School still has not started, so I have been trying to spend my days wandering around Newcastle! I have some friends from the University of Arkansas that have been with me as we find new places to see.
A really big thing in Newcastle is their love for cafes and healthy life style. This picture to the left is from an amazing place called BlueDoor. My friends and I had smoothies, juices, avo on toast with poached eggs, and a buddha bowl at the restaurant. To say it was amazing would be an understatement! We absolutely loved it here and will for sure be going back at some point. We have also tried poke bowls, Thai food, sushi, and, most importantly, we found a good Mexican food restaurant! After coming from the U.S. with Mexican restaurants everywhere, it has been quite the change having to hunt down good Mexican food. The Australian equivalent to Mexican food is Asian food. The sushi and Thai were amazing, so I am not complaining about the food in any way! It is an adjustment, but still just as delicious.
The beaches here are some of the best in the world! That is not just my opinion, a quick google search will prove that these beaches are of top quality. The beach is not just for tanning, as I once thought. There are always people playing football or soccer, hang gliding, and the most common past time at the beach is surfing. I had the chance to be at the beach during a surfing competition. There were so many people there to watch and support the competitors! Although I know nothing about the sport of surfing, it was still really cool to watch the competition! One of my favorite places we have been is Bogie Hole! To the right is a glimpse of what Bogie Hole looks like. This is just along the ocean, filled with ocean water! It was fun to float around and watch the waves hit the rocks, without the worry of any sea animals coming near me! One of my U of A friends, AC, was not a fan of all the seaweed and it was funny to see her tread water most of the time instead of standing up! If sea animals, sand and seaweed are not your favorite things (like my friend AC), there are baths that are right on the beach as well. The baths are also filled with sea water, but made of cement! This means there are no animals or seaweed within the pool!