Sunday, 17 March 2013
Brisbane > Sydney
Given a travel day without much else on the horizon it probably comes as a bit of a surprise to learn I was up and about reasonably early, but given the fact that I was expecting to be away from WiFi from the time I left The Rothbury until the time I got back home the rest and recuperation component would, I figured, be a matter for the Great Southern in Sydney once I'd got the travelogue and concert review tapping out of the way.
There were also a couple of domestic issues to be negotiated. Madam had spent the day at the Tai Chi workshop and needed to be given time to comment on it, and there were a number of items that had gone through the washing machine on Thursday night that needed a cursory exposure to the iron and ironing board.
With the ironing done, and the packing completed I hurled myself at the shower, spent a while tapping away and before I knew it the time had crept around to 9:15 and we were looking down the barrel of checkout time. That didn't actually need to be negotiated until ten, but Reception tended to be unattended out of rush hour and there was an Airport train passing through Central around 9:40 that seemed like the right string to pull.
The upgrade from the room I'd booked, as it turned out, hadn't resulted in an increase in tariff, and, as I pointed out to the girl who materialized from elsewhere in the building after I'd lifted up the black phone and dialed 9, it meant that next time the two of us were passing through we'd definitely be looking to book the more expensive option.
Having spent my share of time in hotel rooms that might be large enough to sing a cat but don't leave much margin for error, I liked the roominess of having a separate bedroom, as well as the sort of living area that would go well in a one bedroom flat. You could, quite literally, live in those quarters on a permanent basis. Cooking facilities were rudimentary, but they were there, and in that sort of location you wouldn't be inclined to cook too much anyway.
So we've put a big tick beside The Rothbury for location vis a vis Central and the Entertainment Centre, and the separation of living area and bedroom means the late night returnee from the concert bit can unwind without disturbing sleeping non-attendees.
There's nothing remarkable about the Airport Train run from Central to Brisbane Domestic, so a lack of remarks thereon probably comes as no surprise. Having checked in and passed through Security Screening I snaffled a club sandwich and a bottle of water and headed downtown Gate 26, which was comfortably within the free WiFi zone and tapped away until the boarding call came.
Given the fact that it was my fifth flight in less than a fortnight I declined the offer of the free magazine from the passenger on my left, who thoughtfully pointed out that the space in the back of these at in front of me seemed to be missing one. I had, I informed him, read it cover to cover at least once.
That brought an inquiry from the right as to purpose of flight and destination that developed into a desultory conversation through the remainder of the pre-takeoff procedure, and once we were airborne and the seat belt sign was off I settled back to continue reading the second Colin Cotterill Jimm Juree tale while both sides of me nodded off.
Right hand side had been at a fiftieth birthday party that had run well into the small hours so he had a bit of a backlog of noddy time that needed to be caught up, but given the fact he was heading home to Perth he was pretty much guaranteed the chance to do so.