It's Newie to me!

So over the weekend we took a roadie (they aren't road trips here - strictly roadies) up the coast to Newcastle, NSW or as the locals would call it, Newie. It is about 140 km away from Sydney and based on traffic, weather conditions, etc., I had been told that this car ride could take close to three hours --  there were five of us crammed into a mazda3 -- And me, being the shortest and the only female got to sit middle seat - both ways! So three hours in that vessel would have felt more like 6 -- thank goodness it took us right around the 2 hour mark; and that was with two unscheduled pit stops. The ride north was beautiful - green, lush, hilly - it was familiar to a ride through the Rockies in the summer time...but felt a bit more remote and exotic.

Although our trusty navigator, C.Spinos had been to this apartment in Newcastle on several different occasions he had never been the driver, therefore, he had never paid any attention to the route to ocean front property. Go figure!?

 And after a few slight detours (we stopped at a Shell station that we had passed twice before Spinos finally gave in to pull over and ask where we were) we found our way to 106 unit #1 at the Reef Apartments. It was a great spot and even in the dark you could see the ocean crashing onto the shore just 200 yards from our patio door - not only was the location convenient for the beach bums of the group, but it was only a stone's throw from one of the main stretches of restaurants and pubs. Friday night we kept pretty low key so we were able to get up and enjoy as much of the beach and sun as possible -- 

Newcastle has several beaches; we were essentially on Bar Beach, which faces the ocean head on, with no sort of cove, peninsula or any other natural barrier that would have helped blocked the whipping winds...and on Saturday the wind was whipping. And the waves were a bit sloppy making it difficult to swim or get a good wave in.

Luckily there were a few other options only a moments drive away; the main beach, Newcastle Beach and Nobby's Beach - both a bit more friendly to the beach goers, as they were more tucked away and had more of a constant, surf-able wave than Bar Beach could provide. We spent most of our days both Saturday and Sunday perfecting our body surfing and boogie boarding-- my boogie boarding could still use some serious work.

I am definitely a fan of the day-time beach culture, and the old town centre strip that was right around the corner from our place, on Darby St., it was full of shops, stores, apartments, and sprinkling of bars. But I am not so sure how I felt about the night scene in Newie; it was a bit rough, and I was unable to go into one of the establishments on the beach because I was in flip-flops...oh, excuse me, "thongs" -- so I was summoned to stay on the patio for the remainder of the night because of a no "thongs" policy. Garbage. No flip flops on a beach?! They must be joking! But they weren't......

Just incase I don't get a chance to catch up with you before Santa comes; Merry Christmas to all! And to all a good night! 

xo

Life's a Beach!

I'm sure I have mentioned this before - but I heart Manly beach. 

It is only a 20-25 minute ferry ride from the Quay (which is practically out our front door) the ferry dumps you off at Manly Cove - you walk directly off the boat, past ice cream shops, a fresh fish market, an Aldi (yes, just like an Aldi at home) and of course a Subway and McDonalds -- to Victoria St. which stretches from Manly Cove to Manly Beach -- it's less than a mile walk from the wharf to the beach, and on that stretch of land, is a bit of a glorified ped-mall. With surf shops, restaurants, bottle shops, touristy stores, pubs and more surf shops, fountains, playground and on the weekends there are arts festivals...from what I can tell all year round. 

I learned from my book the other day that Manly is supposedly named after the Aboriginals that once inhabited the area - I believe it was Captain Cook who was one of the first Europeans to the land, and he called it Manly simply because the Aboriginals were "manly." So descriptive eh?

Oh, and after our third trip out to Manly (and seeing several young (and not so young) ladies baring it all - which I immediately thought, is that legal!?) we did some quick research and learned that Manly is known for its nudity...so yes, it is perfectly legal.. and in fact it's known for being a topless beach (go figure it would be the one I liked best?!) But I liked it before I found out about all the nakedness - so I can't go ditching out on my numero uno beach now. 

So on Tuesday afternoon we headed out to the beach... and while moseying down Victoria St, on our way to the sand we popped into Quicksilver so we could check out the benefits of having an actual beach pack - I am sure right now you are thinking Sam, you of all people do not need some other sort of bag to haul you crap around in, but you couldn't be more wrong. A beach pack is larger than your typical backpack and is meant to get all junked up in the surf and sand - that being said I found myself a new Roxy pack, and while Chris was on the hunt for his perfect beach pack one of the managers of Quicksilver approached us - and basically - to make a long story short - he personally invited us to the VIP tent to the Gold Coast surf tournament in February.  (It's kind of a big deal). 

