Sydney Rain or Shine Part II

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November 7, 2010

Th evening of our Sydney sightseeing tour (Sydney Harbour Bridge, Sydney Opera House, The Rocks, Botanical Gardens) ended with an Italian dinner out in Darling Harbour. Coincidentally, Raquel Salvadori, who was Brazils representative on the original Reebok Global Instructor team with me, had also been vacationing in Sydney. Her month in Sydney was just about to come to an end, just as ours was beginning. She had been renting an apartment on Manly Beach and ferried in to have dinner with us. The original purpose of her visit was for a friends wedding (one of her many Brazilian friends who has married an Australian) and like us, decided she might as well stay the month. I hadnt seen her since the launch of Reebok & Cirque du Soleil's JUKARI Fit to Fly in the spring of 2009, so it was great to catch up with her. Raquels English had drastically improved since I had last seen her; shes practically fluent now! So proud of you, Raquel! She shared with us many of her adventures throughout Australia and that shes actually planning on coming back to Sydney in December for at least six more months to study (and perhaps to continue seeing her Australian English teacher).

After hearing Raquel rave about Australias beaches, the next day we decided to take off for Bondi Beach, Sydneys most famous beach. Going to the beach in a coat and scarf (and no swimsuit) is never ideal, but were always game for a long walk. We made it about half way there (2 miles) when it proceeded to downpour on us. Attempting to sit it out in a local bar, the rain would not let up and we eventually taxied the rest of the into Bondi.

Unfortunately, I dont think justice can be given to any beach on a rainy day. The surfers were out to catch some big stormy waves, but the beach was obviously pretty empty otherwise. However, the town of Bondi was not. It drizzled off and on, so we continued, like many others, to walk the trail along the beach where Sculptures by the Sea was on display (our favorite being a large headed faceless man). The weather gods were not letting up, so we eventually caught a long bus ride home and called it a day. We would have to save a true Bondi experience for another day.

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