Bondi Beach, shopping, and a new family

The day after Christmas Day is called Boxing Day and in Australia, it is traditionally a day of extensive shopping. All stores are open and offer special deals or sales, attracting thousands of people. We took a look at it, but first we went to the famous Bondi Beach. Steve and Sue had warned us that it would be busy there on Boxing Day, but also that it would be a special experience to be there on this holiday. So we decided to go there because we wanted to check out the beach anyway. The drive there also suited well for a half-day trip, because after the long Christmas Day, we slept in on Monday.

In the late morning, we took the train to Bondi Junction and from there a few minutes by bus to the beach. As soon as we got off the bus, we noticed that it was crowded. But it was a good vacation atmosphere and we strolled along the promenade before going down to the beach. There were about 2 million people there. I have never seen such a crowded beach in Australia before! It was like a package holiday in high season, and in the water, it was even worse because you couldn't go everywhere, only between the flags as usual, as the area is supervised by lifeguards. You couldn't really swim there, only stand! But the water was so cold anyway that we only went in briefly and then right back out. I didn't expect the water to be so freezing! But compared to Andi, I found it quite refreshing because it was pretty hot on the beach. We spent about 2 hours there and I started reading our New Zealand travel guide before we left. Somehow we had imagined Bondi Beach differently. With many people, but a bit prettier, with more atmosphere, music, and fun. That day, it was just an overcrowded city beach for us. But it was an experience and we were at Bondi Beach.

When we arrived back in Bondi, we ventured into a shopping center and looked around a bit. It was pretty crowded, and there were actually lines of people outside many stores, waiting to get in! I had never seen that before! The lined-up stores were mainly expensive bag, shoe, and jewelry stores, which were affordable for normal people on Boxing Day. I also noticed that about 90% of the people were Asians. I have no idea if they were locals or tourists (there are many Asians living in Australia), but it was totally unusual for us. We didn't find anything else in the center, so we got back on the train.

But we didn't go straight home, instead we got off in the city to look around a bit more. We walked from the train station to Hyde Park. It's simply a city park located next to St. Mary's Cathedral, and at the northern end, Macquarie Street (one of the oldest streets in the city) begins. In the park, there is a really nice fountain, and you have a great view of the city. After a wide avenue, you reach the ANZAC Memorial.

From Hyde Park, we then walked through the city to another train station, and in between, we looked into shops and shopping centers. Unfortunately, it was so crowded there, especially in the shopping centers, that it was unbearable, so we went home. In the underground Town Hall train station, before going down the escalators to the train tracks, we experienced something really nice. There was a violinist playing the theme song from Game of Thrones as background music, and it was so incredibly good that I couldn't move, we just stood there and listened. So beautiful! He also played other songs, and we listened to him for at least 10 minutes before we continued on. Really great, and of course, we also threw a little something into his violin case. At home, we had a cozy dinner and spent a quiet evening.

The next day, we slept in again and then drove to the doctor's office again because my eye hadn't gotten any better and the drops I had been given were always quite painful. This time, Andi and I went by train because the doctor is in Miranda next to a huge shopping center, and Sue and Steve said that we could take a look at it. The doctor (it was a different one than last time) told me that he would prescribe me different drops and I should use them again for another 3-4 days because the inflammation hadn't completely subsided yet. Hopefully, it will go away with that! In any case, the drops were already much better and didn't hurt at all, so it wasn't that bad to put them in.

The shopping center in Miranda is really huge, and if you don't know your way around, you can easily get lost or never find a spot you have chosen. Luckily, this time it wasn't as crowded as the day before, and we could comfortably search for bargains. Although we actually didn't need anything and just looked around.

When we were back in Cronulla, we packed our things because today was the day we wanted to switch families. Packing didn't take long, and because we had some time before we had to leave, we went to the beach again for a short swim. After all, we wanted to take advantage of the proximity to the beach one more time, as the next family lives a few kilometers inland. After swimming, we loaded our stuff into the car and said goodbye to Steve and Sue. It was really a wonderful time with them, they welcomed us warmly and took good care of us. You couldn't ask for anything better!

At 6 o'clock, we headed towards Gymea, the suburb where Luke and his family live. The apartment was only a 15-minute drive from Cronulla by car, so we quickly arrived. We were curious about what awaited us because Andi hadn't met Luke's family yet either. As a welcome gift, we had (once again) a bag of beer, Knoppers, Haribo Gold Bears, Pfeffernüsse, and Moser Roth chili chocolate. We also took a few cookies and brought a plate for the family.

The welcome was very warm and very tumultuous because besides Luke's father Sol and Luke's twin sister Alana, both dogs Monti and Hugo also came to the door. Monti is a schnauzer and Hugo is a schnauzer-poodle mix, and both are very cute. We were really happy to have pets again! Especially Andi distributed extensive cuddling sessions over the next few days, but I also enjoyed petting them. In addition to Sol and Alana, Hilka (Luke's mother, originally from Finland) and Luke's little brother Cameron were also there. Luke himself was not at home because he was still out with his girlfriend, but the two of them arrived 1 hour after we did. Until then, we sat comfortably in the living room, telling about our travels and getting to know our host family a little. We quickly realized that everyone was very kind and happy to have us. When Luke arrived, he showed us around the house a bit and showed us everything important. Andi and I were supposed to sleep in the office, where there used to be a guest single bed and now two mattresses on the floor for us. In the house, there's also Sol and Hilka's bedroom with a bathroom, Luke's room, Cameron's room, a bathroom, a large kitchen-living room, Alana's room with a bathroom downstairs, and a terrace with a spa. Really a big house, but then again, many people live there! Sol works at Telstra and was on vacation, Hilka works part-time and only had to work 1 day the week before New Year's Eve. Alana, just like Luke's girlfriend, is a teacher for young children and was also on vacation. Luke works as a web developer and sometimes helps out at JB Hifi, this electronic store. Cameron is still in school. So our week with the family was well-timed because everyone was at home and there was nice cooking in the evenings. Except on our arrival day, there were leftovers in the evening because over the Christmas holidays, Sol's brother and his Thai wife were there, and she cooked Thai food for the family. Since they only left the day before, there were still leftovers of chicken in peanut sauce, but it didn't matter that they were leftovers because it tasted super delicious. By the way, there was this Christmas ham again from the large leg, which further confirmed the theory that every Australian family buys such a ham at Christmas :D

The next day, we wanted to go to the city again and visit the zoo. It had been recommended to us by a few places, and the visit was supposed to be a full-day trip. From Thursday onwards, it was supposed to get very, very hot, so we wanted to take advantage of the one day when it was still a bit cooler. Our zoo experiences will be in the next post :)