
I began Sunday, May 11, with my first jog since coming here. I ran from the hotel to the botanical gardens, where I ran into a Mother's Day road race. The hundreds of runners were using the only path, so I joined in for a few kilometers before finding a side path to finish my run.
After breakfast, I went to church at a neighborhood Anglican church a few blocks from our hotel. The service was closer to American Episcopalian than to English Anglican but still familiar. The church provides meaningful service to the marginalized in the neighborhood. Ir must rely on a relatively small cadre of dedicated volunteers, for only about 40 people were in church.
The neighborhood around our hotel is varied. It has lots of small, ethic restaurants that serve permanent residents, tourists like us and backpackers. It also serves as a, well, umm, entertainment district whose venues have salacious-sounding names and noisy patrons who don't quiet down until dawn. It's all quite safe yet challenging. This church has its hands full.
In the afternoon, I went back to the harbor and walked across the Harbor Bridge. The view was terrific -- when I wasn't too scared to appreciate it. I'm afraid of heights and have to work up my courage to get to the railing to get a picture. If discretion is the better part of valor, I'd better not push my luck and join the adventurous Dr. Treise when she leads a group to climb the very top of the bridge later during our stay.
As the daylight faded, I walked another mile or so to a locale spotted during our Sydney orientation tour on Thursday for more sunset pictures. See the day's pictures for more.
After breakfast, I went to church at a neighborhood Anglican church a few blocks from our hotel. The service was closer to American Episcopalian than to English Anglican but still familiar. The church provides meaningful service to the marginalized in the neighborhood. Ir must rely on a relatively small cadre of dedicated volunteers, for only about 40 people were in church.
The neighborhood around our hotel is varied. It has lots of small, ethic restaurants that serve permanent residents, tourists like us and backpackers. It also serves as a, well, umm, entertainment district whose venues have salacious-sounding names and noisy patrons who don't quiet down until dawn. It's all quite safe yet challenging. This church has its hands full.
In the afternoon, I went back to the harbor and walked across the Harbor Bridge. The view was terrific -- when I wasn't too scared to appreciate it. I'm afraid of heights and have to work up my courage to get to the railing to get a picture. If discretion is the better part of valor, I'd better not push my luck and join the adventurous Dr. Treise when she leads a group to climb the very top of the bridge later during our stay.
As the daylight faded, I walked another mile or so to a locale spotted during our Sydney orientation tour on Thursday for more sunset pictures. See the day's pictures for more.