This is now my fifth day of living in Sydney and I am finally starting to feel like myself again. I was able to buy a portable wifi thingy that I can wear on me and use to connect to the rest of the world once again, YAY!
So what have I been up to? How much trouble have I been causing? How many more cars have I ran into?
Here we go!:)
Friday morning I woke up after having a lovely nights sleep and was excited to start my first Australian weekend. Toot toot! A friend and I took the bus downtown to do some more sightseeing and checkout some local pubs. The bus systems seem to be really easy to use which is perfect for people like me who are retarded when it comes to public transport. But everyone just sat on their phone the whole time so I fit right in.
But..seriously, what did we do before cell phones?
The first stop was this bar under a hostel advertising 3 dollar drinks. Which is absolutely UNHEARD OF! My friend enlightened me more on the Aussie culture as I people watched from the upstairs balcony. He attempted to catch me up on the sports and games I should start watching and understanding.
I still do not even understand American football!
I noticed that most of the pubs downtown have slot machines available to play. THIS IS TROUBLE!!! I told myself no gambling till I get a job because Michelle does love her slots! But the temptation was instantly lost when I went to the ladies room to find ummm, some really classy writing on the stalls??
Mexican…. Food?
I have been craving Mexican food, so we Yelped for a close place nearby that had good ratings without emptying out our pockets. Now, I understand growing up in So Cal I am a bit spoiled on the quality of Mexican food, but this… this food, was not Mexican. It was definitely more a fusion of some sort. The popping place was called El Loco so I figured we still made a good choice? The torta I ordered came on a hamburger bun with a bunch of chopped up meat in the middle. It was like a Mexican American sloppy joe with an Asian twist? It was the most confusing thing I have ever ate, but none the less, absolutely delicious 🙂 Would I ever say it was Mexican food? Hahahahahhahaah NO. But it was tasty and that’s all that matters.
McDonald’s, PUKE
My night ended sitting at McDonald’s to use their free wifi. I swear I have spent more time at McDonald’s in the past couple of days than I have in my entire existence!! The food tastes different here. Even though it tastes like crap back at home, it tastes even MORE like crap down under. I was certain that wasn’t even POSSIBLE! For 7 bucks you can get a toddler size cup of coffee and a breakfast sandwich. They have weird things on the menu like Schnitzel sandwiches (which I found out isn’t even real schnitzel it is our version of the crispy chicken sandwich) and they put BBQ sauce on their eggs! After eating at Hungry Jacks the following day and noticing they did the same, I am assuming it’s a “norm ” thing down here? BBQ sauce for breakfast?!! Unless it is actually on BBQ ‘d meat, please please don’t put it in my breakfast sandwich, my taste buds get very perplexed.
Bondi to Bronte Walk
Saturday morning I woke up feeling good again and having the urge to get some exercise. Not sure what they put in the food here but my ass is getting fat! When I mentioned this “getting fat” concern to the guy who works at the hostel, he suggested I stop eating crap. Genius. He also mentioned that there was this nice 90 minutes walk along the coast, that takes you through about 4 different beaches. I was sold instantly and headed across the street. I’ve done tons of walking in my time, but this walk was by far one of my favorites. I liked it so much I did it twice that day 🙂 .
Check out the crazy wind here.
A couple of times when admiring the view, I swear I stopped breathing and choked. Screw the spiders and bugs, so far what’s going to kill me down here are the views and the cars! Anyways, this is a must do if you visit Bondi Beach.
Click here to view the full album
Watson Bay
After our walk THIS FATTY NEEDED FOOD! My friend had been talking about taking me to this really nice seafood place for while now, so I purposefully have stayed away from it so I didn’t ruin this meal. We went to Watson’s Bay which had views of the city on one side, and views of Manly on the other. He took me to this place that apparently everyone goes to to commit suicide (He must have read my mind…just where I wanted to go before a nice dinner 😉 We got to the restaurant Doyles and got a table with a spectacular view of the city over the marina. And he was right, the food was to die for. It was probably the best piece of salmon I have ever ate.
Bavarian Bier Cafe
After dinner, I was a bit tired but forced myself to go out!! I’ve been in bed by around 8 every night since I got here, and as it being my last night in Bondi I knew I needed to man up and GET out! We went back to the hostel for me to change real quick when I noticed right away the smell of the room changed. “WE GOT A NEW ONE!!” I yelled excited for another friend! When I looked in the door I saw a tall sleeping (smelly) backpacker on one of the bunks, so we tried to be very very quite. Yeah, that didn’t work, I am a loud American helloooooo!! We woke him up and started chatting with this Bavarian and convinced him to come to the Bavarian Bier Cafe that is located oh so conveniently under the hostel.
