Sydneyside...

Yup, day one in Sydney digest.....coming right up.....after I show you the photo that I forgot to put in the last blog - a beautiful full moon over the river on our last night in Brisbane!

We'll miss Brisbane, but it was great to hear from Tony and Lesley, who arrived home safely today and were thrilled with their very clean apartment (was worth all the cleaning and then some, as we were so lucky to stay there, but to know that they appreciated it is lovely).

 

Anyway, back to Sydney.....and after a pancake breakfast, a train and a bus ride, we arrived at the famous Bondi Beach. It reminded me a lot of a British beach for some reason......apart from the weather of course!

And then we settled down on the beach and spent the day soaking up the sun. The end.

 

Ha ha ha, as if!

 

We didn't set foot on this, or any of the other 6 or 8 beaches we passed today....we were on a coastal walk mission...Bondi to Coogee Beach...and it was lovely....a bit more built up than we were expecting, but still lovely...

First we walked past Bondi Icebergs pool, a saltwater pool on the rocks at the edge of the beach. It looked very inviting! But we kept walking...

Lovely trail, beautiful cliffs and sea views and some lovely rock formations! Oh, and some wild irises (?) clinging to the cliffs!

 

A few little hidey holes too, but we dare not let Crack out of the backpack to explore...just in case he didn't want to get back in!

Looking back towards Bondi

 

I LOVED this tree! Very very clever idea, using the the lower trunk, and the troughs created by old fronds, as planters...and a few little animals woven in!

More great views as we rounded yet another point....and then a bit of a laugh....it seems some things are the same the world over.....old people playing bowls....on a prime bit of real estate lol! This is Clovelly Bowls Club, right on the edge of a cliff at the end of a promontory.

And even funnier, assuming that bowls is a highly dangerous sport here, as it is in the UK (where it is the sport you are most likely to die whilst playing - due to average age of players!), it's right next to a cemetery.....albeit one with a stunning sea view!

 

Some more gorgeous cliff views...

And another kick ass swimming pool, with the waves just cresting the edge!

A perfect spot for quiet contemplation, if you don't mind wet feet!

And the most hilarious sign! Well, maybe not, but I couldn't help thinking just how the differently this phrase would be interpreted on the average English beach lol!

A bit more coast, some more inviting stretches of sea, and some less inviting, but equally captivating decorated staircases, and we were in Coogee Beach.

 

We had a lovely lunch of Greek gyros and then successfully caught the bus back to the hostel, which Crack absolutely loved. He kept shouting Ninky Nonk every time we went over a bump!

 

After his nap we went out to find a playground for him and afterwards walked home via Chinatown, where Crack astounded us by eating, and eating and eating! Prawn crackers, chicken starters, BBQ pork, loads of baby corn, some rice, lots of melon and his first fortune cookie! And a pretty apt fortune at that!

 

Tomorrow we will be mostly catching up with friends, visiting the Zoo and seeing the opera house....oh, and taking a ferry of course!