Air conditioning

We’re considered lucky to have air conditioning in our apartment. It’s not very common in Australia even though it gets pretty darn hot in the summer. The ironic part about this lucky happenstance is that AC in AU is nothing like back in the US! Instead of forcing cool air into a space, the system here sucks the warm air out and sends it outside. That means if it’s hot outside, the effectiveness of this stupendous system is diminished. Hum… that makes sense doesn’t it? Let’s create a system that doesn’t cool when it’s hot and doesn’t heat when it’s cool! NICE! Looks like we’re going to be investing in a few fans… ;)

There are certain things no one should have to live without…

Of course there are the basics – food, water, shelter, love, health – but then there are other more frivolous things that really fill one’s life. Great cheese for example. The ocean. Romantic dinners. Warm breezes (even in the middle of winter). Long distance telephone calls to reconnect, Good wine. The smell of a BBQ hard at work. And not leaving the house all day long if you feel like lounging.
This weekend was pretty simple at face value but when you think about all the great things we got to experience it was one for the books. Yes we stayed in all day on Saturday watching movies and relaxing. The day ended with a romantic dinner at a local fish restaurant (Garfish, http://www.garfish.com.au/ – we’ll have to take you there when you come visit!) and Sunday we visited Bunnings (AU’s version of Home Depot) and had some friends over for dinner. We raided the gourmet cheese cooler in the bakery below us (Four Olives) and stocked up on some amazing varieties for apps before dinner. I mean truly – can you really go wrong with AU brie, AU cheddar, manchego from Spain, homemade salami and rosemary bread?
Smiles, LAA

Koalas and Kangaroos

We got to pet kangaroos and koalas this weekend! After being in this country for about 2 months and not seeing a single indigenous animal (aside from some possums and spiders) we figured it was about time to take a trip to an animal park. We chose Featherdale because it’s small (i.e. less crowded) and you can actually interact with the animals. It’s about an hour away but an easy drive.
I didn’t realize the animals roamed free in the park until I turned around from one of the first exhibits and saw a kangaroo sitting behind me! A small boy had come up and yelped as he tried to touch the adorable little thing. To be honest I didn’t know what it was at first. I always thought kangaroos were bigger but this little guy stood only about 2 feet tall and when he realized there were people around him trying to pet and feed him, he sat right down (check out the picture with him sitting on his tail) and soaked it all in. Clearly it’s a common occurrence to get human attention in his home! Later we ran into more little joey’s with their mothers (see the head poking out of her pouch?) and learned that kangaroos really like ice cream cones (filled with grain and grass). The colors of the peacock were amazing and the wallabies were adorable! We couldn’t get too close to the dingos but the many birds scattered throughout the park were very happy to have spectators. The colors and songs were amazing! It was a fun experience – I’m glad we went there before the zoo but look forward to visiting Taranga at some point soon.
Today it is SO beautiful outside. The sun in shining and the breeze is pleasant. We have all the doors open in the house to get some cross ventilation. If this is winter, I wonder how hot summer is going to be! ~LAA =)