Chris decided it would be a good day to give surfing a go - I decided it would be a good day to watch. The waves were less than desirable for a surfer of any level, but Chris did what he could with the swells...after an hour or so of paddling about - we both decided that a refresher in the near future would be good. So hopefully sometime between now and New Years I will be able to actually get up on a wave -

If I was to start ranking my days here in Australia, I would have to safely say that Tuesday was a 10. There was hardly a cloud in the sky, the sun was warm, the ferry rides are painless and actually give a nice tour of north east part of the Sydney Harbour (which has over 150 miles of shoreline...thank you Bill Bryson). We got invited to the Quicksilver tent, we surfed (ok, Chris surfed),  got some sun, and then went to the rooftop bar for my fave - an order of wedges and James Squire Golden Ale (no relation to Chrissy Squire - at least that I know of).

I think I told you last week that we were going to Newcastle for the weekend - well I lied. Because of poor weather we cancelled last weekend - but we are on for this weekend, so more stories to come -- I am going to be honest, right now I am most excited for the weekend because we are going with a few of our new pals (Chris S., Chris M., and Dan) and taking our new mate, Chris S.'s car -- I haven't been in car for nearly two months now - so this will be quite the treat. I hope they let me have shot gun for a bit.

Only 7 days til Christmas!!!

A Sydney-sider Christmas!

Ahhh! It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Even with out the freezing temps and blowing winds - Sydney does its best to deck its halls, streets and store fronts with its holiday finery. It is definitely strange not to have snow on the ground, or getting all bundled up to go caroling (yes, I am actually going to sing carols later this week - I'll let you know how it goes) - but instead to be able to hop on the ferry and head to the beach, and go shopping in your shorts is crazy - but it is growing on me, and I am adjusting okay. (That is a picture of the Queen Victoria Building Christmas tree- its massive!)

Speaking of Sydney shopping - they do things a bit differently down here. Stores and shops close early - I'm talking really early, any time between 5-6 pm on the week days the majority of the shops in the CBD (Central Business District) are closed. Even the Starbucks, which at home are usually open until 11, close at 8 or 9 here. But one night a week the town stays open late - Thursdays -- and that is when everything stays open until "late," even the buses continue to run much later than usual.  I know - sheer craziness.

Now, in most respects I think it says something about the culture here in Sydney that they close down early and really it is something I admire - it gives a more family focused vibe, instead of the constant go-go-go mentality of North Americans fast paced life style. Yes, Sydney is a big city, with a lot of busy people - but the fact that every little shop along the busiest stretches of streets in this town close down right when most of the work force is just leaving work says something about the people here - and I dig it......My only objection/suggestion - maybe over the holiday season they could stay open late a few more days a week! If you thought shopping back home was bad over Christmas-time, try slamming 4 million people into the shops of Sydney one night a week - NOT my idea of a good time. 

...Luckily all my shopping is done, so I can just sit back and laugh at the poor souls who are hitting the stores this Thursday - for the final late shopping day of the season.

Did you know that there is a train that goes coast to coast here on Australia? It is called the Indian Pacific (because it goes ocean to ocean - clever eh?) and it goes from Sydney on the east side, to Perth on the west - I am currently (still) reading the Bill Bryson book the Sunburnt Country, and Mr. Bill Bryson has given me tons of facts to share with you all - so get excited, because I will be sprinkling them throughout the blogs. But on this train ride from Sydney to Perth there is a stretch of railroad where it does not bend, curve or turn for over 350km - just heads straight for kilometer after kilometer in the barren, red outback. 

Can you imagine?!

P.s. The Cubs hat count is up to 6.

I am going to make Friday's story short and sweet because well, that's exactly what it was. It was no later than 9pm on Friday evening, a few us were standing around at an outdoor pub, when Mr. Bobby* the Bouncer (*names have been changed to protect the individuals in this story) came up and tapped both Chris (and his new partners in crime Chris and Dan) and told them that they had been watching them for some time, and that they were too intoxicated to stay at the establishment. We all looked around at one another, a bit confused...(I thought, if you think we are messy now Bobby* you should see us back home during (American) college football season)...but we left quickly - and that was that.

Last week Chris let me know that he had signed me up for a triathlon...yes really, a triathlon. This one to be exact:

http://www.supersprint.com.au/events/nissan--brw-corporate-triathlon/sydney.aspx

This will be happening on April 5th, and I wouldn't say I am worried, but lets just be honest...yes I can run, but long distances have never been my forte. The last time I went swimming for competitive purposes was probably 1996, and I don't have a bike...so all and all this should be a breeze!

