Nice beard, Sean

While one has to take a ferry to get to Manly Beach from the CBD, Bondi Beach is just a short bus ride away.  On our bus was a mixed bag of Sydneysiders.  There were business men in suits reading the paper all the way to board-shorted and bikini-clad youth hugging surfboards.  Since it was obvious who was heading to the water, it wasn't hard at all to tell when to hop off the bus for the best beach access.



Bondi Beach is a famous stretch of beach about 1km long - the name also refers to the suburb surrounding it.  There were areas for surfing, swimming and plenty of room to sunbathe.  Though the north end is safer for swimming, most tourists simply head straight from the bus stop down to the water and usually get stuck in a well-known and aptly named riptide called the "Backpackers Express".






Sean and I did not swim but instead had a picnic lunch and then headed out to the walking trails that lead from Bondi Beach to several other beaches along the way.  We were told that it's common to see whales and dolphins though we didn't have any luck ourselves.  Maybe next time.

Along with being fortunate enough to be in Melbourne during the Cup, Sean and I were also lucky enough to meet Prince Charles and Camilla in Sydney.  We had planned to visit the old town in the morning and then head to Bondi Beach which turned out to be about the same schedule as the royalty.  We saw the motorcade everywhere we went!



Prince Charles was on his way to the art museum when we happened to see him.  Crowds of people were waiting outside the museum and the weather was pretty steamy.  One lady passed out because she got so hot and excited.  Paramedics had to be called.  It was quite a scene.

Bondi Beach - Yep, a few minutes after this picture it started storming and downpouring

Charles shook hands and was quite jolly though he asked obvious questions like, "How is it back there [in the crowd]? Hot?"  Though I was right in front, at times it was hard to see him because of everyone reaching their arms/hands/phones around and in front of me.  Everyone was so excited and a bit frantic and chaotic.  Sean didn't care one way or another and waited in the back of the crowd.

Waiting for the royal rugby

Police horses!

They stole the show

 Later in the afternoon we spotted the couple at Bondi Beach where they watched a special beach rugby game held just for them.  I was more interested in watching all of the police mounted on impressive looking horses - they would even let you pose for pictures with them!

Getting ready to film the game

The really cool thing about Sydney is that one minute you can be in a busy city and a thirty minute ferry ride later you can be on a beach.  The first beach we visited was Manly Beach and the ferry ride was a tour in itself.  On the way to the beach we had awesome views of the harbor and even better views of the opera house.





 At Manly Beach there were people playing volleyball, multiple surf schools and lots of others sunbathing.  The beach was huge and around it were lots of plazas, restaurants and shopping. It made for a fun afternoon of walking around, watching sports and soaking up the sun on the sand.



 Although there was a mix of locals and tourists on the ferry, it was very easy to tell who was visiting by the amount of time they stared at the opera house.  But who could blame them? The Sydney opera house is stunning in design and definitely commands the skyline.  We all couldn't take our eyes off of it.  What I thought was interesting was that the shells on the opera house look much different up close than from far away.  From a distance they appear uniform in color but up close you see that they are actually a mix of whitish, creamy and tan (or maybe they were just dirty) tiles with a subtle pattern.  I couldn't stop looking at the opera house - it was so cool!  And, as evidenced in this post, I couldn't stop taking pictures of it either. 

Our guide, Justine.  She had a lot of energy.

Our first afternoon in Sydney we just wandered around and checked out the Visitor Center.  While there, we were recommended to take an "I'm Free" walking tour of the city the next day.  I was skeptical of an actual free tour in such a pricey city as Sydney but I was also intruiged.  So Sean and I showed up at the meeting point the next morning and looked for our guide in the neon green shirt.

Town Hall

The business district

The tour turned out to be exactly what it was promoted to be - free.  It was a start-up project by a graduate student in architecture who wanted to share some facts and stories about the history of the city with tourists.  It has now turned into a full-time job with additional staff and has also spread to Melbourne.  Our guide who was also the owner and entrepreneur of the business is completely supported by the tours she gives - one every morning covering the modern part of Sydney and one every evening in "The Rocks" area which explains the harbor's history.  She works on donations only.  At the beginning of the tour she explains this and says that at the end of the tour she hopes that you will donate whatever you think the tour was worth.  A very interesting and brave concept - I immediately wondered if she had kept track of her earnings as it would make a cool sociological study as well.

