Our New Neighbor

The other morning the Queen Victoria docked at the overseas terminal on the dock opposite of our apartment. The Queen Elizabeth II (QU II) docked at the Navy yard as well. Tonight at around 6:00 pm they will pass each other in Sydney Harbor and then the Queen Victoria will go out to sea while the QE II docks till tomorrow night. You would think it was actually Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth the way it is being hyped around here. You see gobs of people carrying all kinds of tripods and camera equipment to get the "best shot". There are signs posted all over the streets to direct people to the best viewing areas to see them pass each other. The crowds of people here in Circular Quay (where we live) have been huge. I present exhibit A. And now I give you...the Queen Victoria. It is definitely the biggest boat we've seen docked here in the harbor.

Saturday we hopped into the Jeep to drive around a bit...after a delicious breakfast at Pancakes-On-The-Rocks. Love those pancakes! We drove down to Paddington (a Sydney suburb) to go to the Paddington Bazaar, another open market of stalls that people sell...well, a bunch of junk. You'd think this is something Phil and I do all the time at home since this is the second Saturday in a row that we've done this...but no, it was just somewhere to go. The weather yesterday and today has been stunning (bright blue sky and lots of sunshine) so we wanted to go somewhere we could walk outside. We then drove over to the Watson's Bay area again to walk around the cliffs. We stumbled across a cricket match at this sports field on the top of one of the cliffs. Still quite a boring game...especially when seen in person and not just on tv. Phil says that any game that boys wear a straw hat to play is one for sissys. Still, a very pretty area.

This coming week will be a busy one. Phil and I leave for Singapore early Tuesday morning. We'll fly home overnight on Thursday. Not sure how much posts I'll well, post while we're gone, but I'll get you caught up when we return. Not sure what to expect in Singapore...I do know there is Long John Silver's there that I want to eat at. Yes, I know...seriously pathetic, but I'm serious when I say that I don't like to try new foods, especially of the Oriental variety. Too many bad smells and slimy looking "meats".

On Sunday, our friends Dave and Amy come down from the states for a week's vacation. Very excited about that! We haven't seen them in a couple of years so it should be a good time had by all.

Inside the Toaster

Well, here you go folks...an inside look at our apartment in all of it's glory! The first picture is coming in from the hallway. Sorry it's a little dark, but you can get a glimpse of our great view. The whole wall there to the right is floor to ceiling mirrors. A wall o' mirrors, if you would. On the left wall is some "art"...really just a big squiggly line on a canvas.

The next picture as you walk into the apartment is of our "dining room". Check out the chairs...yep, they're plastic. I feel like I'm sitting on outdoor lawn furniture . We bought and constructed the little wooden computer desk from Ikea...very handy. The wall that the computer desk is next to is again...you guessed it...another wall o' mirrors.

The next picture is of our "living room". Yes, lots of brown and orange. We moved the couch and seats around to make more sense. When we first arrived the chairs were on either side of the tv facing outward. How in the world are you supposed to watch tv like that? (said the American who watches a lot of tv.)

The next picture is looking into our kitchen which is behind the couch. I'm still trying to figure out the oven. The dial to turn it on only has little pictures to tell you what the dial is set on. I know, it sounds easy (and I understand the picture of the fan) but what is the fan and the squiggly line? Just the squiggly line? The one tray? Both trays? One tray and the fan? Still working on it...and of course the temperature is only listed on that dial in Celsius. Still working on that conversion as well. Don't get me started about the dishwasher's pictures either. (The dishwasher is under the bar just to the left of the sink if you're in the kitchen. ) A pot on one tray? A bowl with two trays? A glass alongside a coffee mug? A wire bristle brush? A snowflake? Yeah...what? And yes, the whole back wall of the kitchen is yet again a wall o' mirrors.

If you walk back toward the door, make a right, go into a tiny hallway you're facing the bathroom. If you turn right before you go into the bathroom...there's our bedroom. Behind the wall o'curtain are floor to ceiling windows as well as a sliding glass door to get out onto the balcony. And yes...the whole wall behind the bed is a wall o' mirrors.

There you have it...life in the toaster.

Living in "The Toaster"

I just realized (ok, Phil came up with the suggestion this morning) that you haven't seen where we live down here yet. Yes, we live in what's fondly, or not so fondly referred to as "The Toaster". When this apartment complex was built, most people ( or Sidneysiders, as people who live in Sydney are called...I know, what?) were totally against the construction. They felt like it cut off the Opera House and the Botanical Gardens (directly behind the buildings) from the rest of Sydney. And yes, I can see why people would call it a kitchen appliance. It does sort of remind you of a toaster. Here it is...our apartment circled in red, and yes, we really do live next to the Opera House. Cool, isn't it?





