Weather: Changeable like my mood....

Today Sydney is doing it's best to show off several seasons as fast as it possibly can. While I was pulling on my running shoes to go for my morning walk, the sun was shining and the sky was blue, by the time I had put my earphones on, found the podcast that I wanted to listen to and hit play, it was overcast with hints of blue in between.

My living room wasn't lit up by sun but was still bright in a diffused kind of way.


So by the time I hit the street it was overcast and really blustery with winds wrapping around the Coke sign in Kings Cross with serious force.

I had my ipod playing one of my favourite podcasts - one that my friend Mike Esser produces called Alphamales - you can find it at http://www.mikeesser.podomatic.com/
Currently I'm listening to his 34th podcast and it's fantastic. It wakes me up and gets me moving and is great to listen to when I feel like a power-walk, jog or if I jump on the cross-trainer and do some cardio. His music is always a mix of current/new stuff mixed with brand new remixes of some classic house music.

The view from the stairs over Cowper Street Wharf, Woolloomoooloo.

As I round the corner overlooking the end of Woolloomooloo Bay....out into the Harbour...

Any way I would have power-walked really hard but I think I am still recovering from the flu so I just kept it to a steady easy pace. I walked down to Mrs Macquaries chair again and today the Chinese and Japanese tourists were out if force. They were having a great time - they must have been a good bunch because they were all laughing and chatting and walking arm in arm and smiling both for the camera and generally.

Seeing them really lifted my spirits; I was really grumpy this morning and seeing little old chinese ladies giggling as they walked along arm in arm like little kids was too cute not to smile at. Next time I will ask them if I can take pics...

The view just after I passed the child-like little old ladies - overcast but still lovely...

and 'la belle vue' - consistently my favourite place to stop and stare... for a moment at least. And just along from this is the city skyline rising above the Royal Botanic Gardens.

I love this view too. Some days the sun glints off the skyscrapers making the whole city look like it's made of silver... or in the afternoon, out of gold!

Today, to try and yank me out of the fudgy mood I am in, I decide to sit and meditate in a quiet place in the gardens. I quiet my ipod and just listen to the sound of the wind, the odd bit of chatter from passers-by and maybe the odd bird.

It starts well as I sit and focus on my breathing, my mind settles down and I start to let go of the thoughts that pop into my head and focus back to my breath.

And then a bird decides to sit and squawk right behind me....

'No, I release and let go.' Breathe in, breathe out.

"Squawk." Not in a loud way, just, "Squawk."

'No, I release and let go.' Breathe in, breathe out.

"Squawk."

'No, let go.' Breathe in, breathe out.

"Squawk."

'Ok now this is getting ridiculous! I am sure it will stop.'

"Squawk."

'Bloody hell.' I turn and there in the tree directly behind me is the offending bird.

"Squawk." It squawks again.

I pick up a piece of bark that surrounds the bushes; it's light but firm enough to throw. I throw it and get it near the bird but it doesn't even flinch.

"Squawk."

Now I am getting pissed off so I throw another piece and another AND another... but nothing. The bird moves an inch or maybe even less.

"Squawk."

'Bugger.' I think to myself. Then I realise that I am being bitten by a mosquito. I slam down on my leg and am left with the bloody left overs on my hand. Another bites the other leg and I slap that one away. I move away quickly wiping down any exposed skin as I go.

Initially I am pissed off that I haven't been able to continue meditating and then it hits me.

The bird and it's incessant squawking was warning me. It was like a natural alarm telling me to move because I was going to get bit.

So maybe I don't hate the bird any more - and I promise not to throw anything at it ever again!

And I promise to listen to and be conscious of what's happening on the outside as much as what's happening on the inside..

The view from the mosquito meditation seat... Today in Sydney

Bondi Beach - Icon whether you like it or not!

Now apologies for this being the day after the day after Today in Sydney...

I thought this was going to be soooooooo easy. Just a note to my self - it's not! It doesn't allow for being ill with the flu, unless I write about that or being flat after a night out.

So this is actually what happened after the morning walk I did the other day.

I went to Bondi Beach; North Bondi to be specific.

It's where the most beautiful bodies hang out - it's right in front of the North Bondi Surf Life Saving Club rooms - a surfing school is there and also an out door gym where you can train using your own body weight.

On the weekends it's where a pretty large gay crowd hang out but generally it's where if you train hard at the gym or like to look after your body, you're a surf life saver (they are normally working or training), or just like to pose or perve - you go to hang out and see and be seen.

Bondi has been called an Icon and the thing about Icons is they always have so many expectations foisted on them that it's hard to live up to all of them for every body.

For me Bondi has always been fantastic and worth it's Icon status.

I have had people usually complain about Bondi being scruffy or too large and impersonal, too commercial or just a messy mish mash of shops and bars - all of these have roots in some small truth. But if you ask the locals they love it. It has it's own vibe because it mixes the super rich with the unemployed, the glamorous gay boys with the average family, the surfies with the back-packers and people of all races and nationalities. It's a melting pot of different ingredients with a common love of the beach.

The beach itself is truly spectacular. It's huge for a start and has soft white sand that rolls into the ocean and the sand doesn't end at the high tide point. It's gentle enough to do your 'surf-life saver run and dive' without ripping your feet apart when you hit the water mark.

This is important if you like walking into or running into the water - so many other beaches around the world end up making you walk like some bizarre insect just to get into the water - the rocks always seem to start at the water's edge. And if they are sharp rocks it's even worse.

Bondi is an enormous back-drop for people to train on or beside - soft sand running is incredibly popular because the beach is about a kilometer long and there are skating ramps and a promenade in front of the beach where people walk or jog or rollerblade along.

It's also a great place to come and hang out, meet up with friends and lie in the sun.

My friends, Jonathon and Philip...

