The Traveling Martens

Our last weekend in Sydney

Many of the restaurants here are BYO (bring your own alcohol), so we got a cheap bottle of Australian wine and ate at a small Thai place right next door to our hotel last night. Just another block away, we went to a couple of bars with great outdoor patios. We finished the night at a bar on the second floor of a hotel; the bar had a big patio which overlooked the street and all the people coming and going below.

After a great breakfast at our hotel this morning, we took the city bus to Bondi Beach, just a few minutes from Sydney's center. Bondi is usually listed as one of the top beaches in the world, and it is well deserved, it is just a fun place. There is a wide beach about a quarter mile long nestled in between large rock cliffs on both sides. The cliffs and bay seem to funnel the ocean waves into the beach, creating some huge waves, some of the largest we've ever seen. There are dozens of surfers out in the water all day long, and the buses carrying people to and from the beach are full of surfers and their boards. The street along the beach has lots of small swimsuit shops and great outdoor restaurants. The hills behind there have neighborhoods full of beautiful, colorful houses, all with rooftop terraces with great views of the bay. All the neighborhoods we've seen in Sydney are pretty, many of the homes have an English or Victorian character, but there are also Mediteranean and modern architectures as well. We walked about two miles, along the beach and up a path which curved around the rocky cliffs on one side of the bay, then back to the street for a lunch overlooking the beach. There were a lot of people out jogging, surfing, and enjoying the beach, even though it is fall here.

On our bus ride back, we stopped at the Paddington weekend market which was full of local artists' work, including paintings, jewelry, and clothes. We walked the rest of the way back to our hotel, watching everyone out for the weekend. The cafes are full of people drinking wine, reading, and talking. This area seems to have a lot of European people and the cafes are packed all day. A cup of coffee is serious business here. Imagine 4 cups of espresso in one cup, throw in some coffee grounds just for the heck of it, and that's a cup of regular straight coffee here. No Starbucks around here!

It's Mum's Day here in Australia tommorrow, so happy Mother's day to everyone it applies to!

posted by Mel and Stacy Marten @ 3:10 AM