On the ground floor of the apartment complex are a bunch of shops, little restaurants, and a couple of small outdoor cafes. Ask Phil how his $8.00 piece of chocolate cake was from one of those outdoor cafes the other night. No wonder they didn't put the price on the menu.

The next picture is looking out from our little balcony. We have a great view of the Harbour Bridge from home sweet home. We plan to watch the New Year's Eve fireworks from it come December. Check out the dark clouds...drought? yeah right. If you look to North Sydney, right under the bridge you can see Luna Park. It's an amusement park. This is where Phil asked for a hotdog when he was down here awhile ago for business and he was handed a hot pink, nee magenta colored hot dog.

Looking straight ahead off of our balcony you can see the Contemporary Art Museum (the yellowish-orangish building). Being the patrons of contemporary art that we are (yes the reclining nude statue from our living room is still put away) I don't envision too many trips there. To the right of the museum is the area known as "The Rocks". If you remember from an earlier post, this is the oldest part of Sydney. The little white house there in the front-right of the picture is Cadman's Cottage, the oldest resdence in Sydney. The overseas cruise terminal is right in front of The Rocks. A big Celebrity Cruise Ship just left a day or so ago and now a smaller boat came in this afternoon. You can also see the many ferry boats coming and going from the ferry terminal just to the left of the picture. It's like living on Staten Island! (If I mentioned my Upper Peninsula of Michigan heritage in an earlier post, I most certainly can't leave out my Staten Island heritage too.)

Finally, the last picture is downtown Sydney. The ferry, train, and bus terminals are all right there so we can pretty much get anywhere in Sydney from the apartment. The yellowish stone building with the clock on the front is the Customs House building. It was built in 1885 and is on the place where supposedly the Union flag was first flown in Australia in 1788. (Yes, the handy guide book once again.) See the green canopy at the bottom of the picture? An aborigine sits there every day playing his digideroo for all the tourists. (and the opportunity to get your picture taken with him. Did I mention that you could buy his cds for $10?) Tomorrow I'll post pictures of the inside of our apartment in all of it's glory.

Busy Saturday

On Saturday we finally got the car that the company is leasing for us while we're down here. We dropped off our rental and picked up our Jeep Wrangler. After a long lesson on how to remove the canvas top (complete with plenty of zipper tugging and even use of a small screwdriver) we took it home. The weather looked a bit iffy...what's new, so we walked over to the Rocks. Every Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 till 5:00 an outdoor market is set up for throngs of people to walk through. Literally, throngs.

As the morning progressed it looked like it would be ok, so we went back to the garage (or car park as they're called here) to get the Jeep. Ever try to put the canvas top of a Jeep down in a low ceiling'd garage? After much driving of the car back and forth between the pipes hanging from the ceiling, we were off.

We decided to drive over to Watson's Bay to walk around and have lunch. After driving just a short bit, we both agreed we would never be contestants together on "The Amazing Race". (I know, Kelly, a dream just died.) My map reading is apparently not quick enough. I may be right on which street to turn on (and I usually am) , I'm just a bit late on telling Phil to turn.

The drive was very nice. Many people had told Phil that if he had the chance to drive through the eastern suburbs, he should because it was very nice. At first, we had to disagree. It looked nothing special until we drove a bit. Then the houses became very nice. And the views...straight out over the harbor looking at the city skyline, Harbour Bridge, and Opera House. Very nice indeed.

We parked the Jeep and walked over to Doyles on the Beach. This was Australia's first seafood restaurant and opened in 1885. (Got to love my handy guide to Sydney book.) We didn't go in the restaurant...heard it was extremely over-priced for what you got, so we went to their little seafood stand right next door. Got some fantastic fish and chips. Yes, still a bit over-priced but boy, they were good.

After lunch we drove over to the other side of Watson's Bay (it's at the tip of a peninsula) and walked along the cliffs looking out over the Pacific Ocean (actually, I think its called the Tasmanian Sea.) Very pretty, isn't it?

After walking around a bit, we jumped back in the Jeep and drove it south to take a look at Bondi Beach. It's 1/2 mile (or 1km) of white sand known for big waves so it's popular with surfers. We saved actually getting out for another day.

