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Published: October 5th 2008
October 4, 2008
We woke to the unfamiliar sound of water hitting rooftops and ate breakfast looking forlornly out the window as today was supposed to be Bondi Beach day. We spent the next few hours in the room trying to set up transportation for the next two weeks and if all goes as planned we will be driving a camper van up the coast to Cairns. The hotel manager hooked us up with a relocation broker and because the deal sounds too good to be true, I’m a bit leery. (Everything’s a “bit this” and a “bit that” here.) More time was spent dealing with the store where Joe bought the sim card for the cell phone that doesn’t work now. It’s resolved and we have a new phone number: 04 12 47 33 47. We think the Australian code is 61. The phone should help us with reservations as we travel along. The rain finally did stop, so we headed to the city center.
Downtown Sydney is vibrant and cosmopolitan with several lovely large pedestrian malls. We went into the stores that had the most interesting architecture., loved the Queen Victoria Building. Mainly, we just wanted to
see the city which, by the way, is filled with Chinese people. Makes sense considering China’s proximity. What you don’t see are homeless people, gang tags, or trash in the streets. It’s a beautiful, clean city where tall new and old buildings blend nicely. Since I haven’t spent much time in big cities, I was overly impressed.
The city center was on the way to Darling Harbour where we got a better look at the attractions, including a full-blown Spanish Fiesta. We were going to ride the monorail until we saw the prices. This is an expensive place.
Our goal was the Sydney Fish Market in Black Wattle Bay where we watched the fishing boats, toured the big markets, and shared a fish dinner. It was good, but didn’t come close to being as good as our favorite seafood places in San Diego.
Walking back to the hotel through those same botanical gardens we saw our first laughing kookaburras, and yes, they were sitting in an old gum tree. Then as we neared the border of the gardens we saw several multi-colored lorikeets. Those little guys are so pretty! Joe has added about 15 new birds to
Wooloomooloo
This is where our hotel is located.his life list, hopefully that list will grow significantly on this trip.
Hard to believe that we haven’t taken taxis or buses (only the ferries) to get to sites we want to see. We have walked over seven miles each day. I’m neither bragging nor complaining…it’s just the best way to see the city.
October 5, 2008
Gray skies and cool weather, but no rain today. We hiked up about 100 rock steps to reach Kings Cross, the red light district, to check it out. As the guidebook says, the evils are more imaginary than real. There were a few more people with strange clothes and maybe more piercings and tattoos than normal, but again everybody was just so darn friendly! One guy walked with us for two blocks to show us the way, even though we assured him we were ok, didn’t ask for money either. We must look like we need help because so many people approach us offering assistance.
We decided that we would go to Bondi Beach even though it was too cool and cloudy to swim because we wanted to see what all the fuss is about. At Kings Cross we
took a subway to Bondi Junction, then a bus to the beach. The beach was empty except for the surfers that are always there, but it is big with big waves and we can see why it is so popular when the sun shines. The shops and cafes are typical of a beach town. We like to walk residential streets to see how people live and while doing this we came across a small photography studio and the young photographer and his pretty girlfriend helped us plan our trip up the coast. So, no worries, mate. (I gave up counting how many times I’ve heard that expression.)
The best part of Bondi for us was the coastal walk. On one side of the paved walkway is the ocean crashing against the rocks and the other side is filled with little forested parks where we hit bird watching bronze (not gold or silver, but still pretty good). Joe added about five more to the list and again I was enchanted by those flower-loving rainbow lorikeets. Imagine a kindergartener being asked to color in an outline of a bird and he decides to use every crayon in his No. 8 box.
That would be a rainbow lorikeet.
Back in Wooloomooloo, Joe went to Frisco’s for a brew (they know him now) and watched the rugby game on TV with the guys. Serious stuff! Then he walked the block over to the wharf to the famous Harry’s Café de Wheels and brought us back two meat pies….puffy pasty with seasoned meat and gravy on the bottom topped with mashed potatoes and mashed peas. Sounds weird, tastes great. People come from all over Australia to eat at Harry’s little box on wheels. Since there are no tables or chairs, Harry puts out milk crates for people to sit on while they eat. We will miss our little neighborhood here.
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Connie
non-member comment
Another great day in another paradise:) The meat pies sound familiar; in Omaha they're called shepherd pies, and include chopped carrots with the beef. Not exactly low cal- Do the Aussies have mixed feelings about the Chinese like the Canadians do in Vancouver? Today Kellie, Dana and I walked Race for the Cure downtown with 67,000 of our best friends. Very inspiring, and the weather was cool but not rainy. Jim was the chauffeur... Kellie cut her hair this weekend; after two years of growing, she had 10" of pony tail to send off for cancer patients' wigs. She's happy she did it, and happy to be done. Can't wait for your next "installment"; safe travels to you both.