This table will be waiting for us to come back. We won't be away for very long!
Picture: The Pavilion Beachfront at Maroubra Beach
Item: Soft-serve ice cream from McDonalds
Location: Sydney, Australia
March 1 was a beautiful sunny summer day in Sydney. J and I could have spent the day sunbathing at one of the city beaches or picnicking on the grass in the Royal Botanical Gardens or hiking the trails at Blue Mountain but no. We chose to hole up in our cave-like apartment for 36 hours to participate in the quasi-annual Microsoft Puzzlehunt competition! Due to the time zone differences we joined our team around 4 AM Sydney time to set up for the event and hunted with them until the conclusion at 10 AM the next day. Somewhere in between I snuck in a 3 hour power-nap.
We've been preparing for this hunt since we arrived in Sydney about a month ago. Here were some of the things we did:
- Bought the cheapest printer we could find at Harvey Norman - an all-in-one HP printer for $49
- Saved over 3 GBs of roll-over bandwidth from previous weeks (we have a 2 GBs per week cap) - used about 2 GBs during the hunt
- Bought some white printer paper, mechanical pencils and a pack of tri-color BIC pens with a bonus highlighter from Woolsworth
Some things I had to talk J out of purchasing:
- A Rubik's cube
- Grid paper
- Various sizes of lined paper
- Colored highlighters
- 2X last-minute plane tickets back to Seattle ($1200 per ticket) - I'm so not joking!
I have the best teammates! It's a real disadvantage to not be on-site for the hunt so we thank our team three times over for letting us join in from Sydney!
Australia, out!
1. Our limited array of supplies
2. J at 1 AM after solving a puzzle called "DICE"
The Taronga Zoo in Sydney must be the world's most scenic zoo! Many of the animals live in habitats that have a view of the Sydney skyline. Giraffes never had a better advantage (Picture 9)!
J and I spent almost the entire day there and had a great time. It was really nice to see that at least one third of the animals on exhibit were exclusively from Australia. The highlight of our zoo stroll was witnessing the "gorge" feeding of the Tasmanian devils, which apparently only occurs once per month.I had a particularly amusing moment when I overheard a little Australian boy pointing to ostriches and calling them emus because just a few hours ago I had been pointing at emus and calling them ostriches (Picture 7).
Australian Animals
1. Dingo
2. Koala
3. Kangaroos
4. Australian White Pelicans (my personal favorite of the day)
5. Tasmanian Devils
6. An Australian Ladybug?
7. Emus vs Ostriches
Non-Australian, but interesting
8. A pregnant gorilla
9. Giraffes living on some prime real estate
Views across Sydney Harbor from the Taronga Zoo
10. Areas east of Sydney CBD
11. Sydney CBD
12. Downtown Sydney
I swear we do more than just eat.
1. Musashi Lunch Set from Dining Bar Musashi2. DOV Chicken Salad from DOV Delectica
3. Flat White from Toby's Cafe
4. Dim Sum from China Grand
5. Roast Duck and BBQ Pork on rice from BBQ King
6. Homemade pork and chive dumplings from my uncle. Commercially available. If you'd like a business card let me know.
7. The Tiger meat pie from Harry's Cafe de Wheels
8. Chili pig ears from Mother Chu's Taiwanese Gourmet
9. Tokyo Ramen from Ichi-ban Boshi
10. $4 Wednesday Rump Steak Dinner Special from the Beach Palace Hotel
11. Steamed Crab Meat and Pork Xiao Long Bao (Dumplings) from Din Tai Fung
You may have seen the news article on CNN.com. Tourism Queensland of Australia was advertising the position of "Caretaker of the Islands of the Great Barrier Reef." I first found out about this competition (brilliant marketing ploy, btw) when I was in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The night prior I had been lamenting the fact that I have not found a clear path in life. When I saw that news article the following morning I found it to be a calling.
True, it's a long shot, but as my cousin pointed out, the odds are better than winning the lottery - ever so slightly. You're competing with thousands, not millions and it's not completely random. According to their website, over 34,000 applications was received, including yours truly.
I just found out my video application has been accepted! Who knows whether or not I'll be able to make any progress in the selection process, but I'll keep you posted!
