Bronte to Bondi

Hey guys of the world wide web, whats up?
Well we are in the months of the long weekend and public holidays. Christine was trying to get Monday off, with the Tuesday being a public holiday for ANZAC day ( Australia and New Zealand Army Corp) freeing up 4days, however was not to be.
So on Saturday we set of to do the Bronte to Bondi walk, it was such a perfect day, again. The walk was nice, and we found Bronte Beach to small, clean, and really really nice. The surf was up and the surfer dudes and dudettes were doing their thang!! cool stuff.
We made our way around north to Bondi, the most famous of all the beaches. Thankfully the day was cool and mid afternoon, so the beach wasn't as packed as it no doubt, could be. We took perch on the struggling grassy hill and ate our pre-purchased museli bars and apples for afternoon tea. A stroll up the beach and back saw us catch the bus back to Circular Quay, from there we decided to walk all the way back to Crows Nest. Over the bridge, but what a walk. Well worth it though. BEERS AND QUASDILLA's to top the night off. Such an exciting life we lead..

Sunday saw us keen as mustad at a hotdog stand to get to the Annandale markets, however after an hour travel and a quick shop for Christine to purchase some totally HOT shoes, we found the pub, which hosts the markets to be closed and barred up like a prison. Sadness was pressed upon us and we found no other solution than to burry our frowns in McDonalds. So really, we spent $20 and two hours on transport to eat at McDonalds on Parramatta Rd. huh..Oh well thats life huh, at least we were out and aboot.

Well gang this is the update from the land down under. Christine is totally into the Australian Big Brother!! oh my god, batton down the hatches people we are in for it huh.. Keep it rizzae yo'll...

Easter LONG Weekend! 4 Days Off!!!

LONG WEEKEND..WOOOOWHOOOO. Not a such a big deal for me, but for Christine the last few weeks at work have been hetic, so it was good for us to get away to the Blue Mountains.
We caught the train off to Leura about two hours away and a misley $11 ticket.

Central station was a little crazy but our train wasn't too busy. We quickly swept up the mountains and the scenery and the climate swiftly changed as the mountains rose to plateaus and mercury made its way down... I'm still a far north queenslander and it was cold for me...

We got off at Leura train station and made our way to the motel, this apparently was the last place left in the region, assertained through our relentless searching. We checked in and made our way to the palace!! This place was PLUSH, we are talking spa, gas fire place(fake mind you), self contained kitchen, cable T.V, and it was huge.. much bigger than our 'crows nest'. The biggest sell was that there was a washing machine and a dryer, this spelt opportunity, since we don't have a washing machine we took full advantage and spent the first the afternoon washing our clothes. FUN STUFF.

The next morning we sent off on our merry way to walk from our little cottage town, Leura, to the heart of the Blue Mountains Katoomba. It didn't take long before we were on the edge of cliffs staring endlessly out into the mountains. We made our way along the Cliff Walk all the way over to the Three Sisters and Echo point. The views and the track at times were both breath taking and well worth the heavy breathing, I am still confident it was just the altitude messing with our lungs!!

After taking in the sights of The Three Sisters eating Hot Cross Buns, Christines new fav. we headed up through Katoomba to Coles, there isn't much in little Leura, just cafes and awarding winning restaurants, so we took this chance to grab a steak and a fews for dinner. Then we grabbed a train back to Leura, our legs truly feeling the up and downs.

The evening chilled down to about five, so we had the fake fire bumping and the heater cranking at about 30!!! The next morning we packed up our things and made our way back down to the city.
It was such a lovely day that when we arrived, unpacked, and made our way down to Manly beach. I had been just the other day with Simon and Betty but Christine had not. A 25 minute bus ride and we were there deep into the tourist chaos that is Manly! The afternoon was cooling off and the beach itself wasn't too crazy, so perched ourselves on the concrete wall and watched the novice surfers deal with the waves. Funny stuff. Good times. Love the long weekends! Happy easter kids!!

Happy Birthday Day to YOU!!

April 12th, and its Christine's birthday. However on the particular work day she was off driving 100km north on her wrong side of the road to perform a much stressed over presentation!! All went well, with the driving as well, and we celebrated Thursday evening with a lovely meal at La Tavola italian restaurant with Simon and Betty. Betty and Simon spent two nights in our small appartment making it feel full. We did, however thoroughly enjoy their company as we have a limited number of friends, it was good to see some familar faces.

The Golden Slipper:if the shoe fits.... 8th April 06

Saturday the 8th saw us off to the 50th running of the Golden Slipper at Rosehill Gardens. For those who don't know this is a horse race and a great excuse for the ladies to get all done up in their fancy, and at times provocative dresses, and of course there is the much thought over hat. Its all about the hat. The main reason we went was because Simon and his wife Betty were down with their family, and Christine has never experienced the high dramas and fashion of race day. The weather of late has been magic and it didn't dissapoint on that day. Christine and I had no idea of what was running and what to bet on but we just followed Simon's lead and found ourselves with a small winning which was, in true gambling fashion, re-invested back into the majestic beauties.
Tickets: $60
Drinks/Food: $100
Winnings:$35
Screaming your lungs out at a horse with thousands of others: PRICELESS!!!

Driving in Sydney - Don't Forget your Puffer!

Yesterday was my first time driving in Sydney. Not only did I drive in the big city of Sydney (twice the size of T.O. and twice as many crazy drivers), but I did it on the other side of the road - the most nerve wracking experience ever! Part of my job requires travelling out to clients and doing work for them on-site. One of my clients (Sanitarium Pty Ltd - they make Weet-Bix cereal, the number 1 cereal brand in Australia!) resides on the Central Coast of NSW, about 1 1/2 hours north of Sydney. Yesterday was my first time going up there and that's when I had to drive.

Overall, the drive up there was okay. The hardest bit was getting out of the city during rush hour and onto the freeway. Once you are on the freeway, you're in the flow of traffic so it's not so bad. It's being in the city that gives you a heart attack. The first thing that freaked me out was the roundabouts. Some people think I'm a knob b/c I don't like them, but sometimes they're big and and confusing! Stuart thinks they are way better than 4 way stops, but in my opinion they're much more complicated. I have no idea who gives right-of-way when. I basically drive up, stop, and go in when I think it's right...it's not good, I know, but I don't know what else to do. I'm sure once I go through them a few more times, I'll think they're the best thing since sliced bread. That always happens...

My drive home wasn't as enjoyable as it was in the morning. The exit I was supposed to take to get home was closed so I had to take a detour. A detour in a city you hardly know = lost. And it was getting dark too when I got lost, which made it worse. As I was stopped at a roundabout, I thought it would be a good time to put on my headlights. As I flicked through the switches, I accidently high-beamed the car in front of me. Wish I knew what was coming when I did that. Buddy in the car got really pissed off at me, slammed on his brakes, through his car in park and got out to yell at me for high-beaming - right in the middle of traffic! So not only were my palms sweaty b/c I had to do a roundabout, but now I wanted to cry. After he laid into me, he took off, and I somehow found my way on the right path home. Phew! I was so happy to get home and off the roads. Hopefully next week when I do this again, I'll have a better go at it.
~Christine