Lunch in the Suburbs.

Every now and then I receive the pleasure of finishing class early and going home in the afternoon. Today was such a day and so I thought I'd share what suburban Sydney looks like during the afternoon :)

The suburb where I live is an exceptionally quiet place. Indeed that was the reason why we moved here. At first the idea of living in such a quite area scared me. I love being in a busy area, the noise of the cars and people mixing, giving a city it's own distinct voice. But now, 7 months into my stay here, I'm actually loving the peaceful solitude I am surrounded by :)

You have probably gathered from my first post that I live near a forest. Australia's a very big country with very few people, so luckily urban sprawl is not an issue at the moment. It's quite amazing, I think, that I live in such a leafy suburb yet I'm only half an hours away from the Harbor Bridge. I guess that's Sydney for you :)

Okay so after I finished class today I walked to Warringah Mall shopping centre near my school and caught a bus to my home.

Warringah Mall Courtyard

I remember as a kid I LOVED Warringah Mall. But now that I've grown up and learnt the concept of "money" the mall only reminds me of all the things I can't have :P Wikipedia tells me that there are over 300 stores in that place! I thought it was only 100 or so. Wow, you really do learn things everyday.

It takes about 20 minutes to get to my bust stop and then 15 minutes to walk home. How ever, I decided to buy some pastries and have lunch in a near by park. The sun was out and I was free from school :)! So with my crossont and cadbury chocolate I walked to the park with my camera in hand.

Sign warning drivers that riders may be near.

A dog's footprints engraved in the foot path.

Usually you see couples proclaiming their love in the cement footpaths, so it was a nice change seeing cute dog prints :)

Bins not yet put back.

Blue for plastics and bottles, green for general rubbish. How is recycling in your part of the world? Over here it being followed with no reluctance. In year 10 I remember we had a field trip to a rubbish tip to see how everything worked.

Street signs.


Bus stop... Surprisingly no graffiti!


Yours truly; looking like a snowman with too many jackets on :)


Speed limit.

Okay one thing I can never understand about Australia is their concept of speeding cameras. When there is a speeding camera there will also be a sign telling the driver. Doesn't that defeat the purpose of one? The driver will just slow down for a few minutes and then speed once the camera is out of sight. I must mention, Sydney drivers are horrendous! Generally very rude and stubborn.

New pavement being made. Maybe a new set of foot prints? Hope so :)


Park near my home.

Finally, I reached the park. It is used only for weekend soccer matches and training, no swings or anything. Still, I enjoyed the sunshine and ate my yummy snacks. My favourite pastry is chocolate croissant but my bakery had run out, so instead I got a plain one and a block of chocolate ;)

Plain croissant and a block of Cadbury on my math folder.

What's your favourite Cadbury chocolate? Mine is "Black Forest". It's got pieces of jellybeans and chocolate biscuit inside the chocolate. The texture is awesome, chewy and hard :)

Cadbury "Black Forest".

I was not surprised I was the only person at the park. Oh and a magpie bird. These birds are pretty scary sometimes. During spring they swoop and attack innocent people walking past so we don't hurt they babies. My brother got attacked when he was younger. Luckily he was riding a bike and wearing a helmet so was able to leave quickly without too much injury.

Magpie bird.

After my delicious snack I packed up and headed home, leaving my suburban bliss...

Empty sports field or relaxation destination?