I found out a short time before coming to Australia that I have a distant relative living in Sydney. Her name is Barbara and she is my grandfather's cousin. I got together with her on Thursday and she happens to be one of the most interesting and adventurous people i've ever met. She has traveled to every continent except for Antarctica (let's be honest - what's there anyway?) and enjoys the occasional skydive.
She picked me up from my apartment around 12:30 and we began her "famous tour." Here's a list of places she showed me:
- Bondi Beach
- Bronte Beach
- Coogee Beach
- Rose Bay
- Watson's Bay
- Woollahra
- Robertson Park
It's funny how much the scenery resembles California as you move further away from the city. Lots of hilly streets, palm trees, and modern houses. We stopped for lunch at Doyles on Watson's Bay where Barbara treated me to lunch. I got a lobster roll and so did she.
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| We enjoyed a gorgeous view of the city from our table.
At the end of lunch, Barbara searched her bag and pulled out a package of Tim Tams - chocolate cookies found in 50% of Australian households and a personal favorite. She handed them to me saying, "Don't eat the whole sleeve in one day!" She clearly knows me well already.
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We drove through Bondi and I made sure to capture the picturesque view.
Barbara brought up my grandfather, who passed away this fall, and we laughed about some of the memories we had of him. It made me happy to remember him and learn new stories from her that I hadn't heard before. She dropped me off at my apartment later that day and concluded the tour. It's comforting to know I have someone close by. Though she's technically a distant relative, I don't feel much of a gap between us at all.
I enjoyed today more than ever because the more I see of Australia, the deeper I fall in love with it. And i'm falling hard.
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