Manly Ferry

I took the Manly Ferry from Circular Quay to Manly on Sunday to meet my friend to do standing up paddle boarding at Shelly Beach.  Circular Quay is next to the Opera House and is where many of Sydney's famous yellow and green ferries depart from and arrive to. You can see some of the most amazing views of Sydney along this half hour ferry route between Manly and Circular Quay, which makes it a big tourist activity.  Sunday morning was a little cloudy, but I thought I'd share some of the views of the Harbour.

The famous Luna Park

Can you see the people doing the bridge climb? I have done that before. So amazing!

City skyline

My favorite beach in Sydney, Balmoral Beach.  The long building in the middle in the Bather's Pavillion.

Mardi Gras

Me and my friends having a grand time during the parade

Mardi Gras is HUGE in Sydney and is especially big in my neighborhood, Darlinghurst, which is Sydney's main gay neighborhood. Decorations were put out weeks before the day.  Oxford Street was a sea of rainbow with more flags, colorful signs and elaborate displays. Tens of thousands of people come to see the two and a half hour long parade and attend the after party.  People starting lining up along Oxford Street near my apartment at 2pm in order to reserve prime parade-watching real estate.  Oxford and Flinder Street (the streets that the floats go along) closed by 6 pm in preparation for the parade at 8pm. My flatmate and I just barely made it across Oxford Street before it closed to go to our friend's house.  We all dressed up and glittered up and got into the Mardi Gras spirit at my friend Hodgo's house and then went to a house party on Flinder's Street.  It was an amazing location for viewing the parade because it was a little less crowded and we could watch from the porch. The parade was unlike any I have ever witnessed.  It was jam-packed with everything from men in tight pants, drag queens to elaborate and risque costumes and each float had dancers with choreographed routines.  Definitely worth coming to see if any of you are ever in Sydney around Mardi Gras. It was just a great night.

A view of part of the parade (This was one of the tamer floats)

I got a picture with a drag queen angel who had better makeup and hair than I did.

One of the Mardi Gras displays on Oxford Street

'Autumn' Saturday

Autumn technically started in Australia last week.  It sounds so weird when Aussies describe this time of the year as autumn when it is still summer weather, however today felt like a crisp early spring morning.  I went to Bills in Woollahra with my girlfriends for brunch.  A few of the girls ordered their famous corn fritters and I got the ricotta hotcakes with banana and unbelievable honeycomb butter.  It was the first time I have had pancakes in the six months I've been here as pancakes are not quite as popular and boy were they satisfying.  After brunch we walked along Oxford Street in Paddington and went in many of the cute boutiques and shops.  I bought a hot little red dress on sale from Kookai that I plan to wear tonight for my Mardi Gras attire.  We also stopped in a really cool store that I had never heard of before, Dinosaur Designs.  The creators of the store got their start by selling jewelry and handprinted fabrics at the Paddington Markets which are on every weekend and now create wonderfully bold bangles, rings, necklaces and homeware made of resin.  I loved these necklaces with feather and finger-like shapes...I may have to go back and get one.

Lollies

 

When I first moved to Sydney many Australians told me how one of the things that the States lacks is good lollies.  At first I did not really get why they are so in love with these large gummy candies and why they think they are superior to American lollies like sour worms, Sour Patch Kids and a few others...but now I've come to that same conclusion that American gummies pale in comparison to Aussie lollies. One brand in particular stands above the rest, Allens. It makes lollies in all different shapes. My absolute favorites are the strawberries and cream, the red frogs and the killer pythons. Other popular lollies are sour coke bottles, milk bottles (which taste like the cream part of the strawberries and cream lollies), pineapples and race cars. This one kilo bag is currently sitting in my fridge... so amazing!

