Loving "Winta"

    Blue skies, nearly seventy degrees, old guys in Speedos swimming in the ocean at 6 AM every day - yep, it's winter Down Under.  We spent as much time as possible outside this weekend since the weather was so amazing.  It included the usuals, Sam's soccer game and AFL practice, but also a bunch of tennis (kids are getting much better thanks to weekly lessons), a beach picnic and cricket (Sam landed a cricket set at the school fair last weekend).  Sunday we rode the ferry into the city, walked across the Harbor Bridge and tried some 'roo pizza for lunch at the Australian Hotel (sound familiar MacKinnons?). 
    Kangaroo meat has been legal for human consumption since about 1993.  It's very lean and is sold in most grocery stores.  Despite that, only about 15% of Australians say they eat it each year.  Finding a "culinary" name for the meat (example: pork for pig) is being considered as a way to encourage diners.  It was pretty tasty but a bit too gamey for us.  Sam's assessment: "I like them better alive."





Kangaroo cuisine








View from the ferry wharf in Mosman at Taronga Zoo.




Love riding the ferries, whether it's Seattle, Outer Banks, or Sydney!



The Prime Minister's residence, when she's in Sydney.  It's directly across the Harbor from the Opera House.  Nice spot!

Views from The Harbor Bridge

Then and Now

   This is what we normally do in June and July - swim team, swim team, swim team.  With practice every day, sometimes twice a day when Sam was really motivated, and one or more long, hot meets, it's easy to say that summer has meant swim team for the past four years.

 

 

   This year it's winter and we are following and cheering for the Cyclones from way Down Under.  It's definitely something we're all missing.   Special thanks to the MacKinnons for hooking the kids up with this year's team t-shirts!!  They are thrilled to be part of the team, however far removed.

Other stuff of interest this week:

• This weekend we all participated in the Mini Mos races.  The kids' school puts on a fundraising road race and accompanying fair each year.  The 10K, 5K, and 2K races attracts thousands of runners who make tracks through Mosman's hilly streets.  Sam ran the 2K and Mia and I teamed up for a parent/child team in the 5K.  Chris is trying to stay off his injured (probable meniscal tear) knee so he marshalled instead of running.  Yes, he hates that.



Sam heads to the start line.



• According to a recent survey by ECA International, Australia now has 6 of the top 30 most expensive cities to send workers to.  Two years ago, there were no Australian cities on the list.  Sydney is the most expensive of the Australian  cities and comes in at 16th in the world.  That's above New York, Paris, London, or Hong Kong.  Whew.  We knew this place was nuts!  The top five cities were either Japanese or Norwegian.  The newspaper also had an article explaining that retail employees working after 6pm get paid about 3 times the equivalent role in the U.S. and that some overtime payments for retail workers are mandated by law at $43/hr.  No wonder stores don't stay open late!

• The ash from an erupting volcano in Chile has been blowing this way and closed airports last week.  Chris left for Melbourne again just as the ash is predicted to cause multiple airport closures.  Hope he gets back sometime soon!

Cocka-Toooo Close

   This afternoon I noticed a couple of cockatoos snarfing persimmons from the neighbors' tree and eating them on the tennis court fence.  I went out to try to get a couple of photos and was suddenly face to face with a cockatoo that landed on our balcony railing right in front of me.  He/she clearly wanted something to eat and walked back and forth chirping at me while I tried to get the camera to cooperate.  I had a minute or so before the kids and dog inside noticed.  Sam came out with a piece of bread which the cocaktoo happily took from his hand and flew off.  We were quickly surrounded by 8-10 eager cockatoos on our roof, the neighbors' roofs and the trees.  Jackson got outside and did his best vicious dog imitation to scare them off.  After watching a beautiful new house two doors down the street get stained with copious amounts of 'too poo as a result of feedings, we know that feeding them is not an option. But, after 5 months here, it was nice of them to visit! 

