Week 3: Bar Wanderers & Kite Fliers Unite

A beautiful Monday here in Sydney. Enjoying my “flat white” morning coffee outdoors at the café next to my apartment and doing a spectacular job at putting off my paper due Friday, if I may say so myself.

Last week, Chelsea and I made immense progress in the search for our favorite bars in Sydney. On a slow Wednesday night, in search of a quick drink and early night, we ended up staying hours past the 12AM closing time at a place called Lobo Plantation after befriending the bar manager and staff. Amusingly enough, for the first hour there we thought we were in a bar called Shady Pines that we had been looking for. “Isn’t this 156 Clarence Street?” Chelsea asked our new friend Louis having written the address down on her hand, who was also stopping by Lobo for a quick drink on his break. “Uh, no, that would be my bar, Baxter Inn... and this guy here next to us would be one of the bartenders from the actual Shady Pines. HA! Fortunately for us, we now have friends at three of the top bars in Sydney. Couldn't have planned that better if we tried.

The weekend was more wholesome and relaxing. Friday I spent the day exploring Circular Quay and walking through the Museum of Sydney – one of the smaller museums in the city that sits where the Governor’s House once was. There was a cool “Public Spaces Sydney” exhibit on site and a viewing tower (see panorama above) that sits where the  front door of the Governor's House used to be , so you can see the view of the harbor that the governors' woke up to every morning.

A big group of us in our program spent Saturday one-ferry ride away at Manly beach, jumping in the cold water for a bit and soaking up the sun. Surf camp is coming up this next weekend, so next time I visit Manly hopefully I'll have some skills to show off!! (Like you, I am also smirking at the thought... I can dream, can't I?) Sunday was then spent mostly cleaning since all of my roommates were gone on a field trip, but my friend Lea and I also stopped by the Bondi Beach “Festival of the Winds” for a bit. This annual kite festival brings people from all over Sydney to the shores to fly their own kites or see some of the massive one’s brought in for the event, like these huge not-so-beached whales pictured above.

Rounded off the night with a little Bachelor Australia premiere party. It's a horrible show, but I could stare at Tim all day so it's bearable. I mean, come on, look at him...