art' (drawing in the gravel and posing next to it) outside the new Portrait Gallery and took photos... so these strange moves are kind of a tradition for us!

I've always preferred the look of Old Parliament House to the new one. This place also has a great courtyard where all the 'it' people in Canberra gather for drinkies on a Friday afternoon. It's a bit of an institution and a pretty nice tradition... and the coloured flags out front gave it a nice summer feel.

Butch wanted to visit the Prime Minister while we were in Canberra so we went past the Lodge. It was all locked up... I don't think Mr. Rudd was up for visitors, was probably out doing his Christmas shopping... or running the country or something...

Canberrans seemed to be in love with the Focus already, we saw them all over the place! Butch felt very at home meeting up with others of his kind in Australia's "Meeting place".

We took the scenic route around the Western side of the lake. Many of these roads were once lined with tall pine trees making the road completely dark and like a magical "mushroom forest" (as it used to be called by the fellow ANU students i'd ride my bike around here with). In some ways, having no trees gave us more of a view but even almost 7 years on, it's obvious Canberra is still recovering from the massive bushfires of 2003.

A quick stop at Black Mountain Peninsula for a look back at where we'd been so far...

Next on the list was a place i'd only ever been to at night- Mount Ainslie. A brilliant view of Canberra showcasing Walter Burleigh Griffin's grand plan to set out the nation's capital on a number of axes. Being into that new-agey stuff a little, I really like this idea and it was the first time i'd been able to see it as anything but a whole heap of twinkling lights... and... WHAT A VIEW!! I've always said I felt like a princess in Canberra, and it was like being on top of the world!

An enterprising caravan owner had set up shop on the Mountain selling icecreams- just what we needed on such a hot day... and while we were eating our Icy Poles, Squeeze the Fiesta rocked up! 

 

Then it was back down the hill towards Civic via the War Memorial and Casino Canberra where Hols and I used to work. This has got to be one of the best parking spots in Canberra to show off a car! The marketing manager of the cas even walked past while I was parked here, said Hello, checked out Butch and continued on his way. Obviously he approved of our choice of brag-spot in front of his casino! We ran inside quickly to say hello to some old friends then stopped for a spot of Christmas shopping in Civic before...

The second half of Canberra's 'twin peaks'- Black Mountain. Home to Tesltra Tower which used to be my beacon to get home to the uni residence after big nights out- very handy when you're new in town! I hadn't been here since I was 6 despite practically living underneath it.... You can see it from every corner of the 'Berra practically but I still wasn't quite ready for the size of it up close... the first thing we'd visited that made Butch look uncharacteristically small!

Hols had some family stuff to attend to and it was about time I started on my way home. As I topped up with pre-public holiday priced diesel on the way out of town, Canberra put on yet another gorgeous Summer sunset for me. Despite the big day, the drive back to Sydney was a breeze- a combination of the fabulously easy-to-drive wheels and the lack of traffic on the roads.