Hello all, we've been in OZ a week now and have been enjoying the warm weather and open air lifestyle. I finished the last blog at the Botanic gardens in Sydney. On the way back to the ferry we looked around and saw weddings taking place in every direction. two in he botanic gardens and one on a boat in the harbour. the plaintive wail of bagpipes even travelled over from one of several weddings on the distant shore.
In the evening my sister came across from work and we went to a local Thai restaurant for a meal where we all ate too much 'quid (as Joseph, our grandson, calls it) and lots of other treats besides.
On Saturday morning Ruth takes an exercise class on Balmoral beach. When she had finished, we joined her and Bob and the rest of Sydney, it seemed, for breakfast out. Going out for breakfast at weekends seems to be a very big tradition here. People do their morning exercise then meet friends or read the weekend papers with a macchiatto and a big plate of something. I had Eggs Benedict with Hollandaise sauce and Stephen had french toast with maple syrup and bacon and a mango frappe. It was all incredibly rich and not somethng I'd like to eat very often. We needed some exercise ourselves after such a substantial meal so we walked along Balmoral beach to the first headland where we saw cockatoos, then on to the next headland where the sandstone rocks have been weathered into beautiful striations and formations. There were rock pools filled with tiny fish there, some stripey, rather like angel fish and beautiful blue and yellow starfish. On the way back it started to shower which was a blessed relief for me. I walked along the seas edge, paddling and getting wet from the rain at the same time. It was bliss!
In the afternoon, I went shopping for our evening meal and Ruth, Bob and Stephen went for another walk but I'll leave him to give you an account of that.....
As Elaine said Ruth was teaching on Balmoral beach first thing on Saturday, so we wandered - no, Bob was leading so it was a bit faster than a wander - down there after Ruth had finished her class and we joined the Sydney habit of having weekend breakfast out. We walked off our excesses by exploring the beach - beautiful but almost empty - there were unseasonal clouds about. One "island" off the beach had cockatoos idly wandering about; the first of that day's many photos. The next came when we reached the rocks at the far end of the beach; sandstone which had been worn into a combination of rivulets and very smooth surfaces, including one rock which was almost the size and shape of a whale's mouth, into which Ruth climbed. There were curious creatures? (flora or fauna?) too, clinging to the rocks on the water's edge; a little squeeze and they spurted water, something half way between limpets and sea anemone. It was there too that the shag stood with its wings outspread to dry, but not for long as our journey back along the beach coincided with our first experience of Australian rain, but it wasn't daunting enough to stop Elaine paddling her way back, and as we left the beach the rain stopped. The journey back to the flat, by car for Ruth and Elaine, was extremely steep. Bob and I took a route that was eight steps up, two paces forward, eight steps up.... It felt like a sprint up a mountain. No I'm not 25 any more!
Later in the afternoon I'd recovered enough to go with Ruth and Bob to St. George's Head, an old army lookout perfect for guarding Sydney harbour. The barracks have been converted into art galleries but the view across the harbour was both spectacular and expansive, including a clear sight of both North and South Head, the entrance to the harbour from the ocean. we walked a while, then drove on to Bradley's Head where two couples were having their wedding photos taken; a feature of nearly all the scenic parts of Sydney. We must have seen a dozen wedding ceremonies, rehearsals or photo shoots in our first two days here. As we approached the headland we had a beatiful view of the Opera House through the trees, then from the jetty a clear view of Harbour, Opera House and Bridge. On our way back I saw our first Termites' nest high in the trees.
We did some research before Sunday as the Diocese of Sydney is renowned/infamous worldwide and sure enough the nearest church to here sounded just what we wanted to avoid, but St. Luke's Mosman was much more our tradition. Their website described them as "inclusive". None of the anti gay stuff that was hinted at in Kaikoura last week. Clergy here, though, are forbidden to wear Chasubles so we wondered what the "catholics" would do. Copes and Dalmatics were the answer. For the non churchgoers amongst our readers, imagine the boss banned suits for work, so the men turned up in dinner jackets instead.
After church, which was rather later than expected, as there was a new Deacon to be welcomed and his robes to be explained, as well as a sermon that was rather longer than my usual eight minutes, we went with Ruth and Bob to do their weekly shop at the Organic market. I'll leave Elaine to tell you about that......
We then went on to Manly Beach, one of the famous surfing beaches, and as we had both plenty of sun and the weekend was in full swing, the beach was packed. Not our ideal spot, but the restaurant opposite where we had our lunch was certainly to my taste. In fact the Chicken Caesar Salad that I had was the best meal that I had eaten since leaving London, beating the best restaurants we tried in N.Z. and even surpassing Elaine and Bob's cooking, both of which take some beating.
After lunch Ruth drove Bob to the golf course and Elaine and I wandered slowly round the bay to the quieter and more sheltered Shelly Beach in Cabbage Tree Bay. A lovely walk and on the way we stopped to look at a lizard which was sunning itself (if we can master the technology we'll add a photo of it) and a number of sculptures of snails, frogs, surfers....
The "quieter" beach was still busy with people barbecuing and sunbathing, but not many in the calm water, but for me this was the perfect chance to have my first Australian swim.
