A late night and half a bottle of red after I'd managed to decipher my notes and rustle up a set list for the Costello show meant I didn't need too much rocking when I went to bed, and a decent set of blackout curtains delivered a good seven and a half hours' sleep before hunger, more than anything else, prompted a move from the comfort of the cot to the shower.
From there, we could have ventured downstairs to eat in the lobby, which would have provided an opportunity to check the free WiFi in the area, assuming it hadn't been totally swamped by the demand from sub-continental businessmen with iPhones.
Preliminary investigations the previous afternoon had revealed that, yes, there was WiFi there, but bandwidth seemed to be insufficient to cope with the demand.
In any case, we'd we'd passed an interesting-looking coffee shop on Pitt Street a block or so from the Hilton, and Madam had decided that was the one to investigate. Predictably, there are any number of other options in the area, so we didn't necessarily have to favour Doppio Expresso, but I'm rather glad we did and having been once I've got no grounds to object if the prospect of a return visit is floated. One to bear in mind for the future but hardly the only option.
As far as the itinerary for the rest of the day was concerned, I was in favour of something approximating exercise in the morning, something approximating yum cha for lunch, a visit to Red Eye Records in the early afternoon and, more than likely, a power nap before an earlyish dinner followed by a return to the State Theatre for Aaron Neville and Dr. John.
There were, however, a couple of issues, mostly involving distances and footwear. I'd just bought a new pair of joggers, and since we were limited to carry on luggage for the four day trip they were the only footwear on hand. But they were new, and needed time to stretch and adjust to the actual foot conformation, the sort of thing that is best achieved gradually as you give the uppers time to stretch around the feet. Eventually, they'll be right, but you don't want to be wearing them for long periods of time if you can avoid it.
But we'd done a fair bit of walking, more than I'd have done if I'd been at home, and I was keen to give the feet a break, which, in turn, meant I was inclined towards a walk that allowed me to turn back if sore feet became an issue.
A stroll to dinosaur territory