In a few hours we will have been here exactly one week. Dani has finished his first (half) week in his new school. It’s hard to say how he is adapting as he never tells you anything. I suppose it’s fair to say that things are going quite well as we have not heard otherwise. Meanwhile we have been viewing some properties in the area. Bloody hard work without a car but more on that one to follow…

Getting to know the area

After dropping Dani at school today I went for a ‘reccy’ of the area just past the school. Only one block away is a real oasis. An urban retreat called Cooper Park.

The Park

Named after former owner Sir William Cooper the park is a large bushland reserve of 38 acres (15 ha). There is a natural creek running through the Park and a wide variety of native trees. The park has been developed for modern urban living over the years to include walking tracks and paths. There are covered shelters and picnic areas. If a bit of sports is your thing then there are eight floodlit grass tennis courts and a cricket pitch.

This park is an amazingly tranquil area in the midst of the huge urban sprawl that is Sydney. If a little transcendental meditation takes your fancy then this could be the spot for you. On the other hand if you venture less than 3 kilometres to the east you end up on the world famous Bondi beach. But more on that in a future post…

Dream Houses

The park lies in a dip between well established residential areas. There are some fine examples of early Sydney architecture and a fair few new builds. The new properties look modern but seem to compliment the old houses perfectly.

One street near the park is called Edward Street. Back where I come from there is a street of old terraced houses with the same name. They may share the same name, but they are a world apart. Not only because they are on opposite sides of the planet. I am guessing the cost of one of the big houses in this Sydney street would cost the same as the whole of the Edward Street that I know.

Pubs or Hotels?

Some good news for this old dad. I visited a local watering hole today and discovered that they will be showing the big fight live in a few weeks’ time. That’s the heavyweight title fight between Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury in case you didn’t know. With the time difference between here and Las Vegas it means I will be able to watch the action at a sensible time.

I hope to visit a few more pubs in the area over the next few weeks. And of course, report it here. For now, here are two things I have noticed. One; that most of them are called hotels rather than pubs. And two; they have a distinctive architecture. Here’s one…

But I can’t be spending too much time inside such places. At least just yet. What we need now is a place to live. With three apartments to view tomorrow we may be a step closer…