Great Day in Sydney!

September 11

Must admit that it is quite noisy in the morning in our apartment. We are on a main drag. Nonetheless, I think it was time to get up around six as I think I had a mild case of dehydration. I woke up to find myself drinking about nine glasses of water while catching up on the news and blogging. It was a nice way to start the day.

Before I forget, I have to mention the Coopers sparkling ale in the fridge. Quite delicious!

We headed out to the city center to check out the ‘I’m Free’ city tour. Three hours of getting a taste of the city. The city was definitely a lot colder than the day before….I was frozen stiff with my bathing suit ( for the afternoons activities) and a tshirt. Bad move! Luckily Vero kept close to wsrm me up and as the day went on, it warmed up significantly.

Our tour guide Ross/Russ was an entertaining fellow who had a great humour to him. We had a large group of forty people and he handled us well.

Some highlights:

Martin Place: where I found out they filmed the Matrix scene where Neo sees the woman in the red dress!

Tavern: The oldest tavern in Sydney (160 years old!) which would give new visitors all the drinks they could handle…for free! What a nice bunch of people! Too bad that on their last drink, a trapdoor would spring open under your chair, they would you your last drink while you are blazing drunk, and in the morning you would find yourself with a nasty hangover and a new occupation…a slave on a ship!

Harbour: Beautiful spot with a great view of the Opera house. I think we will return again.

We passed Ross a few dollars for his troubles and cut out on the tour early to catch a bus to Bondi Beach. We were excited because the cloud cover had passed and the sun was shining for our day in the surf!

Bondi Beach is a fabulous spot in Sydney. A nice boardwalk around the beach with little shops and bars that cater to the crowd. We found our way to the ‘Let’s Go Surfing’ shop where we met our instructor Ash and Wil who gave us some forms to fill out. We got into some wetsuits where I felt like a superhero when putting it on! They had a good laugh at this.

It was a gorgeous day and we were coupled with some folks from California and England. They were all a great time to be around.

We grabbed our boards and learned some basics of how to go from lying on top to getting up on your feet under a wave. Easier said than done! Ash was a great help and would push us along the wave when it came along to give us a head start.

I don’t know if it was normal. But Bondi Beach had fabulous waves to surf on. It was a neverending onslaught of waves!

I managed to cramp up my thigh muscle to the point that it was near impossible to jump up on the board. It didn’t take away from the beautiful day too much and I spent the time trying my best to get up on the board. I managed to successfully get up onto one knee. Vero was a pro and she was quite happy with that.

The last wave I caught had me on top of the break and I first felt what all surfers must feel…the rush of adrenaline riding a large wave! Ash didn’t want us going on the big ones for now but it was there behind me and I knew she said we had one more wave to go so I took it. It was fabulous. This is what surfing is all about! I figured I couldn’t too that one so I called it a day.

Wil and Ash were fabulous instructors and even gave us some free photos as a honeymoon gift. !uch appreciated!

We then watched the sunset at the beach and headed to a bar called The Beach Hut where we had the best fish and chips ever (even better than Dublin!) and a good dark ale. Food and drink seem a bit pricey in this city…25 for a fish and chip and nine for a pint. Probably because we were directly on the beach.

We headed back in the bus where surfboards clearly are a part of the transit system and relaxed ( read: let our bodies recuperate!!!) for the evening.

I’m writing this the morning after and it feels like another cool morning in the city. We plan to head to another beach and the Opera House today. After this, we head to the outback for three days hiking. Not sure if they have wifi attached to the backs of tarantulas out there!