We were really enjoying being in Sydney and were both looking forward to another action filled day. After brekky we got the wonderful double deck Tangara into the city from North Ryde. We got off the train at Circular Quay again. We had decided to go to Australia' most famous beach today, Bondi Beach. The only way of getting there was by bus. The buses went from Circular Quay but they were all prepay. You can't buy a ticket on the bus in Sydney between 7am and 7pm. This is a good idea in a way because it will speed up the journey when the driver isn't faffing about with tickets and change all the time. The only problem was that it wasn't clear where you bought the tickets from. We went to the travel information centre to ask. The guy behind the desk really shouldn't have been working at an information centre. He didn't seem to be very well suited to this type of work and clearly wasn't enjoying himself as he had a face like a slapped fish and looked more grumpy and miserable than I thought it was possible to look. The two people queuing before us got very short shrift especially the poor woman who dared to ask where to buy a train ticket from. He snarled to her 'at the train station and pointed in a vague direction'! She left with her tail between her legs!! Jay was biting her nails when it became my turn and I moved up to the desk. She held her breath as I uttered the inevitable words 'can we buy a bus ticket for Bondi Beach?'. He looked at me like I was an imbecile and snarled 'we don't sell bus tickets here, you buy them over there' He pointed over my shoulder in the vague direction of McDonalds. We were none the wiser but didn't dare ask any more questions so we shuffled out. We went out to where the bus stops were and hidden from view and nowhere near McDonalds there was a small kiosk selling bus tickets. The guy here was marginally less grumpy and we managed to procure two return tickets to Bondi Beach. We found where the bus went and then got on the 380 bus. The bus took about half an hour to get there. Suddenly the bus went round a corner and there it was. We got off the bus and went straight down to the beach. I don't have good memories of Bondi Beach from when I was last here twenty years ago but we had to come here as Jay hasn't ever seen Bondi and it's an Australian icon. The beach was so much better than I remembered it. They must have cleaned it up as it looked pretty good today. There was a long list of things banned from the beach including cigarettes, alcohol and barbecues. The bay was really nice,the sand was clean and white and the sea a lovely blue. It was not over busy and we settled down here for a while to watch the surfers and people watch generally. I had a paddle and the sea was beautiful and warm. We then got a sandwich for lunch from a shop on the foreshore and then went to get the 380 bus back to the city. The bus back was very busy and was standing room only when we got on. The bus driver was the most miserable ******* we have come across so far on our travels. In fact I'd go as far to say that he was the most miserable and bad tempered bus driver I have ever had the pleasure to travel with. He was also completely hilarious to watch. He had a mad glare in his eyes and he kept turning round to reprimand his poor suffering passengers. He kept shouting 'move down the bus ', 'move further back', 'have you not heard me, move right to the back more people want to get on', 'will you all move down right to the back'. With everyone standing up hanging on for dear life he then proceeded to drive like a man possessed! He would look into his rear view mirror with a look of extreme malice and quite frankly pure evil and at every available opportunity slam the brakes on so everyone was flung all over the place. Every time he hit the brakes it was harshly. What a complete nasty **** he was. When two guys got on he flung the bus off so fast they fell up and over the steps in the middle of the bus. By this time we had thankfully got a seat and watched in horror and hilarity. This guy was a real ******* but ever so funny to watch. He was merciless. We alighted this white knuckle ride at Darlinghurst Road. We had a walk from there to Kings Cross which is a vibrant but fairly seedy suburb close to the city centre. It is full of sex shops and sex shows. Whilst here we popped into a branch of Flight Centre to find out a price for our flights out of Australia in October. Although it's a few months off we are probably going to book them soon as the longer we leave it the higher the price could potentially be. From Kings Cross we had a wander down the hill back to the city and stumbled across the harbour at Woolloomooloo. There were a lot of really great looking restaurants on the wharf and one in particular, Critinis, caught our eye. The menu was massive and really interesting and we decided to eat here. We had a great table on the harbour front and with a brilliant view of the city skyline. We ordered a seafood skewer and a crispy pork belly skewer. The skewers were massive and served with salad and chips. We washed it all down with some tasty wine. The food was completely delicious and was the best meal we've ever had! When we left the restaurant it was almost dark and we walked back to the city along the harbour side and through the Botanic Gardens. We got some wonderful views of the city skyline at night. We caught the Tangara back to North Ryde feeling very happy and looking forward to another day in Sydney tomorrow.