Dubai: Poolside by the seaside

Just came back from a 2-week holiday over Christmas and New Years. Spent a week in Taiwan and a week in Dubai.
Last day in Dubai was spent relaxing. Poolside by the seaside – coz that’s how I roll in 2015.

From Last day Dubai
From Last day Dubai
From Last day Dubai
From Last day Dubai
From Last day Dubai

Dubai city skyline:

From Last day Dubai
From Last day Dubai
From Last day Dubai
From Last day Dubai
From Last day Dubai
From Last day Dubai
From Last day Dubai
From Last day Dubai

Lazing by the pool:

From Last day Dubai

Enjoying the view:

From Last day Dubai

With cocktail in hand:

From Last day Dubai
From Last day Dubai
From Last day Dubai
From Last day Dubai
From Last day Dubai
From Last day Dubai
From Last day Dubai

Not a bad way to start off the year.
But it was soooo hard to go back to work today!

Sydney Pool Crawl: ABC Pool

After walking across the Sydney Harbour Bridge, I then walked around Circular Quay and past the Opera House and through the outskirts of the Royal Botanical Gardens.

From Sydney Botanical Gardens
From Sydney Botanical Gardens
From Sydney Botanical Gardens
From Sydney Botanical Gardens
From Sydney Botanical Gardens
From Sydney Botanical Gardens
From Sydney Botanical Gardens

Aussies in their natural habitat, bumming around:

From Sydney Botanical Gardens
From Sydney Botanical Gardens
From Sydney Botanical Gardens

Mrs Macquarie’s Chair:

From Sydney Botanical Gardens

Wolloomoolloo (did I spell that right?):

From Sydney Botanical Gardens
From Sydney Botanical Gardens

Destination: Pool number 2 – the Andrew “Boy” Charlton Pool.

From Sydney Botanical Gardens
From ABC pool

Another glorious outdoor 50m pool (part chlorinated/part salt water), mostly dedicated to lap swimmers, too!

From ABC pool
From ABC pool
From ABC pool
From ABC pool
From ABC pool
From ABC pool

That was a solid workout of a day.
1km swim, 5km walk, another 1km swim and more walking. I had another pool on my pool crawl, but alas, I a had plans that afternoon so had to end the day short. Only 2 pools, so not much of a pool crawl. Will need do the other two pools when I’m next in Sydney (September — probably not the best swimming weather though – it will be winter in the Southern Hemisphere).

A Sydney pool crawl is definitely a cool way to see the main sights of Sydney and get in a bit of fitness. Learn from my mistakes – don’t spend the day walking around in thongs (flip flops). Joggers are a better option. As are shorts (and not a summer dress). And rinse off all the salt after each swim to avoid chafing.

Sydney Pool Crawl: Harbour Bridge Walk

Part II of the Sydney Pool crawl was walking the Sydney Harbour Bridge. From North Sydney Pool I thought it would be a good idea to walk all the way to my next pool – the Andrew “Boy” Charlton (ABC) Pool. I did not realise how far that was!

From North Sydney train station, you can walk along the entire length of Sydney Harbour Bridge. Blessed with blue skies and sunshine, it was the perfect day to tale in the sights of Sydney’s main attractions – namely the harbour, the Bridge, Opera House and Circular Quay.

Near North Sydney Pool – Under the Bridge:

From Walking the Harbour Bridge
From Walking the Harbour Bridge
From Walking the Harbour Bridge

Luna Park:

From Walking the Harbour Bridge

Circular Quay:

From Walking the Harbour Bridge
From Walking the Harbour Bridge
From Walking the Harbour Bridge

Start of the Bridge walk:

From Walking the Harbour Bridge

Sydney’s harbour bridge has a pedestrian walking path on one side – open to walkers, joggers and the occasional person with a bicycle, and train tracks on the other where the North Sydney train line runs.

Over and across the Bridge:

From Walking the Harbour Bridge
From Walking the Harbour Bridge
From Walking the Harbour Bridge
From Walking the Harbour Bridge

Great views of the harbour from the bridge:

From Walking the Harbour Bridge
From Walking the Harbour Bridge
From Walking the Harbour Bridge
From Walking the Harbour Bridge
From Walking the Harbour Bridge
From Walking the Harbour Bridge
From Walking the Harbour Bridge

I love harbour cities!

From Walking the Harbour Bridge
From Walking the Harbour Bridge
From Walking the Harbour Bridge
From Walking the Harbour Bridge
From Walking the Harbour Bridge
From Walking the Harbour Bridge
From Walking the Harbour Bridge

Not only can you walk, train, drive, cycle across the bridge, you can also climb on the Bridge – if you do the Bridge Climb Experience (definitely worth doing!).

Here are some bridge climbers:

From Walking the Harbour Bridge

You can also walk up to the Bridge lookout pylons (an $11 entry fee to walk up 200 steps).

