Day 1 Solo in Sydney

Today is my first solo day in Sydney. It's started somewhat slowly but that's OK. Sometimes you just need to slow down the pace a bit and take stock. Once again, I am keen to maximise my time and experiences in this city as who knows if I will ever return. I seem to be having more trouble engaging with my guide book here though for some reason, but I am slowly getting some plans made and some thoughts about what I want to do, clear in my mind.

Yesterday Alan and I headed to Bondi. We took in the Bondi sunday market and made some customary purchases...a hammock amongst them...! Now we just need to find some perfectly spaced palm trees and we're all set. Bondi was not quite what I expected, although I'm not sure why...I think it was more that I'd never given much thought to what it might be like than anything else and that it was just not what I had envisioned for our sunday outing. However, we had a good day. After the shopping spree we managed to find a spot for lunch at a pavement cafe and did some people-watching (a popular sport in Bondi I'd imagine) while we grazed on lunch and contemplated our after-lunch walk along the cliff-top.

Unfortunately...or some would say fortunately...depending on your outlook, it turned out that the route of our planned walk was also that of the Sculptures by the Sea exhibition which takes place annually in November. It was PACKED with people. I was hoping for a brisk and bracing walk but we could barely manage snails pace. Ah well.. we got to look at some interesting sculptures instead. To add insult to injury though I managed to acquire a bump on the head courtesy of Alan's new giant super-dooper camera and I had to navigate the course with what felt like a mild concussion...to be honest, it's all a bit of a hazey memory now!

This morning I have been communicating with the internet. I do love how you can plan your days without leaving the hotel room. Tonight we are off to the ballet...at the the Sydney Opera House - that should be very interesting, a special treat for us both. Not that either of us knows much (indeed anything) about ballet but it has to be a great thing to do here and I'm sure it will be memorable.

For the rest of the week I've booked myself for a few solo tours - an architectural walking tour of the city and a tour of the Opera House...a kind of behind the scenes look... so Wednesday is to be my day of culture. Tomorrow, I am hoping to jump on a boat and explore Manly while the sun shines.

And now...to meet my friend Kate for a cup of tea.