Back to Bondi...

On my last full day in town, I was thrilled that Ashlynn had the day off. We started with a delicious lunch at Funky Pies, a vegan pie shop in Bondi. As you can see, the pies are homemade right there in their small shop.

It was quite incredible to go into a place with such a huge variety of vegan savory pies.

Wish I could remember which two we chose to split, but they were definitely delicious.

Ashlynn wanted a few minutes to relax before we started our walk for the day.

Back into Downtown...

We ventured back into downtown where I found a sculpture...

...for another selfie.

Gotta admit, I love how this photo turned out of a seagull walking across a fountain. 

That evening we went in search of a rooftop bar for cocktails. In a rare change in weather, we got rained out of a casual outdoor bar, so we went high class by heading to the Shangri-La Hotel. 

The views were incredible from the 36th floor, and luckily the cocktails weren’t astronomically expensive.

Later we wandered around and Ashlynn showed me the Ivy, the club where she’d been hanging out with her friends on Thursday nights when there’s no cover charge. Incredibly, on her last night in town, the DJ stepped aside and let her play a few songs.

Around the corner was this cool sculpture of flying bird cages.

Crossing Sydney Harbor...

I meant well when I suggested that Ashlynn take a ferry to meet me at Watson’s Bay, but had failed to check the schedule. It turned out that there were too many hours to hang out there before the next ferry back, so as soon as she stepped off, we got onto a return ferry.

Luckily it was another beautiful journey.

Selfies, Memorials and A Lighthouse...

In typical Melissa style, the only selfies I took were of my shadow. 

This was in front of that crazy house, which was just being built, and the elevator in the driveway down to the garage built into the cliff.

At first glance I thought this was a typical lock of love...

...but on closer inspection, it was a memorial...

...as was this. It really hit me hard that what was a place of immense beauty to me, was a place of intense sadness to other mothers. 

I also saw a lighthouse, which hopefully helped to save many lives.

Bondi to Watson’s Bay Coastal Walk...

This 5-mile (8K) coastal walk combined city views...

...with open spaces from nature reserves...

...with some crazy architecture.

The Federation Cliff Walk wooden platform was particularly spectacular...

...and was the perfect setting for bridal portraits (if you look carefully, the bride can be seen in the three photos below).

Bondi Beach...

Bondi Beach is both a iconic beach and a neighborhood east of downtown Sydney.

I had originally planned to walk the very popular Bondi to Coogee Coastal Walk, but after overhearing a girl on the train talk about an alternative trail...

...I headed north instead.

More Australian Art...

The following day Ashlynn had more castings for Australian Fashion Week, so I was on my own. I started with going to the Art Gallery of New South Wales, which was near the Royal Botanical Gardens. Like the art museums in Melbourne and Canberra, there was a mix of fine art paintings...

 ...and contemporary traditional sculptures (The English Channel depicting the British explorer James Cook)...

 ....and not so traditional sculptures.

Afterwards, I walked back through Hyde Park on the way to the station to catch a train to Bondi Beach...

...where I saw this cool wall before meeting Ashlynn for lunch between castings.