DAY 24: FILM FEST AND DOING MANLY THINGS

All I had planned Saturday was the Sydney Film Festival at 10 in the morning but beyond that, I was looking forward to a relaxing day. It ended up being just that but I did much much more than just the film fest.

The day began with donuts. Dough. Nuts. Always a good thing when a day starts with donuts. Our movie began at 10:00 a.m. so the four of us that had tickets went to Baker’s Bun before hand and got a bunch of donuts we could eat on the way and during the movie. I love the place. The donuts are absolutely delicious. If everyone ate one donut every morning, the world would be a much better (and fatter) place – I’m convinced.


Bo making a very tough decision...If you can't decide, get 'em all. That's my philosophy.

Worth the trip.

The movie was called “Killer Inside Me” and was shown at the State Theatre. This place was not your typical AMC. It was unbelievable – 3 levels, incredible architecture and beautiful art. Just being in the theatre was worth the $15 ticket, which is a good thing because I’m not real sure the movie was. The main draw of the movie was Casey Affleck who was the lead actor in one of my favorite movies – “Gone Baby Gone” (if you haven’t seen this, stop reading, go to blockbuster, watch it, and resume reading – it’s that good). Two star actresses were Jessica Alba – always a plus – and Kate Hudson. We knew going in it was supposed to be a dark, twisted movie. That’s exactly what it was. It’s one of those movies that just make you really think about human behaviors in general. It’s hard to describe how I felt about the movie. I really liked the plot but I felt it was more graphic than it needed to be. I wouldn’t recommend it but don’t regret going to it at all.

I wasn’t sure I would like seeing a movie at 10:00 in the morning but it ended up working out beautifully. We walked out of the theatre to an absolutely gorgeous day. I was originally planning on just going back to the apartment and getting some work done but the four of us decided it was too good of a day to stay at the apartment complex.
Instead, we went on a walk with no specific plan or path. We started out by going to St. Mary’s – the largest Cathedral in Sydney. It was beautiful. Unfortunately, they don’t allow any pictures inside but I got some of the outside to give you a thought. I was fortunate enough to visit many of the Cathedrals in England when my sisters were there studying abroad and this Cathedral was just as beautiful as those. Obviously there is not the same history in a 100-year old Cathedral in Sydney as there is in a 600-year old Cathedral in England, but architecturally, it was just as beautiful.


Stunningly gorgeous.


After St. Mary’s we headed through the Royal Botanical Gardens. These were also very impressive. It was a wonderful stroll through a beautiful park. It was impressive on a winter day, I can’t imagine what it looks like during the summer.
When we got through the park, we ended up at the Sydney Opera House. Don’t you just love going on a walk with no particular purpose and ending up at one of the most recognized buildings in the world? Oh wait, you’re not in Australia, you wouldn’t understand (sorry, I couldn’t resist ☺). So there we were no particular plan or purpose just kind of wondering what to do next. We spontaneously decided to hop on a ferry headed for Manly Beach. This is something everyone tells you to do while you’re here but we had not yet tried or planned. It was the best decision of the day – even better than the donut choice and you know it’s good if it’s even being compared to donuts! The 30-minute ferry ride was beautiful and Manly was awesome.


Part of an incredible Ferry ride.


Ditto.


The Royal Botanical Gardens

Manly reminds me a lot of Miami. The streets are lined with shops and restaurants and you are right on the beach. By this time, we had walked off the absurd amount of donuts we had ate or at least that was what we wanted to believe so we stopped for lunch…on top of a building. We ate at a restaurant that was actually a rooftop of a hotel there right on the beach. The view was awesome and the food (fried calamari and a bucket of shrimp) was delicious.

Just a little rooftop dining.

After lunch we did some more walking around and eventually ended up at an ice cream shop. I know what you’re thinking. Ice cream and donuts in the same day?!?! And the answer is yes, absolutely yes. I’m going to take advantage of my metabolism while I still have it. It was a great choice and probably the best Ice Cream cone I have ever had. It was a waffle cone that they dip the top of in chocolate and then I had two scoops – one was called midnight cookie (chocolate and brownie) and the other was Royal Copenhagen (honeycomb and butterscotch) they top it off with whipped cream and then they have all the caramel, chocolate and sprinkles in a dispenser that you can add on your own. It was heavenly – worth the ferry trip all on its own. After finishing the cone and making sure my heart was still properly functioning we headed back to the city. Fat happy campers.


The ice cream cone fell out of heaven and into my hand. yummmmm.....

I made some dinner and headed for bed at 10:00. We have a very early morning tomorrow. The U.S. soccer team plays England at 4:30 a.m. Sydney time and a large group of us want to go to Darling Harbor, home of FIFA Fan Fest, to watch the game. I’m sure you will get to read all about it. Until then…

Cheers!