If you stood in the right place this little dog statue would talk to you

Artsy bird cages in an alley or as Justine said, "Just Sydney trying to be creative like Melbourne."

The tour itself was fantastic.  Our guide, Justine, was an expert in all things Sydney.  She was also our age and generous in information regarding budget travel and entertainment around Australia.  At the beginning of our tour she handed out maps to everyone (designed by her company) that covered the area we would visit and her personal favorite places to eat and drink.  The morning tour lasted about 3 hours and we learned a LOT.  Also, it was fun.  Justine made the tour interactive, kept us guessing and made us laugh.  I was impressed.  If you're in Sydney or Melbourne and have a morning or evening to spare, I highly suggest looking for the guides in the bright neon shirts.  Thanks Justine!

Some pictures from walking through Hyde Park on the way to downtown from our hostel

When we arrived in Sydney, I remember wondering aloud to Sean, "What do they call people from this city? Sydnites? Sydnians?"  We learned quickly that people from Sydney are called "Sydneysiders" and that they are quite proud of where they live.  Almost all of them think their city is superior to Melbourne in every way possible. 

These crazy birds (Ibis) were huge and all over the parks

I should also point out that while traveling in Australia and New Zealand, Sean and I were constantly appreciative of how easy, safe and efficient it was to travel.  After spending a combined four months traveling around southeast Asia, spending time in NZ and Oz was like another world entirely.  Everything was easy to do or figure out, things were organized, safe and streamlined infrastructure was in place,  the cities were amazingly clean, and the public transport was fast.  Sean and I moved between public ferries, buses, and trains with no problem at all.  The one downfall? The expense.

Harbor Bridge

Requisite didgeridoo tourist trap

The opera house

 We knew that Australia was going to be expensive but the prices in Sydney were through the roof.  To give you an idea, we stayed in a very cramped but clean YMCA hostel with shared bathrooms a little ways outside of the downtown and we paid over $100 USD/night.  A pint of beer at a pub ran you at least $11 USD - and that was a cheap brew.  For the most part we stuck to cooking in the hostel and packing lunches since we were visiting Oz with our weak NZ dollars.  Minimum wage in NZ? About $11 USD.  Minimum wage in Oz? About $18 USD.  Ouch.

Public Library

Entrance to Kings Cross district - lots of bars and restaurants

It was so fun to see all of the horses! Some of the handlers would even let you pet them.

Sean and I were not super organized about booking our trip to Australia.  We just figured out how long we could afford to be there, glanced at the calendar to see when my sister was flying into New Zealand and checked to see if we could be in the north for the solar eclipse.  When we arrived in Melbourne we quickly realized why some hostels had been completely booked and unusually expensive - we were going to be in the city for one of the biggest events in Australia - a horse race called the Melbourne Cup.

There's the Cup!

The Melbourne Cup is a very, very big deal in Australia (and also in New Zealand).  In Oz it is a public holiday and everything shuts down completely.  It is known as "The race that stops a nation" which is pretty apt because everything came to a standstill in the city.  On the actual race day there was a parade full of horses that were past winners, jockeys and stable owners.  The city showed a live broadcast of the race on a giant TV in the center plaza and bars and restaurants all over hosted extravagant parties.

I love the mini stuffed horses underfoot of the drummers

Cool fascinators!

More interesting to watch, however, were the spectators who were dressed in amazing race-day finery.  Australians love to go to the races because it's a chance to get dressed up and party outdoors.  Being on the subway before the race started was quite entertaining as we got to watch thousands of people in dramatic, crazy and elaborate costumes all push and shove to get on the next train.  One of the biggest issues for women is what kind of hat or fascinator to wear.  There's even a separate competition for best dressed called "Myers Fashion on the Field."  It's safe to say that most women in attendance spend at least hundreds and usually thousands on their outfits.  Whoa.

Best dressed winners (Google images)

Melbourne Cup aftermath (Google images)

 Since there was absolutely no way that Sean and I could go to the races (though I really wanted to), we watched the race from the TV in the airport.  Our flight to Sydney left right after the race ended.  In hindsight it makes sense why that particular flight was crazy cheap compared to all the others.  Nobody in their right mind would leave the city of Melbourne on Cup Day.  Oops.