Australia. The land down under. G’day mate. ‘Strayl-ya. Etc etc.

My latest adventure takes me to Australia for two weeks. This trip began with, literally, no plans at all. I booked a hotel in Sydney with my Chase Rewards points for the first two nights so that I had a place to go rest after the long flight. That was it. From there, its all on the fly.

Speaking of the trip, I started with a 5 hour flight from ATL to LAX with a brief layover that allowed time for dinner and then re-boarding. Interestingly enough, the plane from Atlanta to LAX was the same we took from LAX to Sydney. And I had the exact same seat on both. The same will be true on my return home.. if only it was a more comfortable seat.

The flight to Sydney is about 15 hours or so, if I remember correctly. Fortunately I managed to sleep for about 12 of those 15 hours.

Sydney has really great customs. Everything is automated and fairly quick. If you managed to scan your passport immediately after getting off the plane, you can be out in ~10 minutes. Of course I didn’t do that (because I didn’t know to) so it took me more like 20 minutes. Either way, not too shabby.

Off to Bondi Beach where my hotel, QT Bondi, is located.

Day 1

First, breakfast at a cafe called “Swell”. I actually ate there for every breakfast while I was in Bondi (3 total). That tends to be my approach: find something I like and keep going there. Less decisions on simple things… more energy for exploring and taking in a new place. Perhaps I’m just boring and a creature of habit? Either way.

I can recommend the Hash Stack (picture above) and the 2 Eggs any style w/ Bacon on the side. The eggs are fresh, great quality, and tasty. Portions are fantastic as well.

Generally I found Sydney to be pretty expensive. Breakfast generally ran 20-25 ASD ($14-18). I suppose that comes with the territory in being a major world city. If you go, expect to spend a good bit of cash, or to do your own cooking (still not “cheap”). Speaking of money, I also learned about “pay wave” which seems to be the default way people pay in Australia. American cards don’t support it, so we’re stuck with the chip, and with signing every receipt. Come on America!

Bondi Beach is a cool area. Everyone seems to be very fit. Lots of runners in the morning. Lots of surfers. Everyone seemed pretty happy. I suspect there’s a bit of pretension to the Bondi area for locals, but if you are looking to get out of the busy parts of Sydney and hit the beach (water still cold in Oct/Nov) I think you’d be quite happy there.

To start my first day in town, I ate and read (finished Shoe Dog by Phil Night and started Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles) and then walked the Bondi Coastal Walk.

The coastal walk is cool — it starts right at Bondi and travels along the hilly coast all the to Coogee Beach. There are a few other beaches along the way as well. Many things I read said this is the first thing to do in Bondi. I would agree — its really pretty and it was great to spend some time on my feet after spending so little that way on the flight.

I also got a massage at the Bondi Icebergs Club. Best. Massage. EVER. Fon knew what she was doing. If you are in Sydney, go.

Icebergs also has a saltwater swimming pool that sits right against the ocean. From time to time you’ll see a wave crash against the side and spray up into the pool. If you want to become a member of the club, you will need to swim 3 times per month every single month for 3 years. Fortunately, if you’d just like to go for a swim, you can do so for $7 ASD. I plan to do so when I return to Sydney at the end of the trip.

After the massage was a quick pizza dinner.

I also snagged a bottle of wine for the evening and the day following. Nothing too fancy but it was enjoyable.

QT Bondi is a great hotel and I slept like a champ there.

Day 2

I woke up early, so I got out for a run of about 6.5 miles. Running is always a good way to get out and see parts of a city / area that you wouldn’t take the time to intentionally visit otherwise.

A bit after the run, Chinedu — who you may remember from last year’s trip to Japan — arrived. We got breakfast and then went for a stroll to see the sites. We walked a LOT. My total for the day according to Apple was

Behold a random smattering of pictures that have little in common other than I took them.

We hit the big famous sites — the Sydney harbor bridge and the Opera House. Cool to see. Nothing worth making a trip around the world for. If you visit Australia, go see the real stuff! And stop by the center of the city for a few minutes so you can say you did. That’s what I did.

Finally, I’ll be notifying Chick-fil-A’s lawyers about this one.

Since I am writing from the future, I can tell you that the next report will be from Canberra. Cheers!