Back to Elaine again. As far as I was concerned the beach was fairly hellish but I tucked myself under a palm tree and read a book all afternoon. We'd had a good morning and I'd enjoyed the organic market a great deal. It was a bit like Borough Market without the crowds and the exorbitant prices!
On Monday we set off for an adventure in the bush.
In the evening my sister came across from work and we went to a local Thai restaurant for a meal where we all ate too much 'quid (as Joseph, our grandson, calls it) and lots of other treats besides.
On Saturday morning Ruth takes an exercise class on Balmoral beach. When she had finished, we joined her and Bob and the rest of Sydney, it seemed, for breakfast out. Going out for breakfast at weekends seems to be a very big tradition here. People do their morning exercise then meet friends or read the weekend papers with a macchiatto and a big plate of something. I had Eggs Benedict with Hollandaise sauce and Stephen had french toast with maple syrup and bacon and a mango frappe. It was all incredibly rich and not somethng I'd like to eat very often. We needed some exercise ourselves after such a substantial meal so we walked along Balmoral beach to the first headland where we saw cockatoos, then on to the next headland where the sandstone rocks have been weathered into beautiful striations and formations. There were rock pools filled with tiny fish there, some stripey, rather like angel fish and beautiful blue and yellow starfish. On the way back it started to shower which was a blessed relief for me. I walked along the seas edge, paddling and getting wet from the rain at the same time. It was bliss!
In the afternoon, I went shopping for our evening meal and Ruth, Bob and Stephen went for another walk but I'll leave him to give you an account of that.....
As Elaine said Ruth was teaching on Balmoral beach first thing on Saturday, so we wandered - no, Bob was leading so it was a bit faster than a wander - down there after Ruth had finished her class and we joined the Sydney habit of having weekend breakfast out. We walked off our excesses by exploring the beach - beautiful but almost empty - there were unseasonal clouds about. One "island" off the beach had cockatoos idly wandering about; the first of that day's many photos. The next came when we reached the rocks at the far end of the beach; sandstone which had been worn into a combination of rivulets and very smooth surfaces, including one rock which was almost the size and shape of a whale's mouth, into which Ruth climbed. There were curious creatures? (flora or fauna?) too, clinging to the rocks on the water's edge; a little squeeze and they spurted water, something half way between limpets and sea anemone. It was there too that the shag stood with its wings outspread to dry, but not for long as our journey back along the beach coincided with our first experience of Australian rain, but it wasn't daunting enough to stop Elaine paddling her way back, and as we left the beach the rain stopped. The journey back to the flat, by car for Ruth and Elaine, was extremely steep. Bob and I took a route that was eight steps up, two paces forward, eight steps up.... It felt like a sprint up a mountain. No I'm not 25 any more!
Later in the afternoon I'd recovered enough to go with Ruth and Bob to St. George's Head, an old army lookout perfect for guarding Sydney harbour. The barracks have been converted into art galleries but the view across the harbour was both spectacular and expansive, including a clear sight of both North and South Head, the entrance to the harbour from the ocean. we walked a while, then drove on to Bradley's Head where two couples were having their wedding photos taken; a feature of nearly all the scenic parts of Sydney. We must have seen a dozen wedding ceremonies, rehearsals or photo shoots in our first two days here. As we approached the headland we had a beatiful view of the Opera House through the trees, then from the jetty a clear view of Harbour, Opera House and Bridge. On our way back I saw our first Termites' nest high in the trees.
We did some research before Sunday as the Diocese of Sydney is renowned/infamous worldwide and sure enough the nearest church to here sounded just what we wanted to avoid, but St. Luke's Mosman was much more our tradition. Their website described them as "inclusive". None of the anti gay stuff that was hinted at in Kaikoura last week. Clergy here, though, are forbidden to wear Chasubles so we wondered what the "catholics" would do. Copes and Dalmatics were the answer. For the non churchgoers amongst our readers, imagine the boss banned suits for work, so the men turned up in dinner jackets instead.
After church, which was rather later than expected, as there was a new Deacon to be welcomed and his robes to be explained, as well as a sermon that was rather longer than my usual eight minutes, we went with Ruth and Bob to do their weekly shop at the Organic market. I'll leave Elaine to tell you about that......
We then went on to Manly Beach, one of the famous surfing beaches, and as we had both plenty of sun and the weekend was in full swing, the beach was packed. Not our ideal spot, but the restaurant opposite where we had our lunch was certainly to my taste. In fact the Chicken Caesar Salad that I had was the best meal that I had eaten since leaving London, beating the best restaurants we tried in N.Z. and even surpassing Elaine and Bob's cooking, both of which take some beating.
After lunch Ruth drove Bob to the golf course and Elaine and I wandered slowly round the bay to the quieter and more sheltered Shelly Beach in Cabbage Tree Bay. A lovely walk and on the way we stopped to look at a lizard which was sunning itself (if we can master the technology we'll add a photo of it) and a number of sculptures of snails, frogs, surfers....
The "quieter" beach was still busy with people barbecuing and sunbathing, but not many in the calm water, but for me this was the perfect chance to have my first Australian swim.
Back to Elaine again. As far as I was concerned the beach was fairly hellish but I tucked myself under a palm tree and read a book all afternoon. We'd had a good morning and I'd enjoyed the organic market a great deal. It was a bit like Borough Market without the crowds and the exorbitant prices!
On Monday we set off for an adventure in the bush.
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