Thursday 1st December - Picasso exhibition

Thursday 1st December - Picasso
Di and I went to Sydney today. Di had seen an advert for special priced tickets for entry to an exhibition of Picasso artwork with lunch included and had bought us tickets on line.  Will dropped us at Woy Woy station and we caught a train to Sydney Central where we had to change platform  to catch another train down to the Museum of New South Wales where the Picasso Exhibition was on display. The museum is near the Opera House and just opposite the Botanic Gardens. We were there in about two hours and went straight into the exhibition. It was awesome; they had ten rooms of Picasso's works from all stages of his life. There were also extensive notes on the works and on his life choices. Jeez, the man got through some women! The paintings and sculptures all came from Paris where, we believe, the museum that normally holds them, is being refurbished. Getting round the exhibition took us about an hour and a quarter and then we went to the restaurant for lunch. 
Lunch was in a airy room with views of the harbour. We both chose the same meal: scallops and a kind of black pudding followed by a fish course based on Spanish mackerel fillets. Spanish mackerel is a very different fish to our own version. It is much bigger and not so oily.. There was a free glass of white wine included. We resisted any extra courses or drinks, choosing instead to return to the art gallery and see some of the other exhibits before walking back to Central station via the Botanic Gardens. We had first been here in 2000 and had fond memories of a bat infested cafe. We were not disappointed as the trees all around the cafe in the lark were still thick with huge fruit bats that hang like mini Count Draculas with their wings folded around their bodies. When they open their wings they reveal an orange brown fur and a foxy little head with large ears. We sat and drank a coffee watching them and the cheeky currawongs and ibises which were quick to raid each table for left- overs when the customers departed. The ibises are not really suited to landing on small tables and they sent all manner of items including menus, cups and plates flying. We watched amused as concerned diners shooed the huge birds and grabbed breakables before they crashed to the floor.
Finally we took a leisurely stroll through the gardens and onto Circular Quai where we joined the usual crowds in the late afternoon sunshine before reaching Central Station and finding our platform for the journey back across the Hawksbury River to the Central Coast. The journey took exactly an hour and twenty minutes. Natasha was waiting to pick us up outside the station and drove us home to an evening of relaxation and dining with the family.