Midweek Escapades

Sydney is a very busy place. Nothing is done slowly. Everyone is in a rush. Very few people take the time to stop and smell the roses.



the view looking south from somewhere on the Coogee to Bondi walk

So many times when we were working, we would head off on the weekend for a walk somewhere, only to find that half of Sydney had the same idea. That resulted in a whole heap of stress for me – having to negotiate the crowds even to find a parking space, then to get to where we wanted to go, was like a kind of hell.

But now that we don’t go to work anymore, we aren’t limited to weekends when we want to get out and about. We can wake up on a Thursday, for example, see that the weather is glorious, and decide that yes, today is a great day to go for a walk along the coast somewhere. And we don’t have to take a sickie to do it!

And that is exactly what we did on Thursday this week. Well, we didn’t just wake up and decide right then, because we had been thinking about it since last week, but the fact that the weather was good meant that we could actually go.

the wonderful Sydney traffic

 

When we move to the country, I will miss being able to easily get to the coast to go for a walk. But I definitely won’t miss the Sydney traffic. I don’t think there is any such thing as peak hour anymore – the traffic is bad no matter what time of day. But, once we got to Coogee (the starting point of our walk), we easily found a parking spot right at the start of the walking path. On a weekend, we would probably have had to park a couple of suburbs away!

certainly not crowded here!

The walk we did goes from Coogee to Bondi, a distance of approximately 6km. It is a very popular walk. Many people also use it as a running route. On the weekends, there is a constant push and shove to keep moving. Midweek is a completely different story. There are certainly people around, but I never felt crowded.

And when we got to Bondi, just on lunch time, we had our pick of cafes where we could have a restorative coffee. In fact, we had our pick of tables in our pick of cafes. Bliss!

The walk back to Coogee (yes, another 6km) was also very pleasant. I tend to give Sydney a hard time because I really don’t like living in it, but it really is a beautiful city. There are many walks that can be done in all parts. There are national parks right in the city, and within an easy drive of the city. The harbour is amazing. There is always something on, or something to do.

If you are retired, don’t sit at home all the time. Take the opportunity to get out and about. Midweek escapades are a great way to do that. You can see all those things you’ve always wanted to see, do those things you’ve always wanted to do, and some that you haven’t, and not have to compete with hordes of other people.

Take the time to stop and smell the roses.