This week has been a warm one.  In the 30s (80s F) nearly everyday. Rounding out at 43 (100+!!) today.  Thank goodness for air con at work and the cool breezes that keep our apartment at a comfortable temperature.  It does cool down at night too, which helps.  The sun is just so powerful here.  So hot hot hot!! Feeling hot hot hot!!

Saturday, I met some of my coworkers and we went to this amazing beach at Darook Park.  It was on a bay, so very calm waters and great for floaties.  It is south of the city, by Cronulla which is famous for its beaches and beautiful water.  It was a lovely day, playing in the water and sitting in the sun.  Rautem taught me how to play backgammon.  We will have to get a board because it is a great beach activity.  No cards to blow away or complicated pieces; a pretty quick game of strategy, risk, and luck.  I had taken a bus to Central Train Station to get there, then a train  south, where Rautem picked me up from and we drove from there.  It only took me about 30 min on transport and us another 30 to drive. Holly and her friend gave me a ride to the Cronulla Train station for the way home, which I took a train to Central from, then a bus home which took like 1.5 hours because the 433 bus to get me closest to home took forever coming and I couldn’t find the Light Rail Replacement buses.

The Light Rail, which runs right by our house and we usually take to get into the city, is  shut down for January due to track work maintenance.  We have had to figure out other ways to get places, or they have buses to run a similar route, but the stops are a bit hard to find.  We took it home today from our adventure into Pyrmont successfully. 🙂

Each night, we try to explore a little more of our new area on walks.  There are such awesome parks and neighborhoods around us.  So many random murals.

Sunday, we tried a church in Rozelle which we both liked.  It would be a 20 min walk or a bus ride if we choose it as our home parish.  It was too hot to walk it, and the sun too strong, so we took the bus.  Thankfully, the church was cool with fans running.  It is crazy that no churches have AC here.  It gets so hot and stuffy in them sometimes!! Windows only help so much.  We needed to cool down after our walk to the bus stop, so we took the bus into Pyrmont (yay bus Air Con!!) to find some lunch.  We ate at this cute french cafe.  Brandon had a cold smoothie and salad and I had an iced mocha and crepe. They had a few fans going in the cafe, but it was still warm.  A good day to be in a shaded spot in or on the water.  We came back home to have a lazy afternoon with the cats.  We are chugging water and not doing too much to not overheat.  Our air con remote is still en route to us and our apartment is still staying cooler than it is outside by a long shot.

Meanwhile, our family and friends back in WI are finally getting sun and above 0F (-30ishC) weather.  It may be good for making ice for the icefishermen, but it is so bitter cold, it is hard to find motivation to do anything besides cuddle up with blankets and eat. I am happy to be in the warmth! Anyone want to start planning their trip here for next winter? 😉

Have a great week everyone!

PS-thank you so much for all the Christmas cards!! We are slowly getting them as they make the journey across the ocean.