Day 5

Seriously! There are two of the horrific birds outside that woke me up this morning. It’s like they are talking to each other. If I spoke bird I would like to tell them a thing or two. Ugh! Being that I am now up earlier than I’ve anticipated, I decided to lay in bed an update the blog, upload some pictures, check email, facebook, etc.

We’ve had another leisurely morning in Bronte, you should already know what that consists of, before both Rob and Jen head off to the school. Rob had his regular duties to do, and Jen is going to help him out with some stuff that needs to be done in the office. While they are gone, Leslie decided to go for a run in Centennial Park again while I stay behind and continue working on the blog, outlines of our days, and listing to music. The “Weekend Morning” play list on my iPhone has become quite popular over the trip and I of course never get tired listening to it.

While sitting in the kitchen in a chair that is too low for the counter (my computer needed to be plugged in), Leslie comes in the door and looks beyond exhausted. She is breathing heavy, red in the face, and is bending over panting while trying to catch her breath. She said that it is already so hot outside and it’s not even nine o’clock yet. It turned out to be a true indicator of what the weather was going to be like today. It was a scorcher!

After we each showered and got ready, it was time for us to hit the road, for the first day by ourselves. We caught a bus from outside of the apartment to Bondi Junction, where we then got on the City Rail to Martin Place. The plan today was to take the double-decker red bus tour around the city. We weren’t sure where to catch the bus, but my travel guide said that there was a tourist information booth near Martin Place where we got off of the City Rail. The plan was to stop by the booth and ask where we could get on the bus, but low and behold, the tourist booth no longer exists. As a backup, we went into The Westin that was nearby and asked the concierge. With the information we needed, we were ready to go and headed towards the direction he pointed us in.

We got on the bus at the eleventh of twenty-two stops. We decided to take the whole loop and then get off and walk through the botanical gardens, which we just quickly strolled through the other day. While on the bus, we got a good idea of some other areas of town and places that we want to go back to see. Kings Cross, the Power House Museum, the Maritime Museum, the Chinese Gardens, and the Sydney Aquarium are just a few of the stops we went by that have made the list of places to go back and explore a little further. After finishing the whole loop, and having what Leslie refers to as “Swamp Ass”, we get off the bus and make a quick stop in the business district for a bite to eat.

After finishing our quick bite and making our way to the botanical gardens, the weather takes a quick turn for the worse and looks like it is about to pour at any minute. In lieu of the gardens, we make our way to the bus stop to head back to Bronte, with a stop at a little bar in Hyde Park on the way. After our drink and a quick ride on the 378 bus back to Bronte, we’re back home for the night. The evening at home consisted of wine, snacks, conversations on the patio off of the living room, and then a shower and bed.

It was a nice slow paced and relaxing day.