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Published: February 10th 2007
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Out of the city and into suburbia, as we move to Miranda. There is not much to it other than one of the biggest shopping centres we have ever seen and a fantastic Indian restaurant. However, nearby there are some beautiful bays and beaches, including Cronulla, which is huge and is one of the best surfing beaches around Sydney!!! More importantly, the rent is cheap and it is walking distance to where Becky is working.
The house is nuts. It is a 1970’s throwback (which is almost coming back in style) and it has some wacky retro features. As well as lots of brown and orange, there is an original seventies TV with a huge 'V' aerial, metallic wall-paper. It even has rainbow curtains and best of all there are western style saloon doors. It is very reminiscent of “Sons and Daughters”.
The weather has been a bit colder that we envisaged but it is starting to warm up. Becky has even bought a beanie to wear in the house!! Apparently the weather is unusual and we keep being told that it will improve and that it will soon be sweltering. For unusual weather it seems to happen a
lot!!
Gregor has had his first surfing lesson and whilst he has enthusiasm in abundance, there is not much talent. He has bought himself a wet-suit and you would think that is was the crown jewels the way he treasures it.
Also, Gregor did the Bridge Walk, which was a kind gift from people at work - thanks CBRE!! He timed it perfectly, going up in sunshine then watching the sun set over the Blue Mountains, before walking down in twilight. It was superb. He was very lucky as you were meant to pay a premium for that time slot.
The area around the Rocks, which is just behind the Harbour Bridge, is becoming a firm favourite. It is one of the few parts of the city that retains the colonial setting that has not become a museum. It used to be a dangerous and salubrious part of town, full of drunks and prostitutes and tenement slums. Now it is a vibrant area, with lots of bars, restaurants and boutique style shops. We especially enjoyed the Markets by Moonlight event in November, which was accompanied by live jazz performances, as well as the drinking venues. In fact,
Lowenbrau bar proved to be a particular favourite as Gregor has been introduced to steins and re-acquainted with Goldschlager.
The days of Becky being the sole bread earner didn’t last too long though. Gregor eventually got bored of sitting around and has got a job at Chesterston International. The company went bust in the UK but still trades under the same name in Oz. It is a pretty basic role doing property management but pays more than bar or shop work and is pretty straight forward. Although it was a bit frustrating at first, with him adjusting to a differing position to that in the UK, he seems pretty happy with the lack of responsibility and the easy workload. He is pretty lucky, as he even gets paid to go out for all afternoon team lunches - some people have it all too easy.
Things got even more jammy, as he got to race yachts around the harbour as part of his Christmas party (which was a bit premature as it was in November). They then moved on to an indoor venue for dinner and drinks and karaoke. After a couple of drinks, the people in his office
were belting out "Livin' on a Prayer" and other gems at the top of their voice. It was a really good day.
In terms of sightseeing, we have been to Kurnells Point, which is where Captain Cook landed to claim Australia for the Brits. As it is a major landmark, we expected a lot but instead found a small park commemorating this event, overlooking an oil refinery and a ship container yard. Needless to say, this was a bit disappointing.
More impressive, however, is Bundeena and the Royal National Park. Bundeena is a secluded place, with a nice beach surrounded by the first national park in Australia. Unusually, the park rangers restrict access through the park to small sections for preservation reasons. When we visited it we walked along to Maianbar and then in the opposite direction to the aboriginal rock carvings near Jibbon beach. Here there are engravings of various animals, including whales, which they would have seen from the shore. Not surprisingly it is a sacred place, which is why we were slightly surprised to come across a nudist bathing area on the way back!
We liked Bundeena so much that we returned for a
second time. This time we hired a two-person-kayak and toured around the in-lets of the park. It was incredibly tranquil and picturesque. It turned out to be a decent work out too. Gregor was at the front and found that our paddling noticeably improved as we went on (once Becky actually joined in) although she did an excellent job of steering.
As we are close to the beach, Gregor has been able to work on his surfing a bit more and Becky also joined in for a few lessons. It is safe to say that she is not a natural but surprised us all, herself especially, by standing up and then surfing into shore on her birthday - the people on the beach cheered!
After surfing, we went out for a great birthday meal at Doyles, overlooking the Harbour Bridge and Opera House. It was really lovely looking over the water whilst tucking into a large plate of scallops and other treats.
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Laura
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sons and daughters..
love and laughter..tears and sadness and ha-ppi-ness