Opposite of a Lazy Sunday

Day 8 (Sunday Oct 14th)

Days until Motes comes countdown: 21 days!

Where to begin...I started the morning with a run through the Royal Botanical Gardens which are east of Circular Quay and the Opera House along the harbor. They remind me of a cross between Boston Common (city location) and the Arnold Arboretum in Jamaica Plain (size and layout, minus Jax running around off leash rolling in horse poop).

 This is Mrs. Macquarie's Chair in the Gardens...apparently this is a big deal

 I next set out to find a basketball court to shoot some hoops, which led me to Pyrmont, an inner-city suburb of Sydney located in the Darling Harbor area. Below is the Pyrmont bridge to cross Darling Harbor:

And I eventually came upon the court, only to find it locked and closed on Sundays:

I backtracked west across the city to an outdoor court in Woolloomoolo (yes, that is the actual name of the area) and found a court in a project-like area where I passed some not so nice areas and seedy looking mates. On purpose, I did not take any photos.

On my return, I walked through Hyde Park which is located just south of the Center city and is like a smaller version of Central Park. The main path is tee-lined and was showcasing some local art along the way:

I found a great craft beer bar - The Local Taphouse in Darlinghurst (the same area where I went to the American themed bar and then dinner the other night). Great beer selection w/ 20 taps. The bartender wasn't too knowledgeable about the beer a she was a filmmaker/actress looking to move to L.A. in a year as there isn't much actress work in Australia. I told her I thought it was a great idea since there is a shortage of waitresses/bartenders looking to be actresses in L.A. (Not sure if they get American sarcasm over here. But one of my colleagues, Norm from the depressing Cheers episode, said Aussies are big on irony.

Just an FYI to anyone thinking of visiting, the burgers here are different than American burgers. The ones here are more of a meatloaf sandwich as the patties are mixed w/ eggs, breadcrumbs, seasonings. Rumor has it there are some joints that do serve American burgers, which I will have to seek out. I guess I can always head to the McDonalds and their 99 cent 2 dollar menu.