Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Happy Birthday Megan & My Gram!
Vivid Sydney
Sydney has a lot of free events throughout the city that are not only free but super impressive. Every winter they have a light show called "Vivid Sydney." Artists throughout Australia create masterpieces and they project the art onto prominent buildings throughout Sydney. I tried to take some pictures but they don't do it justice. It looks like paint but it is a light projector that hits the perfect places on each building. I included a link below so you can flip through and see the pictures of the opera house because they are stunning. It is not one still projection but it changes to music.
Click here to see Vivid Opera House
Here are some of my pictures:
My camera died at St. Mary's church which was the coolest. I don't understand why we don't do this in the US. It is really remarkable. They have festivals and serve Gluhwein (mulled red wine) and it is really fun to walk around the city and check out the architecture at night FOR FREE! :) That may be the best part. It is cold here by the way. It is truly winter. I wore a hat and gloves to work today and I have a cold of course. Went to body attack tonight and now I have a pain in the butt...a real one. :) Tomorrow will be the mark of one more month until I have to leave this grand place. I have to get as much in as humanly possible. I am not sure if I am going to be able to go to Melbourne or to the GBR due to work and my visa. If I can try to get up to Cairns then I will consider myself successful. Fingers, legs, toes, and eyes are crossed...temporarily of course.
Click here to see Vivid Opera House
Here are some of my pictures:
My camera died at St. Mary's church which was the coolest. I don't understand why we don't do this in the US. It is really remarkable. They have festivals and serve Gluhwein (mulled red wine) and it is really fun to walk around the city and check out the architecture at night FOR FREE! :) That may be the best part. It is cold here by the way. It is truly winter. I wore a hat and gloves to work today and I have a cold of course. Went to body attack tonight and now I have a pain in the butt...a real one. :) Tomorrow will be the mark of one more month until I have to leave this grand place. I have to get as much in as humanly possible. I am not sure if I am going to be able to go to Melbourne or to the GBR due to work and my visa. If I can try to get up to Cairns then I will consider myself successful. Fingers, legs, toes, and eyes are crossed...temporarily of course.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
I lost my pet spider
Also, thank you, thank you, thank you to Frau, Sierra, AND a HUGE special thanks to Aine who I swear robbed the Christmas Tree Shop and shipped it to AUS. I will give you money and will certainly write a post with pics of the blessed fourth of July celebration. Everyone enjoy their 4th and I can't wait to celebrate September 4th with all of you! :) Here is a pic of my English friend Ben with some of the supplies on. The glasses light up but you can't tell. :)
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Sydney Seafood School
Today was my seafood BBQ cooking class at the Sydney Fish Markets. Come to find out that the Sydney fish market is 2nd to Tokyo's. It is hard for me to believe that it gets any better than this. I already wrote to you about my first trip to the fish market so I will not bore you with the details and get right to it. So let's just say that I walked into shop (pictured below) and started to tear up.
Fresh, colorful produce everywhere! There were things that I have never seen before. Golden kiwis, custard apples, finger limes and lemons, and beautiful veggies. They call scallions = shallots and the call cilantro = coriander. Yes, I learned that the hard way. Also, their scallions are years long and I don't know how you bring them home on the bus but I will let you know how it goes when I try. Hopefully, I don't fall out of my seat like the last time. So far, so good. I think those days are over. Fingers crossed. The school is beautiful. We started with a demonstration for 2 hours. Take a look at the room.
The chef prepared 6 dishes that we were going to make after the demo. It was like this show "Master Chef" that all Aussie's rave about. It is similar to Top Chef except that all cooks are novices and they are not trained professionals. It is also on 6 out of the 7 nights per week. It is great! I am hooked. I learned so many things even though I went to culinary school there are so many tips that you can pick up. What did I learn?
1. Rice Bran oil is great for cooking. It has a high smoking point so things will not burn and it does not impart flavor. I had never seen this kind of oil in the states so let me know if you find it. If not, I will bring some home.
2. Mussels on the grill. They cook up in their shells in 2 shakes and they are quite delicious. You know how some mussels are orange and some are a bit pale cream color? Girls are orange. Boys are cream. The chics are prettier...naturally. ;)
3. Gar fish is this delicious little fish that you bread and it cooks in 2 seconds. It is similar to a sardine but not as potent in flavor.
