I want to share stories about three standout days for my second blog in Australia.
Following my two classes on Tuesday, our entire program was invited to meet Tony Massaro, a Bucknell alumni working at KordaMentha Real Estate in Sydney. Mr. Massaro was very gracious with his time, sharing stories from his life to explain the great success he has had both through his time serving in the U.S. Army and his more recent professional life in real estate. Following this meeting, half of us walked a few blocks towards the Sydney Opera House and found space at the Opera Bar where we enjoyed the sunset. While we briefly got rained on I was fortunate enough to capture a great picture of the Opera House afterwards.
Photos from the Opera Bar and walking around the harbor
Being mostly occupied with classes throughout the week, Saturday gave us downtime to enjoy Sydney. That morning, Maddie, Stella, and I took the bus to Bronte Beach for the first time and enjoyed the coastal cliff atmosphere of the beach. We ended up staying there for most of the day, eventually seeing Alexa and Sienna as they passed through on their walk from Bondi to Coogee Cliff Walk. We came back to the apartment and had steaks for dinner before going to the store to get groceries for the week.
Pictures from Bronte Beach
Sunday may have been the most fun day of the trip thus far. Not only was it Australia Day (celebrating the date on which the British landed in Australia in 1788), but it was also Sienna’s birthday. We had decorated the apartment the night before and all made plans to have brunch at Max Brenner, a chocolatier at the mall next door. I had a strawberry and banana crepe with the best hot chocolate I think I have ever had from both a flavor and temperature perspective. Following this, we stayed in the mall shopping for a little while before ultimately deciding to head to Bondi for a few hours. After coming back, we prepared for dinner and met up with a larger group of Bucknellians for Mexican. My three tacos were extremely spicy but each also had very good flavor. Once my mouth stopped burning, we walked to the harbor for the most exciting part of the day, a cruise of the harbor. While the tickets weren’t very expensive, we had an incredible view of the fireworks going off over the Opera House and bridge. It was also a nice time for me to talk with some of the other people on the program who I haven’t had classes with nor have gotten much of a chance to talk with to this point.
The boat and pictures from our Australia Day cruise
Wow! Jackson, that last picture is gorgeous! What a photographer. And what an incredible experience you are having! Enjoy the moments.