Coogee to Bondi in the sun

The 3 of us overlooking Coogee Beach

Today dawned bright with blue sky and sunshine hurray. For once our plans stayed the same: to walk from Coogee to Bondi. First of all it is a lovely walk and second, it meant I could indulge myself in some memory lane as I lived in Randwick (the borough immediately above Coogee which we would have to go through on the bus) and I worked in a beach cafe in Coogee on Saturdays when I lived there. Also Lindsey (who had taken another day off) hasn't done this walk - so it was something new for her too.

So, we got the ferry to Circular Quay and then the bus to Coogee. I was hoping I would remember some of Randwick as we went through. I spotted the racecourse (where I went to see camel racing) but the bus didn't take us through the high street - I certainly didn't recognise any of it. It also dropped us off somewhere I didn't recognise in Coogee. In fact when we got there I was really dis-orientated, I didn't recognise any of it.

Gordon's Bay

We found some cafes, but in my mind's eye they were in the wrong place. However, they were the only cafes and we were hungry, so we went over. I looked at the first one and the layout was right, and then I saw the old lady - yep this was definitely the right place. The cafe was memorable because it was run by an Italian family, the head of which was this tiny old lady called Nicki who was sooooo Italian that you couldn't understand a word she said and she was wasn't afraid of tearing strips off you in public - this happened regularly. It was advantageous to me as diners (especially Brits) would feel sorry for me and give me extra tips. It took me ages to work out the source of her anger - she can't read - so if you wrote something slightly differently on the chits she couldn't work it out.

Tom's new friend

Anyway, she hadn't changed at all, she spoke to us a couple of times and none of us could work out what she said!!!! For future reference I worked at Cafe Congo (even the name didn't really ring a bell!). We ordered lunch - field mushrooms, avocado and toast for me and Lindsey and an Irish breakfast for Matt. The food was really good, which also concurred with my memory (although as a mere waitress I didn't get to sample it when I worked there, although it always looked good). We were all happy and fortified for our walk.

The walk was as lovely as I remembered - you hug the coast and walk round all the bays. Some bays are rocky, others sandy - all very beautiful with a deep blue sky overhead. In fact it got quite hot. Lindsey regretted her choice of jeans (even though she laughed at me in the morning when she saw me in shorts). The sun was so strong I had to put my sun hat on.

Surfer

Tom had a bit of a melt down at one point, suddenly becoming afraid of steps, but once he was over that he did really well, in fact he didn't once complain or whine about the actual walk.

Bondi Beach

We got to Bondi in good time, tired, hot but happy and immediately set to finding an ice-cream shop. Took a while (you would think there would be loads wouldn't you). Tom was determined that he wanted his own (he doesn't normally go for ice-cream) but true to his word he ate the whole thing up (and got very messy in the process!)

Ice Cream Chops

We then went back to Manly in a very roundabout way. We could have just got the bus from Bondi to Circular Quay, but we treated Tom to another train ride: so got the bus from Bondi to Bondi Junction, a train from Bondi Junction to Martin Place and then walked from Martin Place to Circular Quay, all that just so he could have a train ride - the things we do!

We arrived back, then had to pack everything up - which took longer than it should. Lindsey made us curry for dinner - yummy and then Tom went to bed - we weren't that far behind! A tiring but lovely day. We are off on our road trip tomorrow...

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Location:Manly