4. Still shouldn't put cheese on fish. We grated parm cheese and put it on the gar fish and it just wasn't right. I scraped the cheese off and ate the fish. I also saw oysters with cheddar cheese on top that you bake in the oven. ICK! I am open to most things but I still stand behind that cheese and fish just do not mix.
5. Chili's - smaller the chili the hotter it will be. Red are sweeter than the green. It doesn't mean red are hotter. Look at the size of it.
6. Foil- when using it on the grill always be sure to put the shiny side up so the heat goes into the fish and not the grill.
7. Put the dressing on fish right after it comes off the grill so it absorbs the most flavor.
8. Calamari is a type of squid. Not all squids are calamari. Got that? If the fins on the mantel go all the way down the tube then it is calamari. Calamari is the most tender of the squid family.
What else did I learn?
1. Hygeine goes out the window when you are cooking with people you don't know. Licking their fingers, not washing their boards once they have fish on them and then go to cut herbs on the same board. UGH! I was losing it. It reminded me of the french cooking class that I went to in Nice and the tour guide licked the grapefruit off of her hands and Dave and I were cringing. Just got to move past it.
2. Cooks are a pain in the ass. Everyone thinks they know everything. Not only that but everyone wants their piece to do all of the cool things. One girl on our bench was running around fileting everything and throwing things on the grill that I started to hide fish and ingredients so I could get a turn. It was a game of cat and mouse. She was looking for the prawns...sorry sucker, I got'em! If you already know everything...then why did you sign up for a class? Pains in the ass I tell ya. Kathleen, I wish you were there b/c you would have freaked on these auckers.
3. All I wanted to do was prepare the damn squid and the 3 clowns each took one. Even though at the beginning I said that I wanted to make that dish but the 2 sisters wanted to work on it together so I backed down. There were 3 squids so I asked if I could work on one and it was radio silence. When it came time, the terminator ended up going in there and cutting it right up. That is when the hiding began. I assumed they hate Americans. Simone said, "You just got walloped. That was total carnage. I cannot believe the bung out." Yes, that was English. :) I almost pee'd my pants. Yes, because she is funny but I also had to pee and I didn't want to go to the toilet b/c I was afraid that all that was left to do would be to cut the bread. :)
4. Food tastes so good and I am obsessed with it. I will cook for all of you when I get home. Uncle Matt, I cannot wait for the clam bake. Great recipes for us to try!
I dragged Simone with me to this class and I think she liked it. She was in charge of grilling the veggies and half of them ended up down the grill holes but we laughed and knew that the other chics were livid but it made it that much better. :) See how the bowl is just a tad low.
Here are some pics of the cookery.
The facilities were gorgeous. There were about 60 people in the class but it didn't feel like it. Take a look at our dishes.
BBQ Mussels with Garlic Butter (I hid the chives then couldn't find them...oops)
Char-grilled Veg. salad with Red wine vinegar dressing
Seared Yellowtail Kingfish with wasabi mayo
BBQ prawns with Herb Marinade
BBQ Garfish
Thai-style squid salad
Saturday, June 26, 2010
The worldwide scam
Everyone has a top 3 list or a top 5 list or even a top 10 list of least favorite things to do. It is one of those things that you will avoid at all costs.
Welcome to my Top 5 least favorite things to do.
1. Moving
2. Moving a friend
3. Applying for jobs
4. Ironing
5. Going to the gym
The one I would like to highlight on this fine day is going to the frigan' gym. Now that I am breathing again here in Oz and have taken back my life I figured I should continue to focus on my work/life balance with some exercise. I am never going to be one of those people who cuts out gross food because I love it way too much. Eating would have to be on my top 5 favorite things to do so losing weight and being healthy through my diet is a no-go. Plus, sydney siders are SLIM. Aussie's here in the city are super fit. Far more fit than NYC or LA folks so it is time for me to adapt my body to the culture.
