Australia
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The word for the day is “topless”. After
spending the morning relaxing over coffee and doing a little
grocery shopping before we head to Manley Beach. Manley is a
very popular swimming area north of Sydney Harbour. Upon our
arrival we were amazed to see several women tanning topless.
This is evidently quite the norm in Australia because Daniel
was not at all surprised. AD on the other hand was all agog.
We
enjoyed the afternoon riding on huge waves and laying about on
the beach - tops on!! AD and Daniel used their new wake boards
and dug enormous holes in the sand so they could bury
themselves. Ivor brought his water color kit and did a lovely
rendering of the seascape. Swimming in this type of surf takes
a lot of energy so we sent the dads off to get snacks. Ivor
bought fried calamari rings and chips (french fries) while as
you can imagine, TD bought cookies. It was a delicious snack
and got us all ready for more body surfing.
TD made corned beef hash for dinner and put together a batch
of cut-out cookie dough. After dinner we taught the Claydons
the game of Hearts. Poor Ivor came in late and had to start 1
point higher than me with the highest score. He got the queen
of spades, 2 hands in a row and ended the night with the high
score.
After 3 hours at the beauty shop I return
home to have TD say “I liked your hair long!”. The beauty shop
experience was amazing. First off, it cost $105.00 for a perm
and cut, which we decided we would pay to get the hair out of
my eyes by someone who Linda feels is good and who speaks
English. At the shop they begin by serving you a tray of
coffee and biscuits with a selection of magazines. Then we
discussed how I wanted my hair to look and what size rods are
used. Isabelle, my stylist was meticulous and did a great job.
They have assistants that wash, rinse and massage your scalp
which is fabulous. I am now supporting, as you can see, a very
short perm. My hair has gone from blond back to mostly silver
(white).
(by TD) While the girls were at the beauty shop, the
guys went the barber. Ivor, Daniel and AD got hair cuts. The
barber shop had 7 chairs. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so
many. AD decided on another buzz cut because of the heat. We
noticed in Cairns that most men had very short hair. Life in
Sydney evolves around the train line. (the Martin & Daniels
even take the train to school) L&I live a few blocks from a
station which makes this a very desirable location. We took a
train north to Gordon to get the hair cut and then back south
to get into the city. It’s not that the car isn’t the main
transport vehicle. It’s just often quicker to use the train
when it goes where you want to go. Parking is an issue at most
locations. The train takes care of that also. There are
frequently commuters parked as far down as L&I’s house.
After getting the haircuts, we went into the city. Darling
Harbor is one of the main entertainment sections in Sydney.
The Aquarium is one of the best in the world The focus is on
native species. There is a Great Barrier Reef pool, deep ocean
fish, penguins and seal pool. The highlight of the exhibits is
walking under the shark pool. This pool contains a number of
different species of sharks, rays (including one giant manta
ray), sea turtles and other big fish. You walk in an arced
glass tunnel while the fish swim above and around you. It was
great seeing a manta ray again.
Darling Harbor is full of restaurants, entertainment venues
for night and museums. We took lunch at one of the many food
courts which allow views of the water activity while you eat.
The girls were supposed to meet us after their appointment but
called and cancelled. We decided to take a look at the
Maritime Museum. The 2 boys were keen on touring the docked
submarine and destroyer. I think they were surprised at how
little space the sailors had to live in. Both ships had been
decommissioned and given a new life in the museum. We quickly
walked through the Museum, itself but were tired. One a day is
really enough.
Train took us back to Lindfield and home. We were tired and
hot. The temps have risen since we’d arrived in Sydney.
Everyone hopped in the pool and relaxed. I’ve been playing a
ball game with the boys. They jump off the diving board and
try and catch the throw. The pool is 9ft deep which makes it
much more fun to swim. We went to a neighborhood pizza parlor
for dinner. Everyone had a little wine and lots of laughs.
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