Walking: It's Free!

Imagine this...two girls, one shopping trip, a dozen plastic bags filled with enough food to feed us both for the next month, and a long walk home...uphill. Two broken jars later (farewell, soy sauce and spaghetti sauce - you will be missed), our arms are killing us and I am seriously reconsidering the merits of the local bus system. But on the bright side, a few more such trips and perhaps these sore arms will turn into something I'll actually be able to flex! Yeah, mate!

I'm not opposed to walking. I love it, in fact. It's the only semblance of exercise that doesn't typically cause me to gasp for breath after approximately 30 seconds. (In case you're wondering, yes - I really am THAT out of shape. Running + Melanie = Bad Idea.) So even though my legs have been sore every morning this week, I refuse to give up:

I will walk from one side of Australia to the other if it means saving $7 in train fare!!!

Alright...so I must confess I haven't actually walked from coast to coast, but I have walked to and between Central Sydney and several of its suburbs, with several unintentional detours through residential neighborhoods. Here's one thing I've learned in my treks, particularly throughout Bondi (pronounced like "bonzai," only trade the "z" for a "d"): If you stop someone on the street to ask for directions, they are probably not from Australia. All the actual Aussies are on their cell phones or in their cars. I think they have tourist radar. Probably open their phones and pretend to be talking to their mum as soon as they see a tourist in need of directions glance their way. Oh, and other tourists seem to be realizing the above fact as well. Megan and I have been asked for directions on more than one occasion. Not sure why they didn't stop after noticing the very touristy "Top 10 Sydney" guide book I was holding.

One thing I have definitely noticed after having walked most everywhere in the past week is this: It makes you slow down. Obviously, it takes longer to get places, and you therefore have to schedule more time in your day and plan to do less each day than you otherwise would. I love it. It's like slowing down your hectic life for a figurative warm pot of tea. And you know how I feel about tea!

P.S. I'll be posting pictures soon. I don't have an easy way to download them to the computer at the moment.