This week was a good one. Over the weekend, we flew to Sydney and stayed with four friends for the City to Surf race. I wasn’t running, but it was still a fantastic weekend. We flew out of Sydney in the rain and into the warmest weather we’ve had in Melbourne since April. I did a heap of walking while we were away, and my foot stood up to it well, so I’m pretty confident about building enough strength for the Camino in October.
FRI 10.8.2024
- Today we were flying to Sydney. Our friend was flying at a similar time, so we were able to share a taxi to the airport.
- Both ours and our friend’s flight was on time.
- Another friend was driving in from country NSW and we got a surprise pickup at the airport.
- The apartment we were all staying in was fantastic with beautiful water views.
- We had time to relax and have a gin and tonic before we needed to get ready and walk to our special dinner at Bennelong. This is G’s favourite Sydney restaurant, and he was keen to get everyone along. The food was excellent and backed up with cocktails and wine. This was the first time we’d sat on the upper level, and although the room ambience was better down the bottom, the view outside and inside of the building was better.
- The view was made more spectacular by the lighting over the Harbour Bridge. Fortunately the rain didn’t start until we were inside and stopped before we left to walk home.
Sat 11.8.2024
- This morning we went to the City to Surf Expo. I’m glad we didn’t need to pick up bibs because there were big queues for that. Our friends dropped off bags and I picked up some slides to wear after my next race. Every HM I’ve done so far, I’ve had to walk home in socks because my feet kept cramping when I was finished running.
- After lunch, we went to the pub to watch the men’s marathon. We managed to get one screen reserved for the marathon and watched the whole race. We even drew in some of the diehard rugby fans to cheer the winner to a new Olympic record.
Sun 12.8.2024
- We got up at 4:15 am and watched Jess Hull get the silver medal in the 1500m.
- The sunrise this morning was stunning.
- Today was the city to surf, one of the largest fun runs in the world. They sold out this year with 90,000 entrants, although we know that at least one of those didn’t run (me). The weather was beautiful. I left just after the others and headed away from the city along the course until I got to Rose Bay. I waited there to cheer on my friends and then walked over the hill to Bondi for the finish.
- After everyone was finished, G, a friend, and I went down to the beach. The place was heaving with people up where the race was finishing, but it was not too bad on the beach. I didn’t get in the water, it was definitely not warm enough for me to swim but it is very pretty.
- We managed to get a UBER from Bondi, which was quite amazing, and we enjoyed being off our feet while passing all the people walking up to Bondi Junction to catch buses.
- The afternoon was spent hanging out. Checking out the replays of Raygun’s performance LOL and then watching the women’s marathon. It was such a great race with the sprint finish at the end.
Mon 13.8.2024
- Travel went smoothly, making this Sydney trip one of the few that did not disrupt travel plans in the last year.
- The girls came over for dinner which made for a hardish reentry, but I guess helps me get back into the cooking groove quicker?
- We watched the first episode of the final season of the Umbrella Academy.
Tues 14.8.2024
- I managed to make dinner from what we had in the freezer, pantry, and garden. This soup, if you’re curious, is a good one.
- The weather was superb today, with 22C and light winds, which is pretty good for a winter day in Melbourne.
- We had small group, with a number of people who we hadn’t seen in a few months.
WED 15.8.2024
- It was a tough day at the gym this morning … and sometimes that is good!
- Our veggie box arrived today
- We had leftovers for dinner, which made getting out this evening much easier.
- We went to see the musical E is currently working on. He did the sound design and operation. It was good to go and support E; he was really proud of his work on this one. There was even surround sound thunder that shook the seating. G and I both enjoyed the show. I’m always shocked by the quality of high school musicals.
THURS 16.8.2024
- I am doing some research for our trip to Paris and Spain, which is coming up fast now. So exciting!
- I want to eat down the pantry and freezer and clean out before we go overseas. I love pulling out what I’ve got in these and our weekly box of veggies and getting creative. We had a yummy dinner of chicken schnitzels (freezer) with roast potatoes and braised endive (used up the pine nuts and half the sultanas I had in the pantry)
Have you had a good week? I was not a performer in high school (or since). Did you do musicals or theatre at school?
Comments
13 responses to “Good Things Friday”
Wow- those photos of Sydney are stunning. Sounds like an amazing trip. And, I loved watching the marathons! Very excited that two American men finished in the top 10, and yes the ending of the women’s marathon- you don’t usually see an exciting sprint like that at the end.
To answer your question- I played in the pit orchestra for our high school musicals, and i loved it!
I can imagine it would be fun to be involved in the musicals (E did tech for all of his) but a lot of work.
Such nice views of Sydney. I hope one day I can see it in real.
Fun Fact when I was Senior in Highschool a friend and I were thinking about doing a work and travel in Australia. The plan was to work in a surf shop and fall in love with a hot guy.
Not sure what derailed this dream… probably because our friendship didn’t last…
Cleaning out the freezer is on my agenda too. I have admit I lost overview (and ours is small… only two drawers). This weekend its time for Dominican Albondegas with rice.
Looking forward to what you have planned for your trips.
Haha, that is hilarious. You could have come down to Torquay, they have a huge group of surfing shops and the Bells Classic is run there each year. Although I don’t know that there are any more hot guys there than other places.
I actually think Torquey was one of the spots we had figured. And we were gonna buy a camper bus and do those work and travel things. Maybe work at some fruit plant…
That sounds about right.
Beautiful photos of Sydney! That was my favorite place I visited when I studied abroad in Australia. It is such a picturesque city with the ocean and the bridge/opera house. Sounds like you had a very fun weekend getaway, aside from not being able to race. But I am glad your foot is feeling better/improving!
I went to a tiny K-12 school in a rural community so while we had a drama group, it was nothing like the programs at large schools! But I was in several plays!
In primary school we did musicals and it was compulosory. I was always one of the extra bodies making up the background.
What a cool building for that restaurant!! And the sunrise is stunning.
I was NOT a performer in high school at all for I was painfully shy but it probably would have benefitted me. My husband, however, is a former actor, who was in commercials, plays, small movies, series, etc. And his YouTube videos. 🙂
I was very shy too and don;t enjoy all eyes on me.
Oh, what a wonderful time in Sydney. It’s on my bucket list of places to visit. I have a friend there. We started as pen pals when we were teenagers. I have met her three times in the States so far (when she traveled) but have not been.
I have a friend who lives in Rose Bay, but I’ve never been to Australia. What a beautiful place Sydney is, and what an amazing time you had. Beautiful pictures. And that soup looks really good, I might give it a try.
I like it roasted too. The two ways here works really well.