We’re starting to feel like we actually live here

I bought our first plant for the apartment this weekend. If that doesn’t say “home” I don’t know what does! ;)
We are starting to get into a great routine and are settling into our life here nicely. We FINALLY got the internet hooked up in the house this weekend (if you want to get either of us fired up just ask for the long story) and took a long walk along the Manly Scenic Walkway (MSW) to Reef Beach. The beach was formally a nudist beach but with the onset of the development around Manly (e.g. families with kids) they banned the practice. If any of you come to visit us we will have to do this walk (not to become nudists, of course!). The vegetation is so lush and interesting, the birds sound like they’re electronic and the views are unbelievable! There are plaques along the walk explaining how the Aborigines used to have settlements on the land. It’s interesting to learn about the history – where they lived and how they caught the shellfish.
Friday night we went to a really cool wine tasting. It was at a wine bar called Wine Odyssey. The “Experience Room” is upstairs. There is a video interview with the wine makers of 6 different wines. They talk about their techniques and what makes their wine unique. After each interview the video walks you through the look, smell and taste of each wine, explaining what you should experience as you taste. It’s always been fascinating to me watching experienced tasters pick out subtle smells and flavors. Having the wine makers tell us what to look for really helped me to pick out the individual characteristics I’ve missed in the past. After the tasting, we went into the aroma room where we smelled the individual essence of 20-30 smells. There’s a section in the room where they focus on the undesirable smells/tastes in a wine which was almost as interesting as the favorable smells! I didn’t realize I had smelled some of the examples before until we spent some time studying the room.
Sunday night we went out to an Indian restaurant with some friends. Truth be told, I had never really had true Indian food before. It was great! We’ve mentioned this before but one of the coolest things about many restaurants in this town is that you can bring your own wine to dinner. What a great concept! Charge a small corking fee (literally around $2) and allow your guests to enjoy what ever wine they prefer. Genius! The trick is knowing ahead of time if the restaurant you’re going to is BYO. It stinks getting caught without for a nice meal ;)
Time to make dinner. Maple glazed salmon with nutmeg zucchini and potato pancakes. Did I mention that I’ve been getting into cooking since we arrived? Miss you all! =)
Smiles, LAA

I can’t believe this is what I see when I go running

A year ago I would never have guessed that we would be living on the beach in Australia. Now we ferry to work and I get to run along the water, on a footpath filled with locals and their dogs. I get to hear the crash of waves against the rocks and the rumble of boats on their way to dock. Even in the middle of winter here it’s the perfect outdoor running temperature. At a temperate 55-60 degrees all you need is a long sleeved short and long pants and you’ll be comfortable running for 5K! Today it was 70 degrees outside! In the middle of winter! Check out these pictures from my run this morning. Hard to believe that we live here ;) ~LAA

Customer service is lacking

Although I still think Australia is the most hospital country I’ve ever visited, the customer service for things like phone and internet is definitely lacking. We’ve had one issue after another trying to get everything turned on. What a pain! It was easier to buy a car than it was to get set up with a cell phone and internet! ~LAA

Wrong Turn

I drove the car to a customer appointment last week. The appointment went very well, as did the inaugural solo drive. Everything was perfect until I got to laughing at the drive-home radio show. They had called New Zealand to get them to admit to launching an invasion on Australia after an earthquake moved the island 30cm closer to AU. It makes me giggle just thinking about it now! I was so distracted that I missed the exit to go back to Manly and ended up driving over the Harbour Bridge during rush hour. Then of course the Tom Tom couldn’t figure out which end was up and kept trying to get me to turn on streets as I was passing them. I finally came to my senses and stopped listening to the GPS. I got turned back around and made it home safe and sound. I don’t think I have ever opened a bottle of wine that quickly after arriving home from work! ~ LAA

Manly is so lovely

Manly is a lovely town. I think we’re really going to like it here. We’ve already found our favorite fish market, pizza place, move theater and ice cream stand. What more could a person need?! ;) Check out the pictures we took on our walk on Saturday. ~LAA

We have a home!

We’re finally in an apartment. Here are some pictures of our place. We bought furniture and have unpacked the air shipment. Now we just need the sea shipment to arrive and we’ll be good to go! I can’t wait to have real wine glasses again. The lowball glasses just aren’t quite as romantic ;)
The move was relatively easy – the hardest part was getting to and from the city in our new car. Driving on the left side of the road has been quite the challenge. It never occurred to me that I drove in the States without giving the action much thought. Now that we’re on the other side of the road I actually have to concentrate on what I’m doing! Gauging the distance in the lane on each side of the car is a special challenge because the lanes are generally very narrow here. The country’s settlement started in Sydney so the when the roads were built they weren’t very wide. As time and expansion have progressed, the lanes have gotten wider but many of the old roads are especially hard to traverse. Beyond the narrow roadways, sitting at a traffic light is really the hardest part. You have to hope that there will be a car in front of you so you can follow them into the turn. Otherwise it’s up to you to make a snap decision about which lane to follow!