diffusions

After feeling like crap for the last few weeks, I was finally feeling well enough to go the zoo. I know what you are thinking, I’m just trying to compete with Jody for attention, but please trust that I was really sick. Happens every time I come to Sydney.

Well, I braved the great unwashed masses and managed to take some pictures before my camera started telling me that my SD card needed formatting. Lucky for you, this reduced the number of photos I was able to take. Luckily for Jody, it meant less time waiting for me to get the picture I wanted. I never realised how much time I spent dicking around when taking photos. Incidentially, if you ever have a memory card issue, and you fear that you have lost your pictures – don’t worry and try the free and excellent Photorec software.

I managed to get some nice pictures of the baby elephants, chimpanzee and gorillas.

We are staying just a few minutes walk from Coogee. It is a pretty beachside suburb with a strong sense of community. It is also quite old and is blessed with some outstanding buildings from a variety of different architectural styles. I aim to get some more photos in the days ahead.

While it is a photogenic village, it has had it’s fair share of crazy. Building an English-style entertainment pier that only lasts 6 years before it is ruined by rough surf might sound mad, but that’s nothing. In 1935, a severed arm was regurgitated by a tiger shark kept by the local aquarium. The arm belonged to one James Smith. The rest of him was never found.

Some people might also remember what the media called Our Lady of the Holy Post. Apparently, a local noticed that a fence post on Dolphin Point looked like The Blessed Virgin. It was damaged by vandals days later, but it is still revered as a shrine even though Council has replaced the fence post. I’m pretty sure that if it happened today, that post would be on eBay in about 4 hours.

The weather changed for the better on the weekend. We decided to make the most of it and take a stroll from Coogee to Bondi. Its a nice walk, no where near as hard as everyone told us it would be. It is a 6km long walk, however, and you need a moderate fitness level to make it there and back in around 3 or 4 or so hours, including lunch. I’m at my least fit ever and certainly didn’t need to push myself. My feet and legs were tired when I got home.

The walk is a very scenic one and I managed to snap a few shots. You can see them here, if you are interested:

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A couple of other observations:

• I saw at least 7 ‘I ♥ NYC’ shirts on just on Saturday – WTF?
• I saw Todd Sampson and his family at Bondi – It appears his persona on The Gruen Transfer is genuine as he was wearing a navy blue T with Fuck ‘Em screen printed on it. Awesome.

Days 2 and 3 are done and dusted. We’ve settled into our little apartment and things are good. We’ve got everything we need for an extended stay, but it must be said that the bathroom is comedically small. I have to sit at about 45° when using the toilet otherwise I’ll knock the sink off of the wall! It’s interesting being able to rest my chin on the sink when taking care of the morning ablutions.

Locationwise, we are very well situated. We are just 3 mins slow walk to the hospital, directly across the road from a NightOwl and a brisk walk to the beach.

We are right in the corner of an interesting 5 way intersection. It must be very confusing as horns are always going day and night. I’ve never heard anything like it except in Vietnam. There are plenty of Asians in the area, but they can’t be the ones causing all of the horn work.

We strolled down to Coogee beach today. Very choppy. I was keen to take some photos, but I must have left my tripod at home. I’ll get properly motivated later and try and get some nice shots. I have been motivationally challenged due to having a Cold. Sore throat, ticklely ears and headaches, oh boy!

While down at the beach, two “gentlemen” were having a lively debate about money. Apparently one of them spent all of their combined money on prostitutes. Judging by their demeanor, a not so small chunk was also spent on beer. The aggrieved party wanted his mate to call the police and have them visit every prostitute in Coogee(!) to get his money back. Must have been one hell of a bender. Charlie Sheen would be proud.

Randwick is blessed with many, many restaurants. While not planning to eat out that often, I’ll post some mini reviews. I’ll knock one up for Arthur’s Pizza later.