Weekend Walking Warrior

So, I spent my first weekend walking, walking and more walking! I've never walked so much! Well, first things first though.. on Friday, I drank!

On Friday after work I met up with Bel, Rich and their friend Rick for a pint at the pub. This particular pub was part of a restaurant in Harbourd - a little suburb of Sydney. It's a great little pub with Rugby playing on every television. I got a quick rugby lesson from Rick - I think I am starting to understand. It's pretty much all that's on television right now. There is some big tourney going on and everyone is completely into it. Pretty fun!

Saturday started my walk-fest. I started it with run along the beach first thing in the morning. Then I decided to make it a Manly day. I walked around the entire town from start to finish exploring all the little back roads. There is a little open air market on Saturdays and Sundays so I made the rounds looking at all the local goodies. I managed to waste an entire day just milling around and walking up and down the beaches. I was biding my time because I knew Bel and Rich had planned a big evening for us! Partly in honor of my arrival and partly because the Aussies will look for any reason to have a party - Bel and Rich held a "Christmas in July/4th of July/Thanksgiving" dinner party for about 12 people! They prepared an entire Thanksgiving dinner including turkey (which was no small feat since turkey isn't a big dish here - thanks to Dennis who hunted two down for them) & gravy, stuffing, sweet potatoes with pecans, candied carrots, sesame asparagus, dinner rolls and for dessert - creme brulee! It was amazing! They got all the recipes from Jackie Chattham (NRS peep from the States) to ensure authenticity! Since Thanksgiving isn't celebrated in Australia, everyone kept asking me if the meal was accurate and if they had all the details right. It was perfect! I think we must have gone through 8 or 9 bottles of wine by the end of the night. It was a blast! We all gave thanks for a great meal with good wine and good friends!

Sunday I slept in (hmmm, wonder why?). It was a beautiful day so I decided to start on my great 'To Do' list which everyone in the office was so kind as to help me put together on Friday. First to be checked off the list? Taking the Manly ferry into Sydney for a walk around "The Rocks". The Rocks is an cute little area in the Circular Quay (pronounced Key) where Australia pretty much got started. This is the area where all the prisoners were dropped off when it was a penal colony. Now, it's a shopping mecca with dozens of cafes, coffee shops and open markets mixed in. I spent all day walking around here until my feet were aching and decided to head back. I took the ferry back to Manly and sat on the beach for a while longer. It's so pretty I've made a point to walk the distance at least once a day. I am guessing the whole stretch is maybe 2 miles there and back.

That was pretty much my first weekend in a nutshell. I am getting ready to head off to my first program next week in Melbourne. I know there is some good dancing there so I'll keep you posted on that. Stay tuned for more adventures!

Cheers!
B.