Want some cheese with your wine?

What a great Saturday here in Sydney! Yesterday morning I started off my weekend swimming laps at Bondi Pool. It was so beautiful and everyone was out in full force. Adam eventually came to meet up and then we went to the beach to lay out for a bit. Ahhhhh!

After the beach we met up with a couple friends, Charles and Steve, at Hyde Park where the NSW Wine Festival was being held. It's 2 days of tasting wines and eating food from various wineries around NSW. Adam and I each bought a $5 glass and then five $4 tickets. Each ticket got you a 60 ml tasting from any of the many booths, but most booths also offered two 30 ml tastings.

We ended up tasting wine from Canberra, Hunter, Mudgee, Southern Highlands, Shoalhaven and Cowra region. Some were better than others. My favorite was the Semillon from Hunter and my least favorite was the Shiraz from Canberra (it tasted like pepper).

The event started to wrap up at 6pm so we headed to dinner followed by a cool party in Darlinghurst. Happy Saturday!

Its starting to feel like home!

I can't believe it's almost been  4 months since arriving in Sydney! Sometimes it feels longer and other times it feels like I just arrived. Probably because I've seen so much but miss my friends and family terribly. Either way its been 4 months and its starting to feel a little like home.

Our first month here we were living in a sublet in Double Bay, or as we call it "Double Pay." Our second month we moved into another sublet in Elizabeth Bay, all thanks to our friends Tess and Scott. Third month we finally moved into a place to call our own but to our disappointment our stuff that was picked up in NYC back in October still had yet to show up.

Literally, the day before my sister arrived so did our stuff! It's been a slow progression of unpacking boxes, buying furniture and getting this place in order but I think its safe to say its now starting to look like a home.

BEFORE

 AFTER

(queen bed in the guest room!!)

We now live in Bondi, literally 2 blocks from the beach. It's a really great area as it's always bustling with shops, restaurants and lots of people coming and going from the beach and CBD.

Animalia of Terra Australis

It was a decidedly grey day in the Blue Mountains. With Sharon's sister in town we planned a weekend getaway there -- hiking on Saturday, spending the night in one of the local towns at a quaint (read: outdated) motel, and then going to see the Three Sisters, a famous rock formation, on Sunday morning before heading back to Sydney. But any mountains that existed, including the Three Sisters, were hidden by a cloud that descended on us. We could tell our altitude had increased by the popping of our ears, but there was no indication that beautiful, sweeping views were ours to see if only the sun would come out.


This was a shame since the Blue Mountains are supposed to be beautiful. They get their name from the blue haze that comes from the moisture in the air mixing with the oil from all the eucalyptus trees. We thought it would be a great chance to show Dalia a part of Australia outside of Sydney.


Instead, as the rain pounded down outside we grabbed lunch in Katoomba, the main town in this part of the Blue Mountains, and debated our next steps. Sharon thought we should still proceed with our hiking plans. I said I wasn't going. Dalia concurred and we eventually convinced Sharon we'd be soaking wet and cold and muddy and probably slip'n'sliding down the trails within a few minutes.


This left the question: what to do with the rest of the day? We had already incurred the expense of a rental car -- might as well use it. Dalia had found, while flipping through a tourist pamphlet on Sydney, the Featherdale Wildlife Park. This was about halfway between our current location and home, so we decided to go.


As we entered the park, a wallaby hanging out on its own greeted us. We walked right up to it and were able to pet it. In fact, there were wallabies, and kangaroos, and koalas all over the park that you could pet or feed. Koalas got special treatment though. Whereas the wallabies and kangaroos could roam freely, the "show koala" (there were probably a couple dozen in the park, but only one at a time is accessible to visitors) snoozed on a stand while a keeper made sure no one got too animated and tried to pick it up. The koala, when we got there, was fast asleep. They only eat eucalyptus, which is a narcotic, so they essentially get stoned and then sleep 20 hours a day. They actually have to sleep that much or the eucalyptus will poison them, however. Interesting evolution. The koala was by far Dalia's and Sharon's favorite.


