Australia Day 1: Opera House and a Death Stroll Along the Coast

And now we can start with the actual trip. After peeling the Breathe-Right strip from my nose it was time for some sight-seeing. The first stop: obviously the place closest to us, the Sydney Opera House. We must've got there early since it really wasn't as crowded as a place of that size should've been. We got to roam the outside of the opera house while taking pictures and searching for that one perfect spot. You know the one. It's on all the postcards. You know, with the steps and the entire Opera House front. Well, we couldn't find it. Or at least I couldn't find it (if either of you two did, please post the picture so I don't just sound like a crazy person believing that such a thing exists). But I did get these pictures, so that's just as good.

 Today would also mark the first time on the trip that an old Chinese woman would randomly start speaking to me in Chinese (it's always the older women, no idea why). I'm not sure why it happens, but it does. I just nodded along and smiled and then she walked away.

Then we went to eat! Luckily, the Opera House has its own Opera Kitchen.

 

(thanks Taryn for all three of those pictures) I'm not sure what all the foods were, but it was good. I did feel tricked at first when I got the salmon roll with chips because I actually got chips (expecting fries) ... until I ate them. Crunchy, kettle-cooked style. So that made everything ok again. But outdoor food leads to seagulls. Fucking seagulls. Once the table next to us emptied, they swarmed the plates like piranha at a special olympics swim meet. (side note: it's really hard to write the horrible, heartless jokes like that one with Apink playing). We even needed to bat away a couple the found their way to our table.

But that's enough of the Opera House because now it was time to meet up with Ben and Ai at the famous Bondi Beach. A day before we left for Australia, I suggested that Ben and Aurora get in touch with each other since they were the ones doing most of the planning (and that concludes all the planning I contributed to the trip). One bus ride later (and coincidentally running into both Ben and Ai on the bus) we were at Bondi Beach. Is it sad to say that though I live in Hawaii, this was probably is the first time I've visited the beach in years? The sand was super soft but there was no way I was going in the water. Though it's an Australian winter, it's still winter. And still cold enough to keep our jackets and shoes on while we walked the beach, even though it meant dumping sand from our shoes whenever we could.

Ai's camera. Photographer: Unknown

Ben's camera. Photographer: Unknown

Thanks again Taryn for the pic... and whoever that guy was that took it

Ben had suggested we go on the half-hour coastal walk (which links two beaches together), which I guess is a pretty popular thing to do since we saw a lot of people along the way. It took me a while to realize many of them were dressed in jogging shorts and tank tops. Work-out clothes. We were just in our regular clothes of jeans, jackets and backpacks. And so we trudged along the trail, all the while spurred on by Ben's encouraging words/outright lies, "We're almost there. Just another 15 minutes" and "The end is just over there." I was reminded of the stereotype that everything in Australia is deadly and this apparently applies to their tourist traps as well. There was even a graveyard near the end (that's not foreboding at all). And so three hours, two beaches, and one long flight of stairs later, we finally finished.

"How 'bout some fish and chips. Bitches."

To apologize for his huge miscalculation of time (because 3 hours isn't even close to the half hour he promised even if you try rounding up), Ben treated us to some chips, where I discovered the greatest thing Australia has to offer (at least in the top 5): Chicken Salt! Yeah, I'm not joking. Imagine the "Chicken in a Biskit" flavoring put into a salt shaker that you can sprinkle onto anything, magically making it taste just like "Chicken in a Biskit." I know I've probably already told everyone back home how great this stuff is and all you guys do is look at me with that puzzled look but I'm not joking. Another thing I'm disappointed in myself for not bringing back home.

Another bus ride later and we found ourselves back in the city at the Pitt Street Mall (at least that's what I remember it being called ... I'm too lazy right now to google it). Literally a huge shopping area bordering a street. A whole street. Honestly, besides that, I don't quite remember anything else from that night. I don't remember what we ate. I think the only thing I remember after that was catching the free bus back to the hostel and passing out. I know that seems like an anti-climactic way to end a post about such a fun-filled day, but seriously, I can't remember. Maybe I didn't write this soon enough and now the memory's gone. I'll try to get the rest written up before my memories are wiped clean.