And Another Week Bites the Dust

I cannot believe that yet another week has passed.  It turns out that I was worrying about filling my winter break with fun things for nothing.  When I first finished class, the prospect of a month and a half with nothing to do seemed daunting.  As it turns out, it is quite easy to fill in Sydney.  Since last Sunday, when I was in Katoomba.  Here is what I did:

Tuesday:

I went for a haircut.  I went to this really cute little place in Newtown called A+H Salon.  I really loved the vibes that they had in the Salon because it was a very Instagram-worthy space with big windows and somewhat-rustic decor.  It looked like it could have come out of some hipster catalogue.  They also offered me coffee and my hairdresser was so nice.  I chickened out of getting a "lob", which would have been shoulder length.  I still got about three inches off though, a baby step toward something shorter.  Anyway, after the haircut, I was feel that extra confidence that only a salon day can give you, and decided that my new haircut was too beautiful to deny the world.  So I went for a walk about the Royal Botanic Gardens. This winter they have a flower display at the Calyx.  It was a beautiful display with a wall of ferns, planters of daisies, orchids, and peonies.

This is what they call the Calyx

From there I kept walking around the Gardens and up toward Mrs. Macquarie point.  It seems to have become my life's mission to capture every possible angle of the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge, so here is another one:

It was a gorgeous day for a wander about the Gardens, so I stayed for another hour or two before heading home.  

Wednesday: 

Well, honestly Wednesday was a bit of a boring day.  I did laundry, which I was putting off for too long.  And I cleaned my room.  And I did some cooking.  I made some really nice brussel sprouts with bacon and a sweet potato, kale and onion mixture, which was tasty.  Those were just about the only productive things that I got up to.

Thursday:

I went back to Watson's Bay in the day time.  It is a much different view compared with the last time I was there for the night walk. It is quickly becoming one of my favourite areas to be in, and is especially great for a picnic.  This time, I brought a donut from Doughnut Time, which is a popular chain here.  I took my little box with my "Life on Mars" donut (you guessed it - caramel and mars bar pieces on top) and went to the Dudley Page Reserve to watch the sunset.  If you ask me, it is one of the best places to see the sunset because you can look out over the Sydney skyline. 

Of course, another picture of Harbour Bridge

 Friday:

I ran several errands on Friday and also went shopping.  I went to the Strand Arcade and walked around the multiple shops in that area.  It is a huge mall inside of a bunch of old buildings.  I also went to the Queen Victoria Building, which is another old building turned mall.  I could not afford anything in the shops housed within, but it was well worth a little walk through.  Check it out:

                               

 

There were also a couple of window displays about the history of the building and other interesting facts about Sydney, which made it feel like a mini museum.  My favourite thing was there was an envelope addressed to the mayor of Sydney written by the Queen that is to be opened in 2085.  It is a mystery what she wants to tell the citizens of Sydney so far in the future, but I am so curious.

Saturday:

I had a little party with a few friends in the communal kitchen at my residence.  The same friends that I went to try hot pot with for the first time, wanted to teach me how easy and cheap hot pot is to make at home so that is what we did.  We met in Chinatown at Market City to shop for vegetables, noodles, and meat to put into the hot pot as well as broth and dipping sauces.  As my Mandarin is at the extreme beginner level, I couldn't read any of the labels, and am not entirely sure we put in the hot pot.  But, everything was so good!  Plus, there were a ton of leftovers which they left for me because hot pot is quite hard to transport.  

Zhouya, Christine and me

We had a whole other pot on the stove too.

Here's a funny tidbit: I realized on our way back to the residence that we needed chopsticks.  My friends both just assumed that I had them, because it is just a given that they have some at their houses.  So I suggested we ask a restaurant in Newtown if we could buy some.  We went into the Dumpling Hut, because there were chopsticks on the the sign.  The two people working there gave us the weirdest, most confused looks for asking just for chopsticks, but they were very kind to give us each a pair.

Sunday:

I went on another trip with Elsa.   This time we went to the coast, Bondi Beach to be exact.  I have been to the area several times, and was shocked to find out that Elsa has been living in Sydney for nearly four months and still hadn't been to a beach.  We went for lunch at a really cool place with great food called the Panama House.  I had fajitas with a homemade lemonade.  The lemonade tasted more like rose water than lemonade, but was still refreshing.  But, the fajitas were spectacular with chicken and shredded beef, coleslaw, mushrooms, pico de gallo, guacamole and sour cream.  They were build your own and I could not get enough.  Take a look:

Bellies happy, we made our way to Bondi.  Though it was a little cool (it is winter after all), the sun was still shining high in the sky and made the water look really blue.  The waves were also huge.  There were so many surfers in the area and they are so cool to watch.

We walked around the bay to get a better view out to the ocean and watched the sky go pink as the sun set.  Many people were sitting on the rocks edge, beyond the hand rails, and Elsa braved the other side to take some cool pictures off the edge.  But, I was not so brave.  The water had carved into the rock underneath where they were sitting.  Though many people have tested the rock's strength, I was not about to be there the one day that the rock gives way.  I am working pretty hard at staying alive on this deadly continent.  Only kidding. But, I can be clumsy at times so I thought it would be best if I was cautious.  We also walked by the boat hire area, which was very scenic.

There is now a ferris wheel and a skating rink at Bondi.  But, they are quite popular and crowded, so we did not stop.  We took the bus back.  The Bondi area never disappoints and even though the sun goes down so early now (about 5pm), the sunsets have been spectacular.

So that was what I did last week.  If you're wondering what I am going to do this week, so am I! I don't plan very far in advance.  I usually just see what I feel like when I wake up.  Let's see!