The place was lively with German beers galore! Myself, the Bavarian, a guy from Czech, and my British friend were chatting when this annoyingly drunk American screams across the bar “You remind me of homeeeeeee” apparently cause I said bud light? Or talked loud? I don’t know. He obviously is having a bit of a rough time here, and it was about to get tougher. He was so trashed, all he kept doing was talk shit on Americans, I was like dude! You do know you are insulting our entire country right now!? At least I do not do it intentionally! I hear American backpackers put a Canadian flag on their backpack so people think they are from Canada, because EVERYBODY JUST LOVES CANADIANS!
He eventually toned it down but still managed to get more annoying. Then the bartender started getting in the mix. Everyone kept calling a guy a kiwi, I had no idea what that meant so I started saying HEY YOU CUCUMBER!! Hey you kumquat!! I now know it meant he was from New Zealand as they showed me weird pictures of kiwis and what not, but whatever, I think he looked more like a kumquat… just saying.
We all had a little bit of a dance off before the drunken American got kicked out (no not HOT MESS, the other guy) and then we were off to bed.
The Julian Wilson Spotting
Today has mostly consisted of recovering from last night with a lot of water, Pho, Fro Yo and walking around. I noticed that Julian Wilson (refer to my first post if you don’t know who he is) had JUST posted a picture from Bondi Beach!!! I knew exactly where too!!I was like omg omg omg omg, and then did nothing….yup…
I can also tell you what I DID NOT do.
I DID NOT quickly jump up and put my shoes on and race over to the beach. I DID NOT try to look to see exactly where he took that picture from just moments before. I DID NOT look at the surfers in the water and see if one had way more crazy skills than the rest. And I definitely DID NOT spend the next half hour wandering that particular Bondi area looking out for a ridiculous sexy surfer boy that I want to make babies with.
Nope, none of that happened.. Unless you saw me..then, well.. crap:)
Things I am still adjusting to:
- Cars– averaging 1 car hit a day. Hey, at least I am consistent!
- No tipping – At home we tip for everything! Here in OZ, these waitress, bartenders, are getting any where between 20 to 30 an hour, THEY DON’T NEED OUR TIP. And you notice, because they do not serve you. In most places that are not completely upscale, there is no waitress or bartender coming up to you asking you if you care for another drink. Oh no! You need to get your ass up and do it yourself.
- Being referred to as a loud american. I HAVE NO IDEA WHERE PEOPLE GET THAT 😉
- The Dogs! They are so happy and cute here. I wish I could bring Daisy. Dogs are just roaming free in the streets of Bondi, the beach, fields (very few with leashes). Every dog I see looks like they are just living the dream!!!!
I am leaving Bondi Beach to spend the next week in Manly Beach. I was so very excited I didn’t even bother matching today (wait, that’s every day?). This is the area I was hoping to reside in, as it’s supposed to be a little less backpacker-y and more Aussie. So I guess I am about to find out! Time to see how Manly Manly Beach is 🙂
<3 Hot Mess
I love reading your posts! Maybe once I get there we would meet up!
Hi that’s awesome to hear! Thank you! and most definitely 🙂 When do you arrive?
“…its supposed to be a little less backpacker-y and more Aussie…” – I’m not sure you are going to find too many ‘real’ Aussies anywhere in Sydney 😉 but I am glad you are enjoying your time so far in Australia. Yes, us Aussies love BBQ sauce – but probably not as much as Maccas and HJs think we do. Have fun, stay safe, and I look forward to reading the next instalment of your adventure.
Completely envious. Wish i had been your travel buddy.. Le sigh.. Please keep posting about your adventures/misadventures!
Thank you!!! 🙂 And I will dont worry 🙂
Loving reading about your Sydney Adventures.. Its making me miss it.
Aww Thank you! I can imagine missing this place and I just got here 🙂
I loved all of this! I laughed when you said about the barbecue sauce on eggs, what on earth else would you put on eggs? Yeah customer service in Australia can be a bit lacking in the ‘service’ part.
Anyway I am enjoying reading about the city I grew up in from your perspective.
Great photos too.
Thank you! Ya, I had no idea anyone would ever put it on eggs??? I first thought it was fluke of something I ordered, but no, everyone is doing it haha Maybe it will grow on me 🙂
Oh yeah, you need a big fry up, eggs, bacon, mushroom, tomato and toast with lots and lots of barbecue sauce. Heaven.
Hey, you have some really nice pictures in this post! Traveling is great and I’m happy to read about your experiences! Check mine out too if you would like to 😉 Take Care!