Sydney: weekend #1

So this place with the big winged dome thing has not disappointed. In short: beach beach, beers, beach, sun and bbq at the beach(es) w beers.

Of note: Aussies like to drink, during the daytime and nighttime. They're all real fit despite this fact.

Sean had off on Friday (he's a chef at a restaurant in the thick of it all d/t) so we decide to go to Bondi Beach during the day. Yes, it's well known and toursity and all that -- but it's still friggin amazing. Um please note that folks bring their surfboards on the buses...totally annoying for locals and so totally Lords of Dogtown raddness for me. Since I do happen to live in a city near lots of water but NOT lots of beaches, it's particularly cool because there's Bondi Beach, Bronte beach, Coogee beach, Other Beach Other Beach etc etc etc and you can walk from one to the other to the other, all easily w/in minutes of one another. So many beaches!

We go have lunch at some pub at 2 ish. On a friday. DAYTIME. And you would've thought it was 11 p on a fri night. There were 3 rugby teams there celebrating something (??) and various other professional folks kickin back with some Touheys Extra Dry (or New) -- my new favorite beer. Notable absence of shitty Fosters, I know. I know. Lots of Aussie observational differences going on, at all times. One of the big pluses I've noticed is the whole self serve thing at bars and pubs. Gone are the days of waiting for people to bring you beers that never seem to come. You just go get it, and poof. Thirst quenched.

Friday night was Kristen's bday celebration (her actual bday was on Oct 7, the day I left seattle but TWO days before I arrived here. TIME WARP man.) The day rolls from bondi to bar to home at 7 to meeting up at a local Paddington pub w a bunch of Kristen's friends. Pretty funny night -- found a few New Jersey people (random), one of which lives in Melbourne and will be at teh Melbourne Cup when I'm there. neat. He's rather hilarious, his last name is "the toilet" (Kohler) and he is the embodiment of the albino version of McLovin, yes the one from Superbad. Enough said.

(Kinda crazy: Also meet a buddy of K's that works at DDB (ad agency) Sydney and is all 'send me your CV'. Um. My mother's stern instructions of "Seattle is far enough. Do NOT move to Australia" rings in my ears. No worries mom...not doin it.)

Saturday rolls around and what do we do? We go to the beach. Because that's what everyone does with every spare moment they have here. Brilliant (they say that all the time). Amazing. (they say that all the time too) Sydney is this big loud noisy urban place...but where having sand stuck to your half naked tush whilst walking around the city streets in bathing suit is totally the norm. Ok! NYC meets Miami, sort of. We ended up going to Bronte beach to Sean's friends new Miami vice-ish beach house that he just moved into earlier that day, some crazy modern glass box of architectural badassness that overlooks a grassy park in front of a sandy white beach. It's real purty.

Oh - I should mention:

DJ's Hart and Rosie: you've gone global, au style. Ipod selects were on and your orchard party dj set was a huge hit. Nice work, you're rockstars for putting that shiz together AND for getting it to me. x!

Sunday is more of the same, but w a MUCH later start to the festivities. This time Bronte beach bbq style where dj's and their decks are all set up ON the beach. The good news is that our entire household crashed at about 7 p that night.

I've been in Sydney for 3.5 days and seen nothing of notable significance**.

** according to those over achiever oriented guide books for LOSERS. ;)