Looking down my feet toward the sea - not many people at all!

Two of my best friends Kieren and Jonathon and I met up there. I bought a steak-sandwich from the Hobbit's Cafe and Take-away (North Bondi's greatest burgers and fries- with great, friendly service) and then sat on the beach watching the passing parade of fantastic bodies.

Then after a decent amount of time, we all went and body-surfed.

Oh, did I mention Bondi has some great waves for surfing and body-surfing? Well it does.

Proper surfers surf down at South Bondi while body surfers reign at North and in the main body of the beach. We all just hang around in the water waiting for perfect waves - it's awesome!

Today the water was crystal clear. There weren't any strong rips on the beach - that's where there are sections where the tidal current is strongest and can drag you out into the bay.

If you swim between the yellow and red flags, not only have the surf life-savers made sure there are no rips there but also that section is patrolled by them to. The surf life-savers are some of the most respected people in Australian society - most of them are unpaid and voluteer their time to look out for everyone else. Remind me to get a photo... too just so you get the idea...

that was 'Today in Sydney'.

The morning walk....

Today in Sydney it is GLORIOUS! The sun is shining, there isn't a cloud in the sky and its a warm 26 degrees C or 78 degrees Fahrenheit. The sun is streaming into the bay window of my living room picking up all the textures of my silk covered chair, it's velvet covered cushion, a borrowed mother-of-pearl inlaid Indian table, my books about fashion and my 'ancient' Chinese vase....
It's one of my favourite places just to sit and read or meditate - it always makes me feel wealthy and priviledged even on the days when I am feeling fat and/or broke!

Today I have breakfast with one of my best friends, Cameron at one of my favourite cafes - Eca Bar in Darlinghurst Rd, Darlinghurst. The freshly squeezed orange juice is like the name says 'Freshly squeezed' and is absolutely delicious. While the scambled eggs and grilled bacon are both cooked to perfection with crispy Turkish bread toast finishing off the quartet of deliciousness! It's a great way to start the day - beautiful weather, bit of gossip, delicious food and usually lots of passing traffic that is both interesting and sometimes damn fine!

After breakfast I grab a take away (to go) Flat White coffee (latte-no foam)plug in my Ipod earphones and refill my water bottle and head off on the thing that really starts my day.

The morning walk.

This is my morning ritual. Here in Sydney I do my walk to the Opera House and back - about 65 mins. In London, I would run around Hyde Park; in New York or Provincetown, Mass. I go for a morning bike ride. I used to do because it was recommended if you wanted to stay fit, lose fat, not gain weight, blah, blah, blah! Now it's not a chore, it's a lifestyle choice....or at least that's the way I have decided to look at it now.

Exercise (usually before breakfast) is my morning engine starter. It gets my blood pumping, wakes me up and on days when I have a bit of a hangover - it flushes out the toxins from the night before.
Where it begins in Victoria St - a leafy sun-dappled street full of houses, apartments, five star restaurants, cheap dumpling joints, funky cafes, hotels and back packer lodges.

From it's houses on the left hand side of the street heading towards the water, you get some of Sydney's finest views of the city skyline.
In the evening its bars, restaurants and little cafes spill out onto the street where people eat, drink, hang out or promenade. It's vibe is relaxed yet cosmopolitan, local but with a multi-national voice... sometimes literally. German, Swedish, Japanese, French, Czech, Dutch, Norweigian, Spanish, Portugese are all heard on Victoria St at one time or another; and the looks are also totally international. It's a great place to sit and people watch.

As Victoria St ends and the canopy starts to open up you get the rush of light shining past the trees. The view, initially just a glimpse....


But then as you get to the stairs, it looms out before you, the triumphant city skyline laid out in a line.

And below you the stairs to Woolloomooloo Bay....easier on the way down but more fun and faster (to get them over and done with) on the way home.
Once I am down the stairs in quick succession it's the Naval Base...

Harry's Cafe De Wheels....


The 'Blue' Hotel....


And the Cowper St Wharf promenade, home of some of my favourite restaurants in Sydney - Otto, Nove, China Doll...


Then around to the Promenade of apartments and the marina that look back at Cowper Wharf..





A quick look back at where I have come from, back at Kings Cross and Darlinghurst...


And then on up to the paths to Mrs Macquarie's chair...


Andrew (Boy) Charlton Pool which is a City Council owned and operated Pool that as cheap as it is to get into...


... is like a resort to hang out at....


... then onto to the Harbour fore shore looking out to Fort Denison that was built to protect Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour)and past Mr's Macquarie's actual chair (cut into the sandstone with its own protective portico) and under the trees that gently frame the view...


of the eventual 'Money Shot'! International Icons over the water....the Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge!!

It's a view that is always inspiring and that I love.

The morning walk is not over yet. I walk all the way around the Opera House then back again and up Admiralty steps then home but that will have to be for another day.

This has been Today in Sydney.

In the beginning.....

....there was the inspiration.

As I did my early morning walk from my comfortable apartment in Kings Cross, grabbing a large flat-white (latte without so much foam) at my favorite cafe - Uliveto, past Fitness First and the Holiday Inn, then down the Victoria St stairs to Woolloomoolooo, past the Naval Base, Harry's Cafe de Wheels, the 'Blue' Hotel on Cowper St Wharf, then along the track to Mrs Macquarie's Chair passing Andrew (Boy) Charlton Pool, it came to me! I LOVE SYDNEY!
And because I love Sydney so much, then I am the perfect person to share it with the world!
So here it is 'Today In Sydney..." My Sydney - the one that inspires me, gives me joy, makes me feel alive when I've been feeling flat, that is constantly changing yet somehow staying the same.
Welcome! I hope you enjoy the stroll through the city that I love.
Big hugs, RichardXX