There were also a number of emus wandering the park. These animals are, I decided, not very bright. One kept trying to eat Sharon's shoe, even though it was obvious that her shoe wasn't edible. The park also had a Tasmanian Devil, which looks like an overgrown rat, a wide collection of birds, some beautiful Alpine Dingoes, a large crocodile, and the requisite reptile house full of snakes and lizards.


One of the most fascinating looking creatures was a bird called the Cassowary. If any animal looks like something out of the dinosaur age, this has to be it, at least from the neck up. It's got a giant fin on the top of its head that looks like it's out of the Jurassic era. I learned it's considered the "most dangerous bird in the world" according to the Guinness Book of Records.

Here are some photos we took:

TROPFEST 2011

Just last night we went to the annual Tropfest Short Film Festival here in Sydney.  Turns out its the largest short film festival in the world and other than Sydney it is held in only ONE other place... New York City!! (yeah baby yeah!)

With thousands of films submitted only 16 were chosen to exhibit at the festival last night. Held in The Domain, we headed over with chairs, blanket, food and wine in hand to claim our turf. We arrived around 5pm and friends trickled in over the next couple hours. The show began at 8pm and wrapped up around 11pm. Here are some pictures from the event.

Some films were better than others but all were quite entertaining for one reason or another. My personal favorite ended up being the winner. It's called Animal Beatbox and I am sure you will enjoy it as well. Check it out but please note you might be chanting the words for the rest of your day.

Dogs and Cats and Dogs and Cats and Dogs and Cats and Dogs and Cats

If you're into the whole brevity thing...

One of the things we learned once we arrived in Australia is that Aussies love to shorten words. Sharon discovered that she is now called either Shaz or Shazza. "Brian", which is apparently too strenuous as well, is shortened to Baz. And if you go by "Anthony" you can expect to be called Ant.

Mosquitoes are called Mozzies. University is just Uni. Air conditioner is now Air Con.

This nomenclature extends to food. Savignon Blanc has become Sav Blanc. Breakfast is Brekkie. Avocado is Avo. And the formal Eggs Benedict has been reduced to the casual Eggs Ben.

Sharon, who is soaking up Aussie slang, has gotten in on the action. When I thanked her for making a snack yesterday, she responded with, "My plez" instead of "My pleasure."

This is a trait that would be more appropriate to the hectic pace of New York City rather than the studied chill that is the Australian lifestyle. No one seems to be in a hurry here. It's at once refreshing and frustrating to people used to the instant gratification of Manhattan. But we're getting used to it, and getting better at chilling is something I always aspire to: http://manlycards.typepad.com/manlycards/2007/06/summer-of-adam.html.

Dalz Came to Town!

I had the pleasure of spending the last 1 1/2 weeks exploring Sydney with my sister, Dalia, who came to visit from Israel where she has been interning for the last 5 months.  We started her trip here with a ferry ride to Manly where we spent the day and night hanging on the beach and around town with some friends. Sydney was experiencing a heat wave, with temperatures hitting 106F (41C). Basically, being at the beach was like putting your head in the oven. Nonetheless, we had a blast!

The next day we decided to take a break from the heat and go to the Annie Leibovitz exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art (yay for air conditioning!) down in The Rocks. It was a huge exhibit and I personally loved it! It’s on through March so check it out if you can.

Dalia and I decided to spend one of our afternoons chilling poolside at the Ivy Pool, a complex of restaurants, bars, and a hotel. It's very posh and very Miami, and we had a great time ordering food, drinking wine, and swimming in the pool downtown among all the suits out on their lunch break.

That night we decided to hit up Opera Bar for some pre-dinner drinks. I cannot express enough how amazing this place is! The views, the crowd, the food, and the drinks are fantastic. We could have stayed and stared at the spectacular views all night but we decided to head out so we could hit up some more places. Here are a few photos:

By far the best lunch we had was at the Sydney Fish Market in Pyrmont. After two bus rides from Bondi we arrived to the smell of fish. Amazed by how much fresh fish and seafood there was to choose from we ended up getting a spread of salmon, king prawns, ½ of a lobster and some sashimi. Dalia even got a free raw oyster. Not wanting to end on a fishy note, we decided to grab some fresh cut mango slices and a couple strawberries dipped in chocolate. Probably the best strawberries of my life! If you come to Sydney this place is worth a trip.

