to bondi and beyond

The next few days were spent exploring all that Sydney has to offer. Sunday brought the first day of (somewhat) sunny skies so the girls decided to make it a beach day and headed off to Bondi. We walked to Oxford Street and caught the overly crowed 333 bus. My was that an experience! 3 buses passed us because they were too full and when we finally boarded, it was standing room only. Granted, we weren't feeling all that swell from the night before but the muggy congestion only made matters worse. There's something about standing in a strangers armpit that only amplifies ones hangover. Overwhelmed with the experience as is, I'm convinced that the driver thought he was Indiana Jones in his 4-wheeler. I had a near death experience and found myself flying off the steps even while clutching the handle. Thankfully, Andrea grabbed my arm just in time to prevent me from flying face first into the ground. Once we arrived in Bondi, we headed to the North Bondi RSL for lunch then wandered the streets until starting the Bondi to Bronte scenic walk. This 4km walk is a must do when traveling to Sydney and apparently no one has missed the memo because, even on an overcast day, it was packed. The walk is absolutely gorgeous! The unique rock formations and picturesque views are simply stunning - a photographers heaven. We stopped just short of Waverley Cemetery in South Bronte as it started to rain and caught the bus back to Kings Cross.

The following day we met up with Jeff (the guy Morgan and Andrea were initially staying with) and his British friend TJ. We walked through the CBD (Central Business District) before grabbing lunch and a cider at Australian Hotel. We snapped a few photos while wandering through Walsh Bay and stopped for our first beer at Lord Nelsons. We traveled over to Darling Harbor on a mission to find this spiral fountain located near the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre (venue of the 2000 Summer Olympics). The girls played tourist and took pictures over the Pyrmont Bridge and through the Harborside shopping centre until we reached fountain. Meanwhile, the boys began a bar crawl that may have marked the beginning of the end for all of us. A casual beer and cider drinking day turned into sake bombs with dinner which then turned into full fledged vodka shots back at TJ's house along Darling Harbor. The debauchery ensued into a quick dip in the hot tub, sauna lounge, and a "unique" photo sesh.

The night before provided us with quite the hangover (the bottle of vodka was totally necessary, of course) but it was the day that Kyle arrived so Drew and I joined him in a walk around the city. Beginning in Kings Cross, we worked our way through Wooloomooloo and saw Russell Crowe's place on the harbor. There's a beautiful little walk that continues on from there with views of the Opera House and the Harbor bridge and continues on through the Botanical Gardens. The botanical gardens in Sydney are among the best I've seen! So plush and well manicured with the most beautiful trees and sculptures. It is the perfect place for an afternoon nap. You will see heaps (Aussie word!) of people just sitting there reading and taking in all that this lovely garden has to offer. One drawback is that massive amounts of spiders that have made the gardens their humble abode. I was too busy being petrified of the spiders to even notice the colonies of bats Drew had pointed out to me. We meandered through the rest of the gardens until we reached the Opera House. Let me tell you, this thing is massive. You can't help but pause for a moment to take in all of the architectural beauty that the Sydney Opera House exhibits. Now comes the history lesson: A design competition was launched by New South Wales Premier Joseph Cahill in 1955 and received 233 entries, representing architects from 32 countries. The criteria specified a large hall seating 3,000 and a small hall for 1,200 people, each to be designed for different uses, including full-scale operas, orchestral and choral concerts, mass meetings, lectures, ballet performances and other presentations. The winner, announced in 1957, was Jørn Utzon, a Danish architect. According to legend the Utzon design was rescued from a final cut of 30 "rejects" by the noted Finnish architect Eero Saarinen. The prize was £5,000. Utzon left the project in February 1966. He said that Hughes's refusal to pay him any fees and the lack of collaboration caused his resignation. In March 1966, Hughes offered him a subordinate role as "design architect" under a panel of executive architects, without any supervisory powers over the House's construction, but Utzon rejected this and left the country never to return. The Opera House was formally completed in 1973, having cost $102 million. The original cost estimate in 1957 was $7 million. The original completion date set by the government was January 26, 1963 (Australia Day). Thus, the project was completed ten years late and over-budget by more than fourteen times.

Feeling tired and needing to rest our feet, we stopped at Opera Bar for a beer (little hair of the dog never hurt anyone) before continuing on through the touristy area of Circular Quay. Circular Quay is filled with entertainment ranging from aboriginal artwork to people playing the didgeridoo to performers standing on bicycles juggling a saw in the air. From there, we meandered on through the Rocks and headed back home for what began our traditional Tuesday night: Doughboy pizza, Messina gelato, and a movie. Culinary heaven!