Manly Beach

Considering the fact that I grew up in a Chicago suburb and went to school in rural Ohio, I find it amusing that the first time I've ever lived in a city I moved to the other side of the world to do it. That being said, my day- to- day life in Sydney is similar to what my life would be like at home. I work four days a week, on one of my days off I try to be productive (i.e. grocery shop, do laundry, clean my apartment), and then other days I enjoy going to the beach. Normally, I go to Coogee because I can catch a bus in Newtown, but last week I decided to branch out and go to Manly, the most accessible northern beach. Even though it’s accessible, it’s still quite the trek. I have to take a 30 minute bus ride or a 15 minute train ride to Circular Quay and then hop on a ferry for 30 more minutes before I actually reach my destination. All in all I do think that the Manly area is charming, but I still favor the convenience and beauty of Coogee.

On the ferry ride to Manly, Sydney's most popular northern beach.

Some people say the northern beaches are less crowded. Those people are wrong.

The further you walk down the beach, the less crowded it gets.

The pavilion area with cute surf shops and cafes.

Last week, on Tuesday night I went Hikaru, a Japanese restaurant in Newtown with three girls from work. We enjoyed the food and conversation so much we were the last ones to leave! The next night I went out to dinner with the same group that I went to the Homebake festival with, it was a sort of going away party for Jenna because she’s going home to Coff’s Harbour (a good seven hours drive up the coast from Sydney) for the holidays. We went to the very popular Bar Reggio, an Italian place in Darlinghurst. I finally had my first delicious pizza since being in Australia—those slices at the kebob stands on George Street just won’t cut it anymore. The good food and great company was a real treat because I had been cooking for myself and eating alone since Rachel went to Melbourne for the week!

Courtney, Jenna, Andrew, Me, Kylie, and Kate enjoying our dinner.

That night I was lucky enough to ride on Mrs. Claus's bus!

Then this past Saturday night Rachel, Kylie and I went to a concert at the Coogee Bay Hotel. I had been there once before, the place is absolutely massive. It has a restaurant, a sports club, a beer garden, and a dance floor which is the area they used as the concert venue. The band playing was called The Beautiful Girls, but you’d be surprised to learn it isn’t a band made up of beautiful girls! It’s actually three guys on the guitar, bass, and drums and they have kind of a alternative/reggae vibe to them. Rachel and Kylie were already fans, and after checking out two of their CDs from the library, I am too! All three of us had a blast and we hung out in the beer garden for a bit before heading back home for the night.

The three of us at The Beautiful Girls concert.

This is not technically a music video, but it is my favorite song of their called "Periscopes"

King Street

I remember when I was in high school I wrote a column on the fact that there were over 30 dry cleaners on Waukegan Road in Glenview. Well, I could write a similar article about King Street in Newtown, only I would replace the dry cleaners with Thai restaurants. Additionally, King Street is also chock full of bars, second hand shops, and alternative lifestyles (I can’t tell you how many people I see walking around with their bodies COVERED in tattoos). I really never tire of walking down the street: there are often people singing, playing instruments, or even break dancing for money, a very talented artist sells his paintings right near my bus stop, and on Saturdays there is a small market outside of the community center. My only complaint is there is always heavy traffic that makes it more difficult to take pictures of the beautiful old buildings that line the street. Below are a few of the better ones I was able to get.

This is my favorite shop to browse around in. Lots of Buddha statues, colorful lamps, decorative rugs, and antique furniture to look at.

The local movie theater. Did you know that they assign seats for the movies in Australia? So your whole group of friends will go up to the ticket booth at the same time.

The public library... where I am right now uploading these pictures. Oh how I love free wireless internet.

A little bit random, but I love the brick next to the run down yellow and pink buildings. Everything in Newtown is so old, but I think it gives it character.

Homebake

Some people might think a festival called “homebake” would be about buying and selling baked goods… those people would be wrong. It is in fact a music festival that’s been going on for fifteen years supporting all different types of bands from both Australia and New Zealand. I attended this last Saturday with my friends Kylie, Jenna, and Courtney whom I met at the races about a month ago. These festivals are so popular in Australia, it almost seems there is one happening every weekend. Homebake took place in the Domain, which is a park close to the Royal Botanical Gardens and the Art Gallery of New South Wales. There were about four stages with groups playing simultaneously resulting in more than 40 performances that day. The gates opened around 11 am; we arrived fashionably late around 12:30pm and stayed till about ten o’clock that night. I’ll admit, I only knew one band and of that one band only knew three songs that they played- but that didn’t stop me from having a good time. I really enjoyed listening to Gin Wigmore & The Cardinals, Red Riders, and my personal favorite Sia. I had a great time with the girls and really enjoyed meeting more of their friends; I definitely picked the right country to come to all by myself because they are the most warm and inviting people I’ve ever encountered in my life!

The crowd outside the main stage at 12:30pm when we arrived...

and about seven hours later... it got somewhat crowded.

Kylie wanted to make sure I was having fun the entire time. Mission accomplished!

Jenna, Courtney, Kylie and me goofing around.

We were actually very close in the crowd when Sia performed, but I thought this was a very cool pictures of her face plastered against one of the three big screens behind her. She was beyond talented and very fun to watch because she really interacted with the crowd. I googled her afterwards and it turns out she's good friends with Christina Aguilera and even wrote a few songs for her new album.

Although the ride looked fun, I wasn't sure the heat + spinning would be the best combination for my head.

Jet was probably the most main stream band at the concert, not to mention the only band I had ever heard of before. Did anyone else know that they were Australian? Because I sure didn't.

On the walk home we passed by St. Mary's Cathedral. I'm not sure if these lights are a year- round display or the church is just getting into the Christmas spirit, either way it was beautiful.

On Sunday night, Rachel and I joined Tamsin, Kat, and Adam (Kat's boyfriend who's visiting) for a moonlight movie in Centennial Park. They were playing 500 Days of Summer, which is quite fitting considering summer is just beginning in Australia...