From Walking the Harbour Bridge
From Walking the Harbour Bridge
From Walking the Harbour Bridge

A typical Sydney summer’s day:

From Walking the Harbour Bridge

Circular Quay:

From Walking the Harbour Bridge

From The Rocks:

From Walking the Harbour Bridge
From Walking the Harbour Bridge
From Walking the Harbour Bridge
From Walking the Harbour Bridge
From Walking the Harbour Bridge

Walking route from North Sydney Pool, across the Sydney Harbour Bridge, around Circular Quay, around the Royal Botanical Gardens and to the next pool (approx 5.3km – 1.5hours at a leisurely pace):

From Walking the Harbour Bridge

Sydney Pool Crawl: Part I

During my summer Sydney visit, I thought it would be an awesome idea to do a Sydney Pool Crawl (as opposed to a bar crawl). Like most good plans, it never quite turns out the way that you plan it. I had planned on visiting 4 swimming pools around Sydney City and swimming 1km at each pool. The reality – – I only did two pools. Hence I satisfied the “Sydney Pool” part of my idea. The “Crawl” came into it, because I ended up walking about 10km all over town! I did sooo much walking that I didn’t get to do the four pools. Did I mention that I had planned on walking from one pool to the next pool?! Hence all that walking around, meant that I didn’t get to quite fit in as much swimming as I would have liked. The day started off with a train ride into the city all the way to North Sydney station. From there I walked to North Sydney Pool – a wonderful pool (and probably one of my favourites). It’s situated right under the “Coathanger” aka the Sydney Habour Bridge. Can’t complain with a harbour-side pool. It’s also quite an historic pool and the water more saltwater than chlorine. Part 1: North Sydney Pool. Prime piece of real estate, that.

From North Sydney Pool

The “Coathanger”:

From North Sydney Pool

Lovely 50m outdoor pool. A whole 7 laps dedicated to lap swimmers!

From North Sydney Pool
From North Sydney Pool
From North Sydney Pool

Enjoying the Sydney sunshine, blue skies and a refreshing swim:

From North Sydney Pool

Dedicated lap swimmers:

From North Sydney Pool
From North Sydney Pool
From North Sydney Pool

Harbourside:

From North Sydney Pool

Luna Park amusement park right next door.

From North Sydney Pool

Swam 1km here and enjoyed a quick bask in the sun. One pool down. Sydney Pool Crawl to be continued…. 5193381 2013-02-12 22:43:33 2013-02-12 13:43:33 open closed sydney-pool-crawl-part-i publish 0 0 post 0 Australia down under : oz Fitness passing time photography Random Swimming Swimming Travel travel _edit_last 253158 _encloseme 1 _encloseme 1 Sydney Pool Crawl: Harbour Bridge Walk http://memoirsofaleisha.blog.com/2013/02/15/sydney-pool-crawl-harbour-bridge-walk/ Fri, 15 Feb 2013 04:35:56 +0000 aleishariboldi@gmail.com http://memoirsofaleisha.blog.com/?p=5193383 Part II of the Sydney Pool crawl was walking the Sydney Harbour Bridge. From North Sydney Pool I thought it would be a good idea to walk all the way to my next pool – the Andrew “Boy” Charlton (ABC) Pool. I did not realise how far that was! From North Sydney train station, you can walk along the entire length of Sydney Harbour Bridge. Blessed with blue skies and sunshine, it was the perfect day to tale in the sights of Sydney’s main attractions – namely the harbour, the Bridge, Opera House and Circular Quay. Near North Sydney Pool – Under the Bridge:

From Walking the Harbour Bridge
From Walking the Harbour Bridge
From Walking the Harbour Bridge

Luna Park:

From Walking the Harbour Bridge

Circular Quay:

From Walking the Harbour Bridge
From Walking the Harbour Bridge
From Walking the Harbour Bridge

Start of the Bridge walk:

From Walking the Harbour Bridge

Sydney’s harbour bridge has a pedestrian walking path on one side – open to walkers, joggers and the occasional person with a bicycle, and train tracks on the other where the North Sydney train line runs. Over and across the Bridge:

From Walking the Harbour Bridge
From Walking the Harbour Bridge
From Walking the Harbour Bridge
From Walking the Harbour Bridge

Great views of the harbour from the bridge:

From Walking the Harbour Bridge
From Walking the Harbour Bridge
From Walking the Harbour Bridge
From Walking the Harbour Bridge
From Walking the Harbour Bridge
From Walking the Harbour Bridge
From Walking the Harbour Bridge

I love harbour cities!

From Walking the Harbour Bridge
From Walking the Harbour Bridge
From Walking the Harbour Bridge
From Walking the Harbour Bridge
From Walking the Harbour Bridge
From Walking the Harbour Bridge
From Walking the Harbour Bridge

Not only can you walk, train, drive, cycle across the bridge, you can also climb on the Bridge – if you do the Bridge Climb Experience (definitely worth doing!). Here are some bridge climbers:

From Walking the Harbour Bridge

You can also walk up to the Bridge lookout pylons (an $11 entry fee to walk up 200 steps).

From Walking the Harbour Bridge
From Walking the Harbour Bridge
From Walking the Harbour Bridge

A typical Sydney summer’s day:

From Walking the Harbour Bridge

Circular Quay:

From Walking the Harbour Bridge

From The Rocks:

From Walking the Harbour Bridge
From Walking the Harbour Bridge
From Walking the Harbour Bridge
From Walking the Harbour Bridge
From Walking the Harbour Bridge

Walking route from North Sydney Pool, across the Sydney Harbour Bridge, around Circular Quay, around the Royal Botanical Gardens and to the next pool (approx 5.3km – 1.5hours at a leisurely pace):

From Walking the Harbour Bridge