On the weekend Mel and I wanted something fun and free to do, having purchased a 'Coastal Walks of Sydney' book a while back (getting old aren’t we!) we decided to head for Bondi to do the Bondi to Coogee coastal walk which takes around 2 hours. On a typical Sydney winters day (fine, sunny and 20 degrees) there were plenty of surfers out and it brought back memories of South Beach in Wanganui, NZ where I grew up – it was a ‘those were the days’ moment to watch them catching waves and wiping out, I may look at getting a surf board in the near future but will concentrate on the camera, guitar and my soon-to-arrive body board for the time being.
Lunch for me was fish and chips (well we're by the seaside) then we began the walk from the southern end of Bondi beach near the Bondi Icebergs Club (which opened in 1929 and requires full members to swim 3 out of 4 Sundays for 5 years!). Of course the walk is memorable mainly for the stunning scenery of the eastern coast but little bits of history like an old cemetery along the way make it all the more interesting - Australia is truly blessed with some of the best coast line you'll ever see and when the sky is so blue and so many people are out and about enjoying the lifestyle a weekend in Sydney often seems more like a holiday away from home.
We rewarded ourselves with coffee and smoothies on the Coogee water front – still plenty warm enough in the afternoon for kids to be playing on the beach in the sand. We then headed back to Balmain so I could catch the NZ v SA rugby test with friends in our local The London Hotel (we live 160 paces from it, I counted!) – NZ lost that one in the dying minutes having beaten SA convincingly last weekend. Looks like the tri-nations is to be a close fought competition this year which makes it all the more exciting Aussie are yet to kick their campaign off and do so against SA this weekend! Mel and I have tickets to the NZ v Aus match in Sydney on 26th July - cant wait for my first live test back in the southern hemisphere!
Cheers
Tim
Tuesday, 15 July 2008
Wednesday, 9 July 2008
Bridge climb, Sydney
I was lucky enough to be given a voucher for a bridge climb from my colleagues at Yahoo! in London as a farewell gift (thanks guys) and decided to use Mel and I's 1st wedding anniversary as a good excuse to use it.
After playing touch rugby on Sunday morning as usual we enjoyed brunch at a cafe in Balmain then headed for the bridge climb which is situated in The Rocks area of Sydney - obviously close to the bridge on the southern side. When you look up from ground level you get one sense of how big the bridge is but when you are 134 metres up on it's central highest point the feeling is quite different - you start the climb through all the steel (you can chose to climb over the top but we preferred to get in and around the 53, 000 tonnes of steel) there is an initial shock for most I think as even though the harnesses are very safe it's still like walking with only a few millimeters of grilled steel between you and the water well beneath.
Our guide/photographer was of the humorous type which put everyone at ease and within 45 mins or so of climbing we made it to the top. It was a fantastic way to celebrate our first year of marriage and something I will never forget. No anniversary could go by without a beverage of the alcoholic kind and we enjoyed this at the Harbour View Hotel in The Rocks.
Thanks again to the C&C crew at Yahoo! London and to Mel for agreeing to come along for the climb!
Tim
After playing touch rugby on Sunday morning as usual we enjoyed brunch at a cafe in Balmain then headed for the bridge climb which is situated in The Rocks area of Sydney - obviously close to the bridge on the southern side. When you look up from ground level you get one sense of how big the bridge is but when you are 134 metres up on it's central highest point the feeling is quite different - you start the climb through all the steel (you can chose to climb over the top but we preferred to get in and around the 53, 000 tonnes of steel) there is an initial shock for most I think as even though the harnesses are very safe it's still like walking with only a few millimeters of grilled steel between you and the water well beneath.
Our guide/photographer was of the humorous type which put everyone at ease and within 45 mins or so of climbing we made it to the top. It was a fantastic way to celebrate our first year of marriage and something I will never forget. No anniversary could go by without a beverage of the alcoholic kind and we enjoyed this at the Harbour View Hotel in The Rocks.
Thanks again to the C&C crew at Yahoo! London and to Mel for agreeing to come along for the climb!
Tim
Wednesday, 2 July 2008
Melbourne for the weekend
Last weekend Mel and I headed for Melbourne, we had heard a lot about it and I were actually worried we would prefer it to Sydney. While it was great to catch up with friends it did not appear to have the vibrancy and huge choice of events going on that Sydney does. What we did enjoy was the cafe culture, even though we are not big coffee drinkers it's nice to see people sitting out on the cobbled streets enjoying a non-alcoholic drink and a chat - it creates a vibe in itself and reminds you it's not always necessary to enjoy time with friends only in a pub!
A trip up the world’s second tallest residential building the Eureka Tower was one highlight not to be forgotten - 300 metres tall with 92 storeys! You get a great view of all the main city attractions including the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground) and Telstra Stadium. The lift is the fastest in the southern hemisphere and travels at 9 metres per second.
Hosier Lane was another highlight, the photo on this post is taken here where artists are encouraged to express their creativity on the walls! Some great art work which I imagine is forever changing - not to be missed.
The NGV (National Gallery of Victoria) was also great, lots of local aboriginal art on display that reminds you just how creative and talented the indigenous people of Australia are. Photos from the NGV are on my Flickr account.
I would say Melbourne is a great cultural experience and definitely worth the trip but in terms of living Mel and I will stick with Sydney for now anyway. I just love catching a ferry to work everyday now we are settled in our house in Balmain - photos of that to come soon!
Cheers
Tim
A trip up the world’s second tallest residential building the Eureka Tower was one highlight not to be forgotten - 300 metres tall with 92 storeys! You get a great view of all the main city attractions including the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground) and Telstra Stadium. The lift is the fastest in the southern hemisphere and travels at 9 metres per second.
Hosier Lane was another highlight, the photo on this post is taken here where artists are encouraged to express their creativity on the walls! Some great art work which I imagine is forever changing - not to be missed.
The NGV (National Gallery of Victoria) was also great, lots of local aboriginal art on display that reminds you just how creative and talented the indigenous people of Australia are. Photos from the NGV are on my Flickr account.
I would say Melbourne is a great cultural experience and definitely worth the trip but in terms of living Mel and I will stick with Sydney for now anyway. I just love catching a ferry to work everyday now we are settled in our house in Balmain - photos of that to come soon!
Cheers
Tim
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