I've turned into quite the athlete since my arrival to Sydney - Chris's office plays in a recreational indoor soccer team, more lovingly known here as Futsal www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Futsal

And although I was never much of a footballer back home, both Chris and I quickly earned nicknames Chris "I'd rather catch this ball than kick it" Holman, and mine "The Enforcer" - seriously. On the roster I am listed as Sam "the enforcer" Kenyon. It's quite the name to live up to; I've played in three games so far, and I haven't scored my first goal yet, but I am sure to catch my big break soon. 

Some other things I have been itching to share with you all...Australians don't do Ranch dressing like a lot of us do back home. Thank goodness for Mr. Paul Newman, because so far he is the only ranch provider I can find here in New South Wales. (May he rest in peace). Secondly, as most of you know I have a thing for Dr. Pepper - it was much worse in my high school days, and I can confidently say that the "addiction" is under control...but I can only find it in the most random stores here...and most of the time its $3-4 a can, $36 for a 12 pack, and as for a case...you can just forget about that- we can't go breaking the bank for Dr. Pepper now can we? 

As some of you may know when I was a Junior in college I was set to study abroad in Newcastle, NSW - which is roughly a 2 hour train ride north of Sydney - and much to my surprise one of my new mates here in Sydney has a connection in Newcastle. So a few of us will be heading north next weekend for a full three days on the beach. It won't be the same as sledding and making snow angels, but for now it will have to do! www.visitnewcastle.com.au/visitnewcastle.asp

And lastly - for those of you who have facebook I have recently posted a few pictures of my new neighborhood in my most recent album. For some reason they uploaded with no issue at all on to facebook and are still giving me trouble on the blogger. Sorry for the inconvenience!

Rough times at Ridgemont High -

Chris got kicked out of pub. Hilarious.

Happy Holidays!

My apologies for the time between the posts -

I have been trying to figure out a better way to load the photos because I am still having some internet issues when trying to upload - so I will do what I can and probably post a few at a time and hopefully I can get them all up for you to see!

I hope you all had a wonderful turkey day. Besides missing out on seeing friends and family, I would have to say I missed my mashed potatoes the most. But I am handling it all okay.

And I shouldn't make a habit of going this long between blogging, because I am sure I am bound to forget some of the wonderful things I have done and seen in the last 6 days.

For starters....

On Thursday there was a big Christmas Tree Lighting going on - just a few blocks from our place, at Martin Pl. (Think NYC Rockefeller, minus the ice skating rink). Before the actual lighting we hopped around to a few of the local pubs; The Republic (which rivaled the wedges from the Customs House), next we wandered up Pitt St. a bit further and found a strange hole in the wall, known as St. James Hotel - a place we decided we won't be going back too. So very bizarre, really bright lighting, tile everywhere, it almost felt a bit like we were drinking in a school cafeteria. And then lastly we went to PJ O'Briens - which felt a lot like Malone's, now 808 (for you Iowa City buffs out there) it might have been my favorite stop of the night. Then we headed over to Martin St. to see the massive tree (pictures to be posted soon.)

Friday we enjoyed after work drinks at the Quay Bar with several of Chris's coworkers who are always down for introducing us to new spots in Sydney and showing us a good time - it was another successful Friday evening.

We visited a new suburb on Saturday, Chatswood - a 20min train ride just a bit north from our place, and the train actually took us straight across the Harbour Bridge. 

While in Chatswood we found ourselves a lovely little Christmas tree...its not much, but its  from Kmart - one can't be too choosy when looking for a fake evergreen at the local Kmart. And for the record, they made the aisles at the Kmart in Chatswood entirely too small, especially in the Christmas lanes - where nearly everyone in the store was slammed into a 30 foot radius- amongst the fake trees, lights, Santa hats, and ornaments I wasn't sure if I was going to come out of there in the holiday spirit...carts crashing into one another - it was sheer chaos, we are lucky we got out of there alive.

On Sunday we headed across the harbour via ferry to Manly. Another suburb, but most famous for Manly Beach - which in my opinion gave Bondi a run for its money. We spent a few hours on the beach, and although I took proper sun precaution - I still ended up with a nice burn around my swim suit line - yes, it is as painful as it sounds. It is safe to say the southern hemisphere sun is as powerful as they say it is...they aren't messing around with their sunshine here. There happened to be an arts festival going on, there was live music, plenty of restaurants and rooftop bars with the view of the ocean -- Manly is my new favorite place in Australia (so far).

A picture of the place - its not the best picture of the Christmas tree, but you can see it there on the left, all 5'9" of it!

Another shot on a sunny day from our balcony.

More pictures coming soon!