After returning to the apartment, we ended the day by walking over to the Rocks for dinner at our new favorite restaurant...Pancakes-On-The-Rocks. Yes...you can get a plate of fluffy buttermilk pancakes for about $8.00. Yes, you're cringing at the price back home, but a cheap meal here! Mm, Mm, Mm, very tasty. Of course you can get "real" meals or crepes if you want, but nothing says tasty like a plate of butter-slathered pancakes. (minus the syrup, of course). A good day..except for the sun burn on my face. No, mom, Karen, and Jared, I forgot to put on sunscreen. Yes, I realize that isn't good. Yes, I realize I now look like a raccoon because I was wearing my sunglasses. No, I won't forget to put it on in the future.

Pasty in Australia!

Tonight Phil and I walked over to Woolloomooloo (try saying that 5 times fast) an area of Sydney that is on the other side of the Botanical Gardens for dinner. We went to Harry's Cafe De Wheels. This is a food van which began as a pie cart in the 1940's serving "pie floaters" (meat pies and mashed peas.)
It is a big tourist stop now that whenever celebrities are in town, they go there and get their picture taken ordering food. A lot of celebrity photo frames are nailed on the outer walls so you can see whose been there. Phil bought a meat pie and I had a pasty. For those not of Upper Peninsula of Michigan descent, a pasty is a pie filled with meat, potatoes, carrots, and perhaps rutabaga, that is usually eaten with ketchup. Mine didn't have ketchup and also included peas and gravy inside, but it wasn't bad. Not mom's, but not bad.
Harry's is right near the navy base here in Sydney so I also added a picture. We had a great time walking along the Botanical Gardens all the way back to the Opera House and then home.

An Ode to Australia's Greatest Invention

As mentioned in a previous post, last Friday night we took the train to Olympic Park to hear a free outdoor concert that they have there every Friday night during the summer. We brought a blanket to spread out on, but did not anticipate the grass being a bit wet from the previous day's rain. Lo and behold (thanks Jess for the catchy phrase) we noticed they were selling (for $8) the holy grail for anyone tired of holding themselves up in a sitting position. I give you....the Bum Box. Check out their website: thebumbox.com.au (and I did not pay $8...the guy behind the counter took pity on the pathetic Yank with wet stains on her jeans and just gave it to me. ) And now...an ode to a truly wonderous invention!

When I'm in pain and can sit no more

and my back and bum feel very sore.

I pull you out and promptly sit.

My Bum Box is a perfect fit!

You can support 120 kilograms.

That's me or Phil plus a bag of yams.

We plan to take you everywhere

because we came and brought no chair.

You fold up flat when we are done

and provide us with a lot of fun.

Woe to those who go without

a Bum Box...they will truly pout!

The United States vs. Australia

Some more differences that I've noticed while working hard at my new job of "Professional Tourist".

1. All the outlets here have an on/off switch that you have to push before anything that is plugged in will work. Phil says it has to do with the I don't know, 200 and something volts waiting to be used. Something about an electric shock that you wouldn't wake up from...

2. When waiting to cross the city streets, you hear a clicking sound that as soon as the WALK symbol appears turns into...the best way to desribe it is the sound of an old Atari game space ship sound that beeps very quickly. You don't even have to look for the walk/do not walk symbols...just listen for the space ship sound.

3. When meeting people they ask you, "How are you going?" They don't really mean how you are going, such as by car or bus. They mean, "How are you doing?" Luckily, no embarrassing moments to report there. Although did hear a funny story when the Chinese husband of one of the tax people that Phil works with mentioned that when he first came here he always responded "by bus" until he learned what they were actually asking him.

4. When you see "capsicum" on a menu, that means red or green bell peppers. Where in the world did they find the word, capsicum?

5. Restaurants do not put ice in drinks here. For those who know me...this is a grave matter. I like my glasses practically filled to the top with ice. I've had to learn to suffer through luke warm glasses of water. (I cannot drink my Diet Coke with no ice. It's just not the same. Sigh.)

6. Only in Australia will you find people walking down the city sidewalk with a surfboard under their arm.

7. Not only do people drive on the left side of the road, they also walk on the left side of the sidewalk and stair cases. I never noticed before that we tend to walk on the right until now, when I constantly find myself suddenly veering to the left in order to avoid a head-on collision.

8. Only in Australia will you find people on a bicycle peddaling furiously in full cycling gear right next to a busy highway.

9. At a restaurant, they don't have "to go". It's called "take away".

10. I would say after much time of people watching...after all, a professional tourist has plenty of time to do that...that when you see a young family walking past, 8 out of 10 times you will see the man with the diaper bag (or nappie bag) slung on his shoulder pushing the stroller (or pram as they're called here). I'm not sure why that struck me, but I guess back home I usually see it the other way around.

Finally, a most Happy Birthday goes out to Mom! It's the 13th here but the 12th there. Happy Birthday! Wish we were there, but see you in March! Love you.