(I fixed the previous post to include a picture of the frosted glass walls)

Oh, there's so much I want to share about, but I can only write so much each evening! To start with: cooking. Now that I'm staying in an apartment, I'm making dishes I can't easily eat out like:
Pasta fritata with taleggio cheese, spinach, and sun-dried tomato stuffed olives.

Breakfast polenta with almonds and cranberries and creamy yogurt.

Hummus, avocado, cucumber, carrot, and watercress wrap.

In the next couple weeks I hope to make some of the recipes from the latest Donna Hay magazine--I think she's the Martha Stewart of Australia, perhaps minus the criminal record. The photos in the magazine makes me very, very hungry.

My first few days in Sydney had really great hot, summer weather. Tuesday I went shopping for some shorts to survive the weather and ended up at Darling Harbour. I sunned myself on the docks for a while and then took the ferry back to Circular Quay, the same ferry Jon and I took the first day of our trip. If I hadn't been tired I would have stuck around to see the sunset across the Opera House.

After such a hard day, I rewarded myself with a sit on the green in the Botanic Gardens. There were lots and lots of school kids around, on field trip, I think.

Thursday it hit the 90s, so I did what Australian do--I went to the beach, Bondi Beach.

It was a truly spectacular wide, white crescent of sand and blue, blue ocean. It was as I imagined: lots of skinny, tanned girls in skimpy bikinis and ripped guys surfing. The girls did sometimes wear coverups--usually tiny dresses, inexplicable tucked a little into the waistband of their bikini bottom on one side, because, you know, the dresses were so long. Super short shorts completely unzipped with the two sides folded open were another popular option. I can only wonder: why even bother?

One group of guys ran by me with one complaining to other, "Why did you bring your girlfriend on a guys beach day??" and later I passed another couple guys, one patiently explaining to the other, "Girls don't like it when you tell them what to do." Hee.

I saw several classes of people learning to surf; now I want to try it (I won't, though, since it wouldn't be good for my foot). I eventually chucked my stuff in a locker and walked on the beach and even tried getting in the water, but it was too cold for me! I consoled myself with some cappuccino ice cream (think coffee ice cream with chocolate bits).

I stopped at the Health Emporium in Bondi. It's a small store but they had lots of gluten free foods. There were 7 or so gluten free mueslis to choose from, lots of grains, and even some gluten free flatbreads. In their fresh prepared foods counter at the front, I saw gluten free steak pies, muffins, and cupcakes. I was intrigued by the pie but resisted since I wasn't hungry and unless the muffins and cupcakes were just made, they probably look better than they taste. Still, if I go to Bondi Beach again, I'll definitely be stopping there. The 380 and 381 buses go right by it on the way to the beach.

And then it was time to head home and cook some more. Looking at the weather forecast that evening, that might have been the last hot weather for the next several weeks. Sad.

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