Yesterday was a perfect day. It was a
combination of catching up with a good friend, walks through beautiful parts of
Sydney, seeing a great, thought provoking film, good food and overachievement
of my physical exercise targets. I could not ask for more in one day.
The day started with a walk with my friend from
Mosman to Balmoral. The views on the walk are breathtaking. We walked the route
many times before but each time I see the bays view from the Mosman hills I
stop in awe of beauty of the place, I stand silenced in admiration and count my blessings that I live in such a
beautiful place.
Balmoral is a beautiful part of Mosman famous for its beach, beautiful houses and fine dining. The Balmoral beach has views over Sydney Harbour National Park and the gateway to Sydney Harbour. It is a place that people like to come for a picnic or a swim. For me it is often a destination of my morning walks interrupted by a stop for breakfast in one of the local cafes. The cafes are always full at any day of the week but waiting for a table is pleasant watching the passersby and the water views. Yesterday we also had our traditional breakfast. Tea for my friend, flat white for me and two bircher mueslis with yoghurt and fruits. Yam!
We walked uphill back to the village part of Mosman to have yet another tea and a chat.
The next part of the program was a walk for lunch to Cammeray and its Epoque Belgian Beer Cafe famous for its beer. The walk was longer than I anticipated. I was tired, hot and impatient to get to the restaurant where we intended to have specialty of the house – mussels. We had a pot of mussels mariniere with a glass of sparkling rose so my spirits and enthusiasm for further walking was revived.
The film we chose was Wadja, a Saudi Arabian film directed by a Saudi Arabian woman Haifaa al-Mansour and filmed in the suburbs of the Saudi capital, Riyadh. I must confess that I am somewhat of a feminist even if not a militant one, I believe that we are all equal and I have a tendency to support women whenever I can. This film made me think that I want to do more for women than I have been doing so far. Maybe I will focus my coaching program on women? So, for me the film was inspirational and educating. I did not know much about Saudi Arabia except that it is a rich country. Maybe I knew a bit more than that but I did not have any idea of everyday life in the country. It is a subtle film, does not shout about difficult life the women is. It shows the problems of the country in such a way that I got really moved. The scene that particularly moved me was when the mother, defeated by the Islam rules allowing men to have more than one wife gains understanding for her daughter unconventional dreams. In that scene there is so much dignity, acceptance of hard reality, love and hope that things will change that it made lasting impression on me.
It was time to walk home and check the parameters of physical exercise I had that day. This is impressive! We walked 13km, burnt 407 kcals and walked 23,549steps!.
My daily goal is 300 kcals and 10,000 steps. Nice overachievement and encouragement for the future.