On the Mend

    We got our first taste of the Australian healthcare system this week after Sam came down with a virus which resulted in a particularly bad asthma flare up.  We narrowly avoided the ER, thanks to our pediatrician consult from 10,000 miles away!  Thanks LW!  The good thing about the 10 hour time difference is that the middle of the night here is just morning on the East Coast. 
    We were able to get an appointment easily at a nearby clinic.  We were told that the MD Sam was assigned to tends to run late so we were instructed to call beforehand in order to adjust our arrival time.  We arrived late, as instructed, and still waited 45 minutes.  Other than that though, the appointment went well and Sam received careful, appropriate care.  Healthcare seems to be one of the few bargains in Australia.  The nebulizer treatment Sam had at the clinic was $5.00!!  Unbelievable. 
    A funny bit: The doctor was careful to make sure we knew the location of the nearest ER and the emergency number to call (000).  He said that Australians watch so much American TV that many of them think that they should call 911 for emergencies.  Perfect support for our theory that this country is more Americanized than is even realized by many Australians.
    It's a long weekend here since today is the Queen's Birthday holiday.  Unfortunately, it's been very rainy so we abandoned our plans to venture into the Blue Mountains and go whale watching.  We did manage a short walk from Manly Beach over to Shelly Beach during a break in the rain.  


Manly Beach. Poor weather does not scare off surfers, as long as there are waves.





Feeling much better!




Sculpture along Fairy Bower




Shelly Beach, a protected north-facing beach great for swimming and snorkelling.



Winter sunrise

Chocolate Redemption

   Chocolate. Chocolat. Chocolade.  It was the answer to a dining disappointment.  We ventured into the Inner West over the weekend to try another Mexican restaurant.  We had the requisite booking (reservation) and as soon as we were seated we noticed the ants crawling around on the table.   Then we noticed the greasy stains on the wall next to our table.  Then we looked up and saw the dust encrusted light fixture over our head.  The waitress was very friendly but also forgetful and unknowledgeable.  All this could be overlooked if the food was yummy.  Alas, not so.  It was served lukewarm and was just mediocre.  Bummer.  I think our days of trying to find good Mexican in Sydney are about over. 
   Like a good neighbor, Chocolateria San Churro was there.   YUM!  After agonizing over what to choose from the mouthwatering menu, we all ended up with different choices - milkshake, chocolate covered strawberries, churros with chocolate dip and sprinkles, and a rich sundae-esque thing drenched in warm dark chocolate and covered with whipped cream.  Divine. That's a place worth a return visit!!  Mia even declared that she would stay in Australia if she could eat there every day, although she tearfully recanted that later whilst (good British/Aussie word) missing home. 

      Sunday we decided to do a bit of damage control by cycling around the Sydney Olympic Park for a couple of hours. 


The cauldron has been moved out of the Olympic Stadium now. 



It wouldn't be an Olympic Park without fountains. 

  

Did You Know?

• That in Australia the seasons officially start on the 1st of the month, rather than according to solstices/equinoxes?  So two days ago, June 1st, was the official start of Winter.  It will be Spring on September 1st, etc.  Still haven't re-wired our brains this way at all!

• That instead of saying two identical numbers or letters (6-6) in a row by repeating them, Australians tend to say "double six ."  It doesn't seem like a big deal until you try to write down a phone number that has been quickly spoken to you.  Then you realize that we don't process as quickly that way.  A phone number given as "0-4-double 6-triple 1-double 0-8" results in "Huh?" 

• That, in addition to generous annual leave (at least 4 weeks), Australians also earn Long Service Leave after working for the same employer for ten years?  It usually amounts to 2 months off with pay!  Pretty nice.  Sam's teacher is leaving for 6 weeks in Italy soon as a result of accrued Long Service Leave.  It's pretty surprising to me that teachers can use this leave in the middle of the school year, as it seems so disruptive to the students. 

• That Australian radio has a mandate of 20% Australian content?  In Canada it's 35%.  So, we hear a lot of INXS, Midnight Oil, Hoodoo Gurus, Crowded House, Rick Springfield, Split Enz, The Church, Kylie Monogue and Olivia Newton-John.  That said, I've heard Springsteen's "Born in the USA" more here than ever before. 

• That this May has been the wettest May in Sydney in almost ten years?  Blame La Nina.  Monday there were water spouts spotted just off the coast (thankfully, photos below aren't mine). 

• That Australians are not nearly as concerned with being PC?  One example that made us laugh because we know wouldn't see this as the headline in the US, at least not in CH:

• That "Captain Underpants" recently visited us?

• That the kids have different "Winta" uniforms? (Ok, really just Mia)

** We've had several readers say that they are unable to post comments lately, while others have no issues. We are having the same problem posting reply comments.  We're trying to figure out what's going on and will hopefully resolve it out soon.  Anyone have any wisdom?  We did add an email address to our profile so we can be contacted that way now too.