Manly Fish Market Cafe
25 South Steyne
Manly, NSW, Australia
Under the "non seafood" category on their menu board there's only one choice: some kind of chicken burger which they may have purposely made sound unappetizing. This is a sure sign that everyone comes here for seafood, especially the fish of which there were 10+ different catch of the day varieties.
Since it was raining outside, we decided to prolong lunch by ordering an appetizer (or, entree as they call it in Australia). The salt and pepper squid was extremely tender and not at all chewy. It was served with a sauce which I can only describe as a hybrid of sweet and sour and chipotle sauces.
J's main [course] of fish and chips was absolutely superb! The batter was fresh, light and crispy while the fish meat was tender, hot and juicy. I don't think I've ever had fish and chips quite like it! My grilled blue cod (one of the catches of the day) was also extremely good. It was simply seasoned, but cooked perfectly with the meat flaking off at the touch of the fork. Both mains were served with a fresh field of greens salad and very nicely fried chips.
When I come back to Sydney I will definitely be visiting this restaurant again. Yes, it's no longer a matter of "if", but "when." =)
1. Salt and pepper squid
2. Fish & chips
3. Grilled blue cod
Two days ago we decided to head to Manly (a northern ocean-side suburb of Sydney) to try our hand at surfing. Today, my arms are absolutely killing me! Surfing itself is not that bad. It's the paddling out that kills you.
Can you get from a downward push-up position into a shoulder-width China-man squat in one sweeping motion? If so, you'll be screaming "Cowabunga!" in no time.Surfing was lots of fun, but I think the ferry ride from the city to Manly was the highlight of the day.1. Some say the opera house looks like copulating turtles from this angle. I say it looks more like copulating frogs.2. View of Sydney CBD from the ferry
3. J on the Manly ferry with the Sydney skyline in the background.
Since today was the first day it hasn't rained in the 10 days we've been in Sydney, we decided to head out to the coast and do the 6 km Bondi to Coogee Coastal Walk. Every person and guidebook mention this walk and now I know why. The scenery is absolutely breath-taking! Pictures alone is not enough to convey how incredible it was - you need sounds of the howling winds and crashing waves to complete the experience. You will just have to see it for yourself one day! If anyone comes to Sydney with plans of proposing to his/her significant other this is definitely the place to do it!
1-7. Spectacular scenery along the Coastal Walk
8. Bondi Beach
9. Bronte Beach
10. Waves breaking at Bronte Beach
11. Waves crashing into the salt-water pool at Bronte Beach
12. J and I at Coogee Beach
13. Dog park with a view
14. Clovelly Bowling Club - lawn bowling is somewhat like bocce
15. Fitness stations were located all along the northern half (Bondi to Bronte) of the trail
16. "If I had a million dollars..." or, five.... or ten...
17. Or, none - cheapest oceanfront home ever!
18. When I die I want to be cremated and have my ashes scattered. But, if I were to have a traditional burial this is where I'd like to rest in peace for eternity.
What a memory for the 100th day of our trip!
Current Location: Sydney, Australia
Throw out the pop tarts and frozen waffles. The Australians are serious about their breakfast. It seems like everywhere we walk we come across cafes filled with customers sipping their expresso drinks and eating delicious-looking plates of food. Though we normally save our meal out for lunch, we couldn't resist partaking in this aspect of Australian culture. After having brunch at two different eating establishments, we decided that either of these two cafes easily tops the best Seattle brunch spots, such as Coast Kitchen, 5 Spot or Portage Bay Cafe. Those of you back in the States who lives for weekend brunch will looooove Sydney!
Bondi Trattoria - a nice restaurant across the street from Bondi Beach.
1. Asparagus & Fried Egg with prosciutto, parmesean and crostini
2. Baked Egg with spinach, smoked tomato and red pepper, parmesean and toasted turkish
La Buvette - a cafe within a 2-minute walk from our apartment in Potts Point.
3. Vanilla French Toast with a vanilla anglaise, grilled bananas, ham, maple syrup and an extra side of bacon.
4. Vegan breakfast with a poached egg
