Monday 2nd March 2015 – Bondi Beach and a bit more shopping

Monday 2nd March 2015

Up at 8am for a nice FaceTime chat with Christopher to find out how his new job is progressing, and got updates from home. This morning there is a nice blue sky a few white clouds. We went down for breakfast, it is the normal fare. Plan today is Bondi Beach, for a chill day.

Sue borrowed a couple of towels from reception, then we headed out to catch bus 333 out to the beach. We had a bit if a hiccup when we got the bus on the wrong side of the road, went about 250 yards and finished back at Circular Quay! Walked back up to the stop on the other side of the road and after a few minutes the same bus came along and we got it!

The route out to Bondi took us past Hyde Park site of the old Marriott that now appears to be converted to condos. It was a good run out to the beach through Bondi Junction. We got off bus and walked to beach, it was cloudy but warm. I got changed in the huge free changing rooms and we walked onto the lovely soft sand.

We laid our towels out like proper tourists and had a pleasant couple of hours on the beach watching the people, paddling in the sea and walking along the sand. i didn’t bother having a swim. The water wasn’t too cold, but wasn’t as hot as Port Douglas. The waves were really powerful though and it is a great place. The sun broke through the clouds every now and again making it very warm. There is even free, council provided, free wi-fi on the sand.

Once we had had our fill of the beach life we walked up to the big cafe, where we both had a coffee and Sue and her favourite toasted banana bread. I had some carrot cake.once we had eaten we walked back up to the top, taking loads of photos as we did, then got the 333 bus to Bondi Junction. This area is one huge shopping area with a big Westfield Mall and lots of shopping streets. Our first call was the Bondi Junction Apple store for the obligatory Facebook check in.

In the mall itself we made our way to Target, where I bought some new three quarters, as my current pair are well ready for a wash. Sue a got a new long skirt. We then wandered the other shops in the huge mall. We decide that we would eat here, as the lounge food had become a bit samey. There is no shortage of places to eat – there are at least two food courts and then a ‘restaurant precinct’ which we assume is a cut above a food court.

In the precinct we were given a voucher by a girl outside a Mexican Taquenta called Guzman y Gomez. They were offering half price $5 burritos and $5 Corona beer, so we decided to give them our custom. We both had chicken burrito and a beer and shared some quesadillas – very nice they were too. Once we had eaten it was after six pm and most of the smaller shops were shut – only the anchors remained open. We went to the bus station and got the 333 along the very busy streets back to the city.

On the way back to the hotel we bought postcards then went to the lounge where the hot choice was salt and pepper calamari,so eating out was good choice. We had a drink then went down to the room for the big pack and another reasonably early night.