Coogee to Bondi

It's time to start exploring now that we have finally moved into our place and got a majority of the major tasks settled. It was a really nice day out, so we decided to take the bus down to Coogee Beach and walk to Bondi Beach.

This is roughly a 4km walk consisting of a bunch of stairs, hills, curves and amazing views. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.


Fresh off the bus at Coogee Beach.



Cat gets a bit adventurous.



Looking back at Coogee Beach.



Boat parking lot :)



Of course, Ron has to walk to the edge of the 300 ft cliff to take a picture.



The end of the walk is near as we look upon Bondi Beach.

Working out Sydney style

So as most of you know, I like to go the gym every now and then. The first two weeks we arrived in Sydney we stayed at the York Apartments. Naturally the first thing I do upon arriving at a new place is go check out the gym.

First off I am excited that they even have a gym. But my hopes die down quickly as I go check the place out. The only thing in the "gym" is a rusty universal piece of equipment. Lucky for me I had a similar piece of equipment in my garage growing up. Awww the memories. This archaic universal gym will only do so much. So the search for my new gym begins.

I should add a bit a background to this story. In the U.S. I belong to 24 Fitness and was able to secure a ridiculous rate of $4 a month. Now I know this is an absurd price but I paid three years in advance to get this rate for the rest of my life.

Fast forward back to my gym search in Sydney. I find out that my work give a discount on gym memberships to a place called Fitness First. The price, wait for it ......... $90 a month. Thank you Australia for another overpriced luxury that I can't live with out.

So I naturally join the gym and the place is very nice. Some differences that were a bit of a shock are having weights measured in kilos not pounds. However the major difference is the music that is played in the gym. The song list can go from Michael Jackson to Daft Punk to Beyonce to some random 80's person I have never heard of. Definitely more unique then the U.S.

Anyways Cat and I miss everyone. Hope some of you can make it over to visit.

Oh and the views from the gym aren't to bad :)

Sorry! We've moved!

First off, I would like to apologize for not posting anything in a while. We moved into our new house a week ago and just received internet access late last night. Mind you, we signed up for internet (Telstra BigPond) over a week prior to moving. It took a little over 2 weeks for them to send us the equipment box. We had to install ourselves. That just gives you a little idea as to the speed of work here in Sydney.

What should I blog about today? House hunting maybe? We really had no idea which suburb to live in. The City was out of the question because of Cloud. Hardly any apartment buildings allow pets, even the amazing beagle who never barks. Our relocation specialist, Lynda, showed us a few places in different neighborhoods based on our survey that we filled out. The main criteria for us was convenience to the City, location near a park (for Cloudy), easy access to shops and close to the beach and pubs if possible.

The first couple places Lynda showed us were shit holes. And I mean complete SHIT HOLES. One terrace (townhouse) was dirt covered, rusted, and the previous tenants ran a whore house (at least according to the agent!). Even worse was the terrace next door. It looked and probably was a drug dealer home, rat infested, dirty hippie clothes hung on a line and pretty much just a shit hole. I for one, did not feel comfortable living next door to that, even if the actual rental property was a gem.

The next few were a little better but not by much. We were pretty disheartened and jumped on a one bedroom house in Paddington. Paddington is a very chic neighborhood with good shopping and cafes. Too bad the house was in an alley, the front porch was falling apart, the backyard an overgrown jungle and the bedroom smelled like damp mold. We went so far as to put in a deposit. The next day, Lynda told us about a 2 bedroom terrace in Edgecliff that was just released. She arranged it with the agent that if we liked the place, it would be ours. We decided to pull out of the alley house and take a chance on the terrace. If we didn't like it, we would keep searching by ourselves.

We got up early on a Saturday and went to the "viewing". I put quotes around viewing because it is literally a 10-15 minute window of time where people can view the property. The agents have it pretty easy here. So easy that the agent forgot to show up. There were 10 other people waiting in the cold with us. I was able to arrange a private viewing for the following Monday. The terrace was the best property we had seen so far. It looked nice from the front, good space, nice kitchen, a street from Edgecliff Station (train/grocery shops) and less than a minute walk to Trumper Park. All we need now is Cloud to make it a home.

We even met our neighbors, Melody and Hugh, the other night. Mel and I were taking the trash out at the same time and she invited us over for a drink. We got on really well, similar age and interests. Hugh is into sports and going to the pub, not too difficult to get along with. Mel and I actually went shopping earlier in the day. She showed me a few shops in Bondi Junction that I didn't know about. I purchased a trash can for $10 ($22 at Target and $18 at K-Mart), a few couch pillows and a pie dish. If you're lucky, I'll make you a pie when you come visit.