In an effort not to make this post tooooo long, I will close with a few pictures of our coastal walk from Bondi to Coogee. The walk is too beautiful to pass up. The Bronte seaside pool is so beautiful and perfect for a swim. There is also a Bondi pool and they are both free to the public.

Dalia is now on her way to Thailand where she will be exploring yet another country. I think my older sister said it best…"Dalia, have fun on your trip within a trip within a trip!"

Happy Valentines Day!

 Just want to wish everyone a happy Valentines Day! We celebrated yesterday but I know many of you are celebrating today. Enjoy and lots of love from down under!

Australia Day!

I hate starting off with an apology but sorry for the lull in posts.  It has been pretty crazy. I got back last Saturday from a 2.5 week trip to Florida where I totally surprised my sister, Sivan, and niece, Sienna, who were passing through on their way back to London. After having an amazing few days we said goodbye and I instantly got sick with the flu. After sitting on the couch for a couple days with a high of 103.6 degree, I got better and quickly schlepped my mom around town to finalize some wedding planning before heading back down under.


I have to admit being back is a little bitter-sweet. Sweet because I am back in my man's arms but bitter because we are sleeping on an air mattress and living in an empty apartment without Internet. (I am actually writing this from a cafe by my apartment in Bondi.)

This past Wednesday January 26^th was yet another national holiday here in Australia. It was Australia Day! Everyone has off from work and basically does the same thing… go to the beach and BBQ. To our great appreciation, our good friends Max and Elma invited us to join them to do just that.

In honor of this day I decided to wear my Wednesday best.

We were picked up at 10am and we headed out to The Royal National Park to meet others at Bundeena beach for an all day BBQ. Just over an hour drive south of our place in Bondi we arrived to meet tons of people, food and drinks. Long day in the sun and Adam and I are wishing we had done that extra reapply of sunscreen. Learning life long lessons everyday!

HAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY!

Desperately seeking stuff...

I am officially taking a moment to vent....


Its been 3 months since we first landed in Australia and we are having a great time meeting amazing people and exploring a new world.


However, as of the first of this year we signed a lease and have been living in our new EMPTY apartment in Bondi. We have no couch, no bed, no chairs, no kitchen equipment, no TV and no Internet. Only by the generosity and pity of our friends were we able to scrounge up an air-mattress and two lawn chairs. So needless to say, we avoid our apartment at all costs.


Task at hand numero uno... get Internet! Appointment #1 got canceled due to the flooding in Queensland because all the technicians were sent up there to get the state back online...understandable. It's a worthy cause. So we set up appointment #2 for this past Monday. A technician was scheduled to come somewhere in between 1-5pm (enough time?). Therefore, I was required to sit in our apartment (please re-read paragraph above) and wait. I spent the long 4 hrs finding ways to keep myself busy and when 5pm rolled around and there was no Internet man, I was instantly on the phone wondering if he was attacked by a wallaby. The following day we found out that the tech guy did indeed come to setup the wiring but never cared to knock on the door and tell me. What!!! I seriously waited all day when I could have been out! Horseshit! I now wait by the mail for our modem to come so I can hook up the Internet. Hopefully, only 1-2 more days of mooching free wireless off Katipo Cafe.


Task numero dos... GET OUR STUFF! Back in October our stuff was picked up in NYC, put on a boat and shipped to Australia. After patiently waiting for over 3 months, we found out 1 week ago that it arrived safe and sound in the land of bush walks and kangaroos. We anxiously waited to hear when our quarantine inspection date was. God brought good news yesterday when we found out that it got inspected and passed! But like all good news there was bad. Turns out there aren't enough moving men so our stuff might not get delivered till next week. I'm stressed and upset because my younger sister, Dalia, is due to arrive in Sydney this Friday and I have nowhere for her to sleep. 3 on an air mattress? Not so sure about that.


This week could go one of two ways.. Very good or VERY BAD. I am sending an e-prayer to everyone. PLEASE GIVE ME INTERNET AND PLEASE DELIVER MY STUFF!


Thank you!