Beach Blonde

Spelling errors abound!

Ok, not really - that's how they spell enroll here.

Since arriving in Sydney, I had heard from numerous people just how incredible the Eastern beaches were. Obstinately not wanting to believe them, I had to see these incredible beaches for myself.

Now, you are probably thinking to yourself, 'But Carson, you have to keep up your incredible golden tan! I'm surprised you didn't head out to the beaches sooner!' Well, I was just as surprised as you were.

Anyway, one of the most popular beaches outside of Sydney is Bondi Beach. Be sure you pronounce it 'bond-eye' and not 'bond-ee' - the latter will result in mocking the likes of which you have never before witnessed.

I took a quick 10-minute train ride (much better than my previous experience of 4 hours each way to the caves) out to Bondi Junction, the train stop about 2 miles from the beach. Rather than take the bus, I wanted to get a sense for what Bondi was like, so I decided to walk to the beach. In general, the atmosphere feels very Santa Cruz-ish. One thing I noticed is that in Central Sydney there are no dogs whatsoever. Here, many more people had dogs - fat dogs, skinny dogs, dogs who climb on rocks.

The streets of Bondi just before getting to the beach.

I had to take a picture of these trash cans because
they were Google colors. They were just at
someone's house. Don't worry - I resisted
the urge to arrange them in the order of the

logo colors.

I stopped for lunch at a tasty cafe a short way from the beach. Considering I hadn't eaten since the evening before, I was famished. Chicken schnitzel sounded good. Apparently it came with cheese and sauce too. Yum.

Reluctantly, the waiter came over (this was not a fancy place - he needed to be hailed). I informed him of my schnitzel decision (he had to stare at the massive menu on the wall behind me before he wrote it down - apparently people make up dishes from time to time, and he needed to be sure), and he asked if I wanted the combo...

Me: What's in the combo?

Balki Bartokomous: Spa-gett.

Me: I'm sorry, what?

Balki: Spa-gett...you know spa-gett?

Me: *thinking furiously* Let's see, spa-gett...could it be tiny spaghetti? Man, who has time to cut that all up anyway? And how well would that go with schnitzel? Sounds like a mess.

Balki: You want spa-gett?

Me: Um, no thanks - I'll pass. Just the schnitzel.

In hindsight, I'm rather glad I passed. After receiving a heaping bowl of potato wedges (common bar food around here, and delicious), and a salad I didn't even know was included in my order, I was given my schnitzel - which appeared to be at least 2 square feet of pressed chicken drenched in tomato sauce and melted cheese. You could hear my arteries screaming over the crowd in the cafe.

Eh, I ate it all anyway - I was walking a lot.

After lunch, I walked along the beach. It really was stunning. Think Venice Beach, but a little quieter on the weekend. There is a cement promenade around the whole thing, on which people run, skate, and bike. There is a designated workout area for the meatheads. And there is lots of glorious sand and wonderful surf. And some really dedicated surfers taking advantage of said surf. Bear in mind in these pictures that it was about 50 degrees and windy.

This last shot reminded me a lot of Italy, specifically

of places like Portofino or Positano.

There are other great beaches along the coast, and mostly within walking distance of one another. Needing to seriously walk off my lunch, I decided to make the trek. A fantastic paved path curves along the coastline that connects each of the beaches (Tamarama, Bronte, Coogee). For a Sunday, it really wasn't all that crowded.

The coastline path.

Throwing off the white balance in your

camera since 1983.

It was a great walk - there is a ton of natural beauty to be found in Australia.

There is also a lot of man-made beauty to be found in Australia. Case in point:

Droooooooool.

I also got a new phone. The HTC Touch Diamond. I love it.

That's about it for now. Going skiing on Thursday - stay tuned for more wacky adventures.