Sydney Day 2!

Theres always a day on every vacation I go on I get all sorts of "working-out" rejuvenation and decide I need to go run a few miles, even though I haven't ran in a long time. Today was one of those inevitable days. Derek had to leave this morning for work things through Friday so all the more reason for my running choice. About 10 steps straight out from our hotel and 5 steps to the left is the harbor which holds the Sydney Opera House. It's an area called "The Rocks" and it's very beautiful and has a ton of character. I ran through here amongst a lot of other Aussie's running members. It was a VERY beautiful run. After that I came back, got ready and decided to venture out to Bondai beach and the Padington area.  First challenge though was the bus system. It turns out the busses are much more difficult to figure out than the trains - so much that I walked up and down the street with the multiple pick-up's of the various busses about 4 times. On the 4th trip back and forth a guy from england asked me if I needed help - he had only been her a day longer than myself. (excellent on the ego) Finally I (we) figured it out though! 

Padnington was a historic area that was victorian housing transferred into stores and restaurants. It also apparently is the current residence for "Occupy Sydney". Seriously - an Occupy Sydney camp! I saw it when I was on the bus so I didn't get a picture, apparently though, the 99% is also residing in Sydney. 

Then I headed to Bondai - luckily two guys with surf boards got on the bus I was on and I was able to follow them to the beach. I thought the surf board guys were very nice to help me out until the asked me where I was from.  When I said Iowa - they of course asked if I was in potato withdrawal (sigh) then asked me if I like Mitt Romney?! I told them Iowa is known because we lead the Caucuses. First they told me they've never heard of a Caucus, and after explaining it they told me that's called a Primary (double sigh). Just when I was hoping I was finishing my surfer guys conversation they explained to me that New Hampshire actually leads the primaries in the states - they suggested I Google it to get a little more information. To end it all they asked me what temperature it was in Iowa right now - I told them it's unusually warm and before I left it even hit 82 - to which they explained that is impossible because people would boil at that temperature - literally boil. I told them we function on Celsius and if they wanted more information they could Google it. They still ended with a nice "Cheers" and got me to the beach so I'll take it.

Bondai is beautiful! The tour book I have says it's filled with backpackers, tourists, and very attractive bodied locals. (yes - it seriously says that). After a quick look - I completely agree. 

I was starving so I wandered around for a bit and two older guys told me I should eat at the Bondai Surf Club and invited me in. (it was a private club so you had to be with a member). Finally I had my first Fish and Chips and I was not let down by the food or the view! I tried to watch the surfers for some tips before my surfing lesson Friday. I think the only tip I came up with is wear a life jacket.

After lunch I went for a walk on their infamous path along the ocean from Bondai Beach to Bronte Beach. It was definitely not a walk along the beach kind of walk, it was more of a walk over the cliffs to the other beach. Luckily I had just went running. right. Half way though I needed a break so I found some cliffs off the path and parked up for a while to finally start reading Hunger Games. Here was my view:

I realized yesterday with just only one totally free day on my own how crazy our life really is. With nothing to do and no specific schedule the day went by SO SLOW! I actually had time to think and enjoy everything. I could say now I'm going to try and get better about that when I'm home, but I've made and broken that promise to myself too many times. I can try though to relish the quiet while I have it. 

After the beach I went back to the hotel and talked myself into going out for dinner. I'm SO thankful I did because when I got side - this is the first thing I saw:

Beautiful all the time, but especially at sunset! I had dinner at an italian restaurant and had a beer at "Sydney's oldest bar" (according to the sign). I should have drank more because my body still hasn't transitioned to the time. I didn't sleep until about 2:30am. Maybe though, it was the absolutely inspiring view of the city at night from our hotel window - I couldn't stop looking at it.