Bondi Beach

Some people wonder what I do in Australia while Zack works.  Well, sometimes I'm busy taking care of household stuff...grocery shopping, laundry, ironing, cooking, cleaning, banking, finding an apartment or items for it, etc.  Sometimes I'm busy planning our adventures and activities, such as the Yarra Valley winery tours or Zack's birthday dinner or my family's upcoming trip in November.  But most of the time, I am free to do whatever I'd like to do.  And it's glorious!  I can't remember the last time in my life when I could truly do whatever I wanted to do without feeling like I should be doing something else.  With teaching, though I loved the kids, there was always some book I should be reading, some lesson plan I should be working on, and/or some papers I should be grading.  In school, there was always some essay I should be writing, some materials I should be studying, and/or some textbook I should be reading.  Now I have the freedom to spend my days (and nights) however I choose.  So I take pictures around the city.  Or go to a Zumba class.  Or ride my bike to the market.  Or go for a run on the pier.  Or signup to volunteer with a youth foundation.  Or write a blog entry.  Or watch The View.  Or read a book for (gasp!) enjoyment.  And I don't have to feel guilty about any of it!  I'm sure I'll go crazy at some point and find/invent some sort of job for myself, but in the meanwhile, Zack is nice enough to let me have this time to learn how to enjoy life a little bit!

Anyway, when I was faced with an entire Tuesday to myself earlier this week in Sydney, and I felt I had already seen the main tourist attractions, I decided to spend the day at the beach...Bondi Beach to be precise.  Zack and I had stopped by there on Sunday to see this famous stretch of sand and watch some of the stellar surfers, but this time I went alone.  It's about a thirty minute bus ride from the city, and it's known from the TV show Bondi Rescue.  This picture shows a public pool you can use (for a price) right alongside the ocean.  Sometimes the waves even crash into the pool!

I hired (rented) a surfboard for two hours and enjoyed an afternoon in the ocean.  I didn't catch a whole lot of waves, but it was fun just being in the water.  I think that Sydney's beaches are a bit warmer (though you still need a wetsuit) and the water is a bit bluer than down in Victoria.  But, I also hear that up to 30,000 people can be at Bondi Beach on a summer day, so I can't imagine how many surfers you'd be bumping into on a day like that!  After returning my surfboard to the shop, I found a place with creme brulee flavored ice cream.  Of course I couldn't pass up a cone of that, so I bought one and brought it down to the beach to finish.  And that's how I spent my Tuesday in Sydney-not too shabby!  

Life is good!