Sydney Day 4: Bondi to Coogee walk + pics

Last night was my last night at The Angel’s actual house, because we are house-sitting today on the North Shore. It’s a bit sad, really – I quite like her suburb, Leichhart. It has a strong Italian community, with lots of Italian shops and restaurants. Even going to the supermarket is an experience, with all the speciality Italian food. I love the houses, which are small and cute and set close together with their own little gardens, and I have a sneaking feeling that this suburb is where Looking for Alibrandi is set.

The bus trip into town goes past lots and lots of bridal shops. And I mean lots. I think I’ve decided on my wedding dress – it will be beaded in an asymmetrical pattern and corseted. It will have a flowing skirt and be in ivory or cream with black, gold, pink or blue accents. There’s a hot pink dress I quite like, but I think that might be a bit much.

Yesterday (after going past a street where every second car was a Porsche – literally – there were at least 5 of them) I got off at the Town Hall and descended underground to the trains (yay!). I haven’t been on an Underground for at least 8 years (possibly 12), so I was quite excited to go down the stairs through the layers of trains to my platform. I was just in time for a train, so I got on and sat in the top of the double-decker train.

Once in a subway train, there’s not much to see. I considered taking a picture of the black tunnel out the window, but thought it would be a bit pointless and mark me out as a tourist. Then I remembered that The Matrix was filmed in Sydney, so spent the rest of the trip staring into the stations in the hope I’d see a set I recognised. No such luck.

I got off at Bondi Junction and switched to a bus to Bondi Beach. Main Bondi (which has a huge mall I didn’t venture into) is actually quite a way from the Beach, and I was glad I’d decided not to walk it. It was a cold day, and I was wearing two t-shirts and my beanie and my hoodie and my winter rain jacket, but luckily it didn’t rain.

I got some churros (Spanish doughnuts) and a mocha at a cafe called San Churro. Amazingly, I’d come on free-coffee Wednesday, so I only had to pay for the churros. I sat outside and watched the surfers while I dipped my churros in melted dark chocolate and drank my mocha. I have to say that the mocha was the best mocha I’ve ever had (even though after the first mouthful I couldn’t really taste the coffee). For a good mocha, find a place where they put real chocolate in it.

There were three very long churros. By the time I’d finished them I felt a bit sick, so I went in search of mandarins and took lots of pictures of the awesome mosaic benches. Once mandarinned, I started the 6km walk from Bondi to Coogee.

The cliffs along the walk are spectacular, with the waves pounding at their bases, water seeping from above and shapes hollowed by erosion. I took lots and lots of pictures until my camera started flashing the red low battery symbol and I decided to use it more sparingly. Girl of 1000 pics/day, you would be proud of me (you know who you are!!!).

Bondi

Highlights of the walk were when a bird called me a liar and flew off, watching the surfers and the swells breaking on the shore and going out onto the rocks when the barrier allowed you to (it did that a lot).

Something that amazed me (in a good way) was the number of houses and buildings – all over Sydney really. I come from a country about the size of the UK, but with only four million people. You can get out to wilderness pretty quickly from the city, and I guess that’s what draws the tourists. Here was six kilometres of wilderness with houses all the way along, and (mostly) proper barriers and signs and steps carved into rock, and people walking and running all the way along it. Some of the houses have been there a hundred years, some were being constructed as I walked past.

The beaches are a bit dangerous....

I tried to take the bus back to town, but misjudged the stop and ended up going through town and out over the Anzac Bridge. That was fine though – I took pictures. I bussed back and wandered through some of the underground malls (marking them out for an expedition today), then took the bus back to Leichhart. I could barely keep my eyes open to see the wedding dresses.

Sooo tired. Went to bed at 9.30, didn’t get up until 8. My goal of leaving before 9 is not looking good.