April 21^st - Day 23

This was a day of joy and frustration.

I had an early start. I woke at about 3 then at about 5. I gave up, got up, and went outside to shoot the sunrise. It a as so beautiful. The Pacific was living up to its name after the surf of yesterday. Then even though I had breakfast available in my room, I went out for bacon and eggs at Bellyfish. It was lovely sitting in the sunshine.

Then came the frustration. We had planned to walk from Bronte to Bondi. However, due to mix ups in the navigating, by the time we got to Bronte there was nowhere to park. With Lane getting more and more stressed, we eventually settled on a walk on Bondi Beach. It made me think of Blackpool - a place you go to for Fun. And once there you WILL HAVE A GOOD TIME, whether you want to or not. The best bit was the bookshop where we had lunch. Yes, a bookshop and cafe combined. I got a book on the aborigines for $10 because there was no dust jacket. And a good salad as well.

We then drove to Matthew and Tamara's. I felt a bit overwhelmed by the kids, so spent the afternoon reading. I felt much more at ease when I met Matthew. We had steaks from the barbecue, and mine was cooked to perfection. At dinner, Matthew mentioned going into Sydney for a beer, but we settled down for a cup of tea. Then at gone 8, Matthew said let's go. He said he could get us to the Rocks in 20 minutes. I had my doubts, but with his specially upgraded company car, we were having a beer in 20 minutes from leaving the house. He likes to race, and I must be honest, I got a bit scared sometimes. But we made it there and back in one piece.

The pub he took us too is Sydney's oldest hotel. The Lord Nelson is 175 years old, and is themed around Nelson, even to the extent of having one of the beers named Quayle Ale. The beers were excellent - more of this later...