Friday, 24 October 2008

Sydney-sider


So since moving to Sydney I decided to start a blog per request of EVERYONE! So to give you an idea of how life in Sydney is, I have outlined our day giving you highlights of things unique to Australia.

First, Stan walks outside of our front door and goes about a half a block to the ferry dock which takes him to Darling Harbor. He rides it for about 20 minutes and on nice days stands right in the front where the water can spray on his face. (Note: a ferry in Australia is a big Speed Boat in the US). Darling Harbor is my favorite harbor so far. It is in the center of a classy line of restaurants with flags and perfectly manicured plants. There is an I-MAX at the end of the harbor with a miniature train that shuffles people back and fourth from the nearby zoo. Stan gets off the ferry here and walks a block or so to work. He is working for Price Waterhouse Coopers as a Senior Consultant in strategy and thus far loves his work and team. The hours are not bad. He is home for dinner every night except Thursdays when he works late...this is so he can come home early on Fridays! In addition, his clients have all been in the city of Sydney so he hasn't had to travel.

As for me, our apartment has no furniture and won't until January (it is on a boat being shipped). So I spend most of my days at the park (near the dock), at the beach (by the dock) or at the swimming pool in our complex. I discovered a walking path this morning while I went for a run that outlines the perimeter of our peninsula. It goes right along the water and on the other side there is a golf course. It was breathtaking and for the first time since being here, I wished there was someone I could share it with. The community is well kept and there were signs all along this path explaining various flora and fauna that is local to the area. Off in the distance you could see the city buildings poking out of the water. They were all covered in fog so they seemed further than they really were. There were matching lamp posts along this walk way and there were probably 20+ people I passed also out for a morning stroll. On my way back I could see and hear the fish jumping out of the water, it was like they were doing tricks just to tease anyone who loves to fish.

My favorite part about the water here in Sydney are the boats that are anchored all over (in the middle of the water). Instead of building docks, it is a Aussie tradition to row out to your boat in a smaller two man row boat...it is quite charming!

Note: the following pictures are of the park we play at and the animals we see everyday! The pelican is always by the docks, so we see him often while at the beach. Olivia is holding a Jelly fish on a stick. I am glad she didn't pick it up, since she thought it was a plastic bag!