Merry Christmas! I found out that there is a problem with the blog in that it won’t allow me to post photos. It would probably be an easy fix if I could find internet access somewhere. Australia has a lot going for it, but its access to the web is somewhat lacking. I even mentioned it to someone as I was booking a bus ticket the other day and they said I don’t even know how bad it actually is. I guess they pay twice as much with half the speed… if this guy was telling me the truth.
Since my last entry I’ve been walking all over the city as well as heading out to some of the nearby beaches. Yesterday I took a 30-minute bus ride to the “famous” Bondi beach. I’m not sure that I had heard of it before coming to Sydney, but according to the tourist brochures, it is “World Famous.” It is a beautiful beach with lots of beautiful people everywhere; I definitely felt a little self-conscience walking around with my belly. The reason I went though wasn’t to lay in the sun but to go for a coast walk that I read about. I don’t know the exact length, but I seem to remember reading 10 km somewhere. I decided to walk the walk, there and back, for a total of 20 km. I enjoyed myself enough that I decided to try to walk back to the city, probably another 20 km from Bondi Beach. Unfortunately, by the time I got back to the starting point I was feeling a little sore and wimped out and took the bus.
A couple of days ago I did a great tour of the city. It was one of the free tours that are common in some of the bigger cities. They’re considered free except you are expected to tip the guide when it’s over. The tour lasted about 4 hours and took us all over the city I felt that I learned more about Sydney in those four hours than I have the rest of the time that I’ve been here. Afterwards I decided to walk up to the harbor bridge to get a few more photographs of the opera house. I don’t think it’s possible for me to take a new photo of the opera house anymore. I’ve probably take 200 since I’ve been here and except for it being very iconic, it’s pretty boring now.
It’s been raining here from about 10 last night. It’s been coming down hard at times and just drizzling other times. I can say that this will probably be the last time I listen to anyone about a location again. Before I left I was told that it was going to be hot, “…you do know that it’s summer there right now?” Which it has been far from hot. I would guess that it is warmer in Dubai than it has been in Sydney since I’ve been here. Maybe they just have cold summers.
