I arrived in Sydney less than a week ago, and I'm already feeling at home. Here are a few of the things I'm loving:
Beaches, beaches, beaches: For the first few weeks of my stay, I’m living a couple of blocks from the Coastal Walk—right near Bronte Beach. So I have a choice of exercise routes (and swimming spots): north to Bondi, or south to Clovelly and Coogee.
Birds, birds, birds: I’m seeing and hearing all kinds of stunning birds and bird songs. There are ibises at the beach and in the local parks, and I’ve seen magpies, lorikeets, a currawong and a noisy miner in the trees outside my window. I have a lot of new birds to learn about!
Brekkie all day: All-day breakfast is a thing here—which made me, after a 15-hour flight, very happy. I walked into Bondi in the early afternoon and found a sidewalk café where I ordered poached eggs on sourdough with avo on the side. Yum!
Sydneysiders are polite and helpful. They actually stand back from the doors of trains and buses to let people off, before boarding. And when they see a middle-aged woman with a suitcase looking back and forth between her phone and street signs, they come up and ask if she needs help!
… and I love the way Australians shorten words—often ending them in “o”: Tamarama is “Tamo”; a lawn bowling club is a “bowlo”; vegetarians are “veggos”; Paddington is “Paddo.” (Exception: Firefighters are “fireys.”)
