We got into Sydney after 10 p.m. and checked into our hotel. My son was asking about seeing the Sydney Opera House while we’re here and the hotel surprised us by giving us an insane view of the harbor, the Sydney Harbour Bridge AND the Opera House itself. We just stood for a while taking it in. So beautiful. We all slept pretty well that night. (That first night lures you into complacency before the dreaded lag wakes you up on the SECOND night and doesn’t let you go back to sleep.)

At any rate, we woke around 10 a.m. and began thinking about what to do.

One of my producers on MythBusters, Jacques, recommended something called the Coogee Walk. Well! High holy heck, what an awesome walk that is. Just amazing. We took a cab from the hotel down to the famous Bondi Beach. Once there, bitten by hunger, we went for some grub at a place called Gusto’s. Good bread.

The boys had burgers (of course) and Mrs. Donttrythis worked on a chicken-and-basil panini while I had the soup. Delicious. Then back to the beach.

But it was cold. Did I mention it’s winter down here? Not crazy cold -- more like San-Francisco-during-the-summer cold. And given that we left San Francisco in the middle of its summer, it’s a pretty lateral jump, but Bondi is windy as hell, and neither Thing 1 nor Mrs. Donttrythis had brought a hat. So we headed back into Bondi for hats.

Hats procured, we hit the beach and started the walk … which reached its end after about a quarter-mile. What the hell? I thought this was a 6- to 7-km walk?

That’s when both the wife and I realized we were backward when it came to our compass directions (which was particularly galling to Mrs. Donttrythis, who normally has an impeccable sense of direction).

Reorientated, we headed the other direction, and spent about three hours traversing much of the amazing Coogee Walk. What an incredible thing, with its magnificent sandstone cliffs and tide pools. The walk winds around the beaches of Sydney -- Bondi, Tamarama, Bronte, Clovelly and Coogee (sometimes I think Australians name things because they feel good to say). It’s a lovely way to get to know Sydney’s coast.

Here’s a map:

And some pictures.

Later that night we finally got to see one of our best friends, the inimitable Alice and her man Steve! We met for dinner and went to the Lord Nelson, which is apparently the oldest working pub in Oz. Bangers and mash, fish and chips, and some meat pies and beers, we talked until we had to move. So out into the Sydney rain we headed and back to the hotel to sit and talk some more, finally wrapping around 11.

A fantastic first day!

While on tour in Australia and New Zealand for the Behind the Myths stage show, Adam is blogging about his adventures and exploration of each city he visits.

Aug 9: Away We Go

Aug 10: Holy Crap, This is a Long Trip