[Guest post] Lifes's a beach. And then some...

Here's my mom Nicki Burwinkle with her take on week two in Sydney. Thanks, mom!
-Christine

Here is a posting from Nicki about our adventures on Monday and Tuesday. Since Christine and Toby had to go back to work on Monday :( we were on our own. With a lot of coaching from Christine we were able to catch 2 trains and a bus and make it to Bondi without incident.

We walked the trail from Bondi to Coogee. Every bit of the way was spectacular – ocean views, unusual rock formations, and beautiful flowers at every part of the walk.

As we were about halfway through the walk, the wind picked up and became quite ferocious. At times it blew so hard I was staggering. It really made the last part of the walk quite a challenge and both of us were very tired by the time we reached the end. But it was so beautiful it was worth every bit of the effort and I would do it again if I had the chance.

We had a low-key evening at Christine and Toby’s and they fixed us some great pizza for dinner.

Tuesday’s pace was much slower – partly because I was still tired from the Bondi walk on Monday. We walked around the Central Business District and checked out some of the neat places Christine had recommended. The Strand was a great place – lots of cool stuff there. Christmas decorations and trees are sprouting up like mushrooms.

Before lunch we went up the Sydney Tower Eye (thanks to a Groupon from Christine). It was a quite an experience to look down and see many of the places we had already been. The view is unobstructed and seems to go on forever. We could easily see the building where C & T live and the building where we are staying.

We had a quick lunch at a market in the food court in the CBD (thanks to another Groupon from Christine). We got to experience all the hustle and bustle of lunchtime. There were lots of people, lots of noise and lots of commotion.

After lunch we hopped on the ferry to Manly. The ocean swells were quite large and we could really feel the boat rocking. In order to minimize the rocking, the captain actually altered his course and made a big arc instead of steering in a straight line. Tom and I both loved the ride. After checking out the shops and reinforcing ourselves with some TimTams we walked along the beach for a while. We were entertained by surfers, swimmers, paddleboarders and a childrens’ surfing school. The surfing lesson was great fun to watch. After some inside time (maybe classroom time?) about 60 kids in pink shirts came out to the beach carrying their surfboards. The coach released them in groups to run to the ocean. They were quite enthusiastic and reminded me of a school of colorful fish as they ran into the surf, carrying their boards.

Then came the highlight of our day – spending time with Christine and Toby.

We had reservations at the Havana Beach Café and Lounge in Manly (again thanks to a Groupon from Christine – are you noticing a pattern?) We sat at a table overlooking Manly Beach and had a delicious meal.

Coming home we walked across the bridge for some beautiful night views.

Weather was perfect and it was a perfect way to end the day.