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Published: December 19th 2005
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Mom Is Here
Mom down at the Bondi Cliff Walk Of Arrivals and Riots
Well to begin with, of course, the big news is that my parents arrived yesterday! And, after flying from Miami to LA, LA to Honolulu and finally Honolulu to Sydney, they walked through the custom’s gate last night none too worse for the wear with only their roller boards in tow. I will admit that, out of an entire jumbo jet, they were almost the first people thru the gates because they were the only people who hadn’t checked luggage. So score one for Dad’s carry-on-only rule, we’ll see if all the other luggage related factors go in their favor over the next three weeks.
Backing up a few days, we’ve been in the ‘riot zone’ here in Bondi. Due to all the threats of violence, a special marshal law was enacted for this past weekend. There were road blocks and random checks of cars and busses, as well as a huge force of police on the beaches, in the ocean, and in town. Police on horses, police on jet skis, police in dune buggies, police riding up and down the strip in ‘paddy wagons’, police on foot, police on bikes - - probably half
Dad's Here Too
Dad on the cliffs of the faithful Japanese tourists were police in disguise.
Apparently the local rioters sent out text messages (some other time I’ll do a blog on this country’s obsession with texting) naming Bondi and a few other beaches as targets of their next riots, where they planned to ‘crack skulls’. And sure enough some cars were stopped with knuckle dusters and swords. I was not familiar with the sword as a rioter’s weapon of choice, but it fits with the Australian do-everything-on-a-big-crazy-scale persona. Of course when you actually name the location of your intended crime you pretty much guarantee it to be one of the safest places on earth . . . especially when the prime minister urged people to ‘stay away from the beaches’.
The net result of all this was a virtual ghost town over the weekend. It was about 75, sunny, zero humidity and zero people. It was wonderful.
One local said in the grocery store yesterday, “If this is marshal law, keep it coming, I love it!"
It’s true. We are big fans of potential riots. It has made for some of the nicest beach time we’ve had. The Sydney Morning Herald reported that
Tidal Pool
Es, Abby and Dad in the low-tide pool at Bronte Beach. on Saturday given the weather we had, Bondi would normally see about 20,000 tourists and beachgoers. But with the lockdown we had about 2,000.
Bummer if you are a merchant losing business, but bonus if you are a parent of a toddler who likes to run where she pleases!
In addition to enjoying all the extra space we also hit the site of the 2000 Sydney Olympics just west of the city. It’s a huge, huge, mega complex with massive stadiums, grand parks, landscaped avenues, multiple public art works, fountains, statues, rivers, ponds, playgrounds, cafes and, in keeping with the theme of the weekend, absolutely no people.
I’ve always wondered what happens to all the wonderful buildings that city’s build for the Olympics after their three weeks of fame are over. I know they always claim to have big plans for future use and continued income. But, boy, it was a Saturday, great weather and the only thing going on in the 1,050 acres of fantastic buildings was a rug sale. Still it was really fun to see it all and a great place to let Abby run.
An informative video in the visitor’s center told a utopian story of business’ coming into the park and residents buying condos in the once Olympic Village. Children would learn in the various educational centers and play in all the preserves. Power would be generated by all the solar paneled Olympic monuments strewn through out the park. Everyone would embrace the ‘triumph of humanity’ depicted by the central art piece where hundreds of giant metal rods, tastefully decorated, reached towards the sky. I hope that pans out for them. It’s too wonderful a facility to just sit sparkling and empty, but they don’t even have people texting reasons to not show up and it’s already empty - - so I have to admit I have my doubts.
Well it’s evening now. We’ve spent the day doing some classic “Esther Walks” as I showed my parents around the area. What a difference having a few extra hands makes at the beach!! I can actually leave Abby for a few minutes and go body surfing (or as the case may be lose half of my bathing suit to the monster surf) and the cliff walk doesn’t have to be just a weekend activity since they can help with all those stairs. It’s great!
For the rest of this week we’ll be hitting some of the same sights I’ve already blogged, so unless Dad does a guest entry, we will probably stay silent till after Christmas. We’ll be in South Australia all next week in the Outback, Kangaroo Island and the Barossa Valley and I’m sure we’ll send news from there.
Merry Christmas everyone!
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The Nomad
Camo
Sydney Olympic Park is not always a ghost town
Glad to hear your enjoying Sydney, It's my home town and I, like a lot of Sydney-siders, are very proud of our city. Just to clear up your comment on Sydney Olympic Park. Since the olympics, that park has played host to a myriad of sporting events, concerts and other events. In 2003, Stadium Australia (or Telstra Stadium as it is now known) was the main site of the Rugby Union World Cup, the largest sporting event in the world that year. There is also many sporting events that take place there like the State Of Origin, Rugby League Grand Final, AFL and the Socceroos beat Uruguay to secure a place in the Soccer World Cup there. Next to Stadium Australia is The Superdome. Many huge bands have played concerts there such as Kiss, Korn, Eminem, 50 Cent etc... Plus there has been The WWE and The Crusty Demons perform many shows there, not to mention all the other sporting events that are there throughout the year. Everytime the Big Day Out (Australia's largest music festival) is in town, Sydney Olympic Park is the venue and has been since 1999. Every year it is the venue of the Sydney Royal Easter Show that sees hundreds of thousands of visitors from all over Sydney, Australia and the world. In and around the park are many restaurants, bars and clubs that have a steady flow of customers, myself included. To name everything that happens there would take up too much room (I think I have taken up too much already :)) It's a vital part of Sydney's entertainment industry and I couldn't imagine Sydney without it. Anyways just thought you'd like to know. Enjoy the rest of our country. Sorry about the certain idiots who like to riot for no real reason.