Boomerang Beach and Seal Rocks

This past weekend I went up the coast to Boomerang Beach and Seal Rocks with my coworker Greta and her friends.  Boomerang Beach is about 4 hours north of Sydney.  One of Greta's friend's auntie's has a house that is about a five minute walk from the beach.  It is this awesome weekend house built that feels like a house on the Cape (Cod), but looks a tree house for grown ups because it's built on a big hill and supported by stilts that are about 30 feet or more tall.  Fifteen of us managed to cram into the beds and a few people slept in their VW vans.  We spent the weekend drinking Tooheys (which are a little better than Bud Lights), swimming, sunbathing, surfing and bbqing. We had two of the most beautiful beach days I've seen all summer. There heaps of great beaches along this part of the coast so the beaches are not too crowded, which is a nice change from beaches like Bondi where you have to fight for towel space.

A couple of the guys on their way to surf. 

The water was so clear.

Me at the beach

On Sunday we stopped at Seal Rocks on the way home to Sydney.  Greta's boyfriend Joel gave me my first surf lesson.  I had the BEST time! The waves at Seal Rocks were ideal conditions for beginners (according to Greta and Joel) because they were a decent size, but broke fairly softly against the shore, so if you nose-dived or fell off the board, you were not smashed too hard by the next waves.  I got up on the board a few times and only nose-dived at the beginning.  We spent an hour and a half learning how to catch waves.  My ribs a little sore today from not so gracefully hoisting my stomach onto the board over and over, but it is worth it!

Greta and me pre-surfing

Seal Rocks

Fiji

A week ago I went to Fiji for a conference for work....I know my life is hard.  We stayed at the Sheraton Fiji, a beautiful resort on the western side of the main island in Fiji, Nadi. Our first night in Fiji we watched the most beautiful sunset I have seen in years and definitely since I came to Australia as the majority beaches in Sydney face east.

 The first morning in Fiji I got breakfast and coffee with a few of my coworkers and we drank our coffees on the beach in our work clothes. Definitely the best morning coffee I have ever had.

Enjoying my morning coffee

We spent most of the business days in the conference hall listening to some really cool presentations about the company, but were given time to take afternoon pool and ocean breaks.  The reason we had the conference in Fiji is that it was cheaper than sending our company to a location in Australia as February is part of monsoon season in Fiji.  Every day around two or three it would pour for a solid hour, but then it would be clear blue skies.  The ocean water is the warmest I have ever been in.  It made the pool seem too cold and certainly made Sydney and Maine waters seem frigid in comparison.

My last morning in Fiji I went snorkeling around two reef on islands close to our resort. It was my favorite thing I did that week. Fiji is an archipelago of 332 island, 110 of which are occupied, and 500 islets.  I had not realized how many islands were a part of the country before I went there.  We took at thirty minute boat ride and passed two other island before we arrived at our snorkeling location. We spent an hour and a half around the reef and I saw a parrot fish, amazing blue starfish, crown of thrown starfish (which kill coral), clown fish and so many other sea creatures that I did not recognize. It was truly an amazing experience. 

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine’s Day in the States! Last night my single girlfriends and I went out for drinks and nibbles (Sex in the City style) at The Beresford in Surry Hills. The Beresford is a pub that is only a few blocks from my apartment on Bourke St. Its décor is simple and warm and it has an awesome outdoor area at the back with comfy chairs, floor lights and trees strung with fairy lights. When we got there we ordered jugs of Pimm’s and ate salt and pepper squid, chips and gourmet pizzas for dinner.

The tables outside are normally packed with people, but the patrons had roped off a large section in the middle and put “RESERVED” signs on all of the tables. We were fortunate to get a table just outside the ropes. When we went to get our second round of Pim’s the bartender told my friend that the artists from the Good Vibes music festival were coming to watch the Grammy’s. About a half an hour later Ludacris, Erica Badu and other artists walked in. Ludacris sat in front of our table about six feet from me. Pretty early on in the Grammy’s he turned around and said “Happy Valentine’s Day ladies” to us and said “Are you all each other’s Valentines? What is a group of beautiful ladies like you doing single on Valentine’s Day?”. We were all in shock and laughed and he said “Drinks on me”. He talked to us periodically throughout the night and towards the end of the Grammys he called my flatmate over to ask her what was open in Sydney on a Monday night. His friend got her number and said he would call her to go out when they got back in Sydney later in the week.

