Anyone for Swimming?

Being in a routine has one huge advantage – knowing where and when you can do your next laundry! Not being 100% sure what we were going to find in our apartment in Sydney, with respect to laundry facilities, meant that we wanted to be certain that we not caught out when returning Friday evening because someone else had commandeered the washing machine and tumble dryer. So the morning was in part dedicated to chores. Next was the need to avoid potential huge queues at the airport again, if we hadn’t done an online check-in. So off to the Gold Coast Public Library in Burleigh Waters, that we had ascertained the previous day had free internet access, to do the business. We were also able to do emails, update the blog, check the football scores and find out what the exchange rate was doing to decide whether to use cash or card!

And then we just had to find somewhere to go swimming! Now, that may sound relatively easy given the size of the coastline, but there appears to be only 2 grades of sea water available – b****y great surf or too-shallow-for-swimming calm waters. We tried 3 places with the above results and in the end, with a promise to ourselves that we are going in on Bondi Beach … whatever …we battled (it would be rush hour, wouldn’t it) back to the pool at the hotel for half an hour’s dusk swimming with exclusive use of the rather nice outdoor pool, just at the stage when it was becoming warmer in than out.

A fish and chip carry-out ensued (getting to be a Friday night tradition) because there are apparently no late-night supermarkets here (good for them!), where you can pick up a late salad, followed by packing and angst about how much time to leave for the morning’s journey to the airport.