Through my Lens – Sydney and Bondi Beach

Upon alighting the ferry at Circular Quay, we merged with the swirl of humanity flowing in the same direction and burst forth upon the Quayside.
This area of Sydney is steeped in history and the first thing we saw was the old Customs House. The area is extremely busy and there are many bus stops for different routes located around us. We were a bit confused so headed straight for the handy information booth located nearby. As I waited in line, I heard the lady in front asking the exact same directions that I required. After confirming what I had heard with the helpful girl at the desk, we turned and walked in the opposite direction to where we had thought the stop was toward the correct bus stop. As we neared it, the bus pulled into view so we ran the last few steps. Although we needn’t have bothered running as the bus sat there for a few minutes before going on its way.
The tickets we had bought for the ferry covered the bus as well so we were set.
Finding a seat easily, we settled down for the trip however I was so excited at seeing parts of Sydney that I hadn’t seen since I was a girl, I bounced from side to side taking photos through the unmarked and graffiti-less parts of the windows.

As we passed through the edge of Kings Cross (red light district) I snapped this photo because I loved the colours.

Sydney is old and I fell in love with much of the architecture and snapped happily away.
Soon however, the bus filled and I was no longer able to take photos so put my little point and shoot away.
Arriving in Bondi, we were greeted by this scene.

You don’t see this side of Bondi on the television show Bondi Rescue.
Deciding that we needed something to eat, we soon settled on Hungry Jacks and nabbed a seat at the perspex window in order to people watch.
We had thought that Circular Quay was crowded but Bondi put it to shame. The streets and the boardwalks across the street were crowded and I enjoyed watching people of all shapes, sizes, colour and ethnicity wander past.
Lunch finished, the Tween begged for a souvenir of the place so we purchased her a Bondi hoodie that she donned immediately. It was so long that it covered her shorts and made it look as if she was wearing a mini skirt. I looked for a magnet but couldn’t find one that I liked. 😦 Most of the souvenir places cater to foreign tourists and the items sold are cheesy imo.

Crossing the road to the beach, our first port of call was the famous Bondi Life Guard hut. On the boardwalk side there are screens that flash up the current temperature and weather and surf conditions. I tried taking a photo of one but the glare was too bright for a decent photo.
The Tween and the Garden Gnome decided to continue walking along the beach. As my joggers had filled with sand, I opted to go back up to the boardwalk and follow along with them from there. Others were also walking along the beach. Many were dressed in long pants and jumpers. We were surprised at the number of surfers we saw in the water and there were a few brave souls swimming.
Further along the beach we spotted a couple of the lifeguards in their vehicle. The GG texted me that these were two of the regulars we see on TV.
How do you take a photo of yourself with tv stars without posing for a photo? You casually stroll past them and have someone else take the photo apparently.
In total we spent a good two hours walking around the area and taking photos. I was blown away by the street art that lined the lower boardwalk and will share that next week.
We also spent some time watching and photographing the skateboarders in the skate bowl at the top end of the beach.

We can now tick ‘visit Bondi Beach’ off our bucket list (not that we have one). I’d have to say that there are probably prettier beaches around Sydney but since this one is so famous, then we just had to visit it.