Definitely a Valentine’s for the books…watching the Grammys with Luda.

Australia Day

Yesterday we had the day off because it was a public holiday, Australia Day.  Australia Day is somewhat similar to the Fourth of July, but on a smaller scale (ie no fireworks etc.).  I spent my first Australia Day at a BBQ in Rose Bay with a group of friends. Rose Bay is a suburb/neighbourhood near the Harbour in between Double Bay and Watson’s Bay. The day consisted of bbqing sausages (snags), drinking, swimming in Rose Bay and playing cricket. The apartment we were at backs up onto a cricket ground and rugby pitch so it was ideal for barefoot cricket.  I had the BEST time learning how to bat and bowl in cricket.  Everyone explained the basic rules to me and were impressed that I was not half bad (quite a surprise to me as well since I am rubbish at softball).  Although with cricket and the beach the other important Australia Day tradition is to listen to the Triple J Hottest 100 on the radio.  The countdown, which consistes of the previous year’s top song, starts at noon and goes until about 9pm.  This year Aussies cast 1.2 million votes for their favorite songs, which is a large number considering that the population is only 22 million.  The number one song was one of my favorite songs, “Big Jet Plane” by Angus and Julia Stone, who I posted about a few months ago.  All in all it was a pretty ideal holiday and Wednesday afternoon.   

Choc Tops

Choc tops are a quintessentially Aussie movie treat. Every cinema sells these scrumptious chocolate covered ice cream cones.  You hear the crinkly sound of cellophane and satisfying crunch of chocolate at the beginning of every movie. They come in flavors like chocolate, mint, vanilla and boysenberry. I have purchased one of these frozen delights at almost all of the movies I've seen here.  Going to the movies is really a special thing because it is so expensive.  Every Tuesday is "Cheap Tuesday" ("Cheap Choosday" if you pronounce it like an Aussie) and the tickets are lowered from $15 or $16 to $11.  I saw Morning Glory this past week and The King's Speech a few weeks ago.  Both are definitely worth seeing with or without a choc top. 

Field Day

Russ and me at Field Day

Sally, Helen (my flatmate) and me at Field Day

Yesterday, on New Year's Day, Russ and I went to Field Day with my flat mate and some friends.  Field Day is one of many music festivals that happen in Sydney during the summer.  Around 15,000 people attend the festival each year on New Year's Day. The festival starts at 11am and goes to 11pm and is mostly DJ sets and Australian bands. We showed up around 3:30 in  order to miss the peak sun hours.  It was scorching hot and was about 85 degrees even at 4 o'clock.  The festival took place in the Domain, a big lawn area by the Botanical Gardens behind the Opera House.  There were four stages on the venue, but we mainly stayed in front of the main stage. We watched Justice, the Klaxons, Duck Sauce, Erol Alkan, Art vs. Science, Rapture and a few others.  Art vs. Science was one of my favorite performances. They are a Sydney band that has had a lot of success in the past few years.  They were so excited to be playing in their hometown to such a huge crowd (by Sydney standards).  Justice headlined the event and did an amazing hour and a half set to finish up the night.

Taronga Zoo

A few days ago Russ and I went to the Taronga Zoo in Mosman. It is a great zoo with some of the most spectacular views of the Harbour and Sydney.  The skyline acts as a backdrop for many of the animals like the giraffes and elephants. It is quite unique to see the city's most famous landmarks behind exotic creatures. After the zoo we took one of Sydney's famous yellow and green ferries over to Circular Quay and ate gelato and walked around the Opera House. What a lovely summer day.