I joined my manager, his family and a colleague for an end of year lunch today at the Lord Nelson in The Rocks.

It’s a long time since I visited The Rocks. Actually, last Sunday was probably my first train ride in Sydney in 2020. Today I rode the train to Circular Quay and walked under the Harbour Bridge to the western side of Sydney’s old town.

I was half an hour early, so I had time to wander around the new Barangaroo park. The massive, almost finished Crown Towers loomed impressively over the stone terraces and bay, but I was rather taken by the much smaller and older Hotel Palisade.

The trendy bars and agency offices speak of a thoroughly gentrified area, but you can still feel the echoes of its rough past.