Duck! You almost got slapped in the face with a scam. Why? Let me tell you. I go to this gym called "Fitness First" with my mates Jemma and Simone to try to get some free passes to see if we can handle this new plan of activity. We told them that we work at EF and they spoke to us like we were from Mars. They asked us if we were native English speakers and where we were from. The guy, Jeff, was Canadian so I will forgive him. We were all standing in the lobby like goons and I finally asked him if we could start the tour of the gym. He asked me what I wanted to see. I said, "The gym." I can be so smart sometimes but come on! He took us downstairs where everyone looked miserable. Miserable. Miserable. The treadmill. Everyone looks like mice on a wheel. Running so quickly to no where. I used to be able to run on the treadmill for hours. Well, maybe not hours but at least one hour now I run out of breath to lift my leg to get into the bath tub...depressing. (You will be happy to know that I am still not showering regularly. :)) The guy tried to tell us that we can get a 10% discount and no sign-on fee. I looked at a flyer and they are offering all companies a 10% discount so forget something special for EF. Then, we asked for freebies and you would have thought that I asked for his childhood blanket. He barely wanted to give us a free day. We got 2 free days after he cried about it. Simone got a call (I put down the wrong phone number) and he said that if we signed up that day he would give us 1 month free but there was a sign-on fee of $70. Hello?! That is not one month free. That is one monthe for $70. The gym is run by the mob. I swear it. I signed up for one month. paid cash. They wanted my cc details. I put down the wrong ones. I only wanted one month and paid in cash. It is ridiculous!
The gym itself was the nicest gym I have ever been too. Large, spacious, and everyone looks like they stepped out of a fitness calendar. I took a spin class and it was dark, with black lights, and neon pics on the walls. My shirt was bright pink of course so I stuck out like sore thumb with the wet sweat marks highlighting every curve. Thanks under armour. (I love how I just blamed under armour for my lack of activity over the past 2 yrs. Go ahead, you can do the same.) Then I took a body attack class. Basically, that is what Aussie's named aerobics. It just sounds cooler. My back hurt so bad the next day that I thought something was wrong with it. I am so unfit. Then I took a body pump class. The guy in front of me split his pants. The instructor called out, "Did we have a wardrobe malfunction?" No one would have known if it wasn't for her yelling in the Madonna headset about his tear in his pants. Naturally, I was in the back row so I switched spots with him. Stupid move and I paid the price. Squats, lunges, sit ups, dead lifts, whatever else they call it, I had to do it. That poor guy. I could hear Simone laughing in the back b/c it was so hard. She tried to tell me that her calves were getting too big after one yoga class. She is a size zero. Good one Simmy G.
I meet with the personal trainer on Thursday who I am going to explain how much I dislike the gym but have to go over it. I hope he has a degree in psychology and is patient. God bless Simon. What is up with me meeting people named Simone and Simon? I know this post is ridiculous but I just had to share.
The good news? I am getting my butt in gear. I will not lose any weight and you will not be able to tell the difference b/c I am consuming full fat yogurt, caramel koala's, and coffee made with a cup of cream daily. The yogurt here is incredible. Picture cheesecake with a yogurt consistency. To DIE for. I eat it by the pints. Yogurt is healthy...
Welcome to my Top 5 least favorite things to do.
1. Moving
2. Moving a friend
3. Applying for jobs
4. Ironing
5. Going to the gym
The one I would like to highlight on this fine day is going to the frigan' gym. Now that I am breathing again here in Oz and have taken back my life I figured I should continue to focus on my work/life balance with some exercise. I am never going to be one of those people who cuts out gross food because I love it way too much. Eating would have to be on my top 5 favorite things to do so losing weight and being healthy through my diet is a no-go. Plus, sydney siders are SLIM. Aussie's here in the city are super fit. Far more fit than NYC or LA folks so it is time for me to adapt my body to the culture.
Duck! You almost got slapped in the face with a scam. Why? Let me tell you. I go to this gym called "Fitness First" with my mates Jemma and Simone to try to get some free passes to see if we can handle this new plan of activity. We told them that we work at EF and they spoke to us like we were from Mars. They asked us if we were native English speakers and where we were from. The guy, Jeff, was Canadian so I will forgive him. We were all standing in the lobby like goons and I finally asked him if we could start the tour of the gym. He asked me what I wanted to see. I said, "The gym." I can be so smart sometimes but come on! He took us downstairs where everyone looked miserable. Miserable. Miserable. The treadmill. Everyone looks like mice on a wheel. Running so quickly to no where. I used to be able to run on the treadmill for hours. Well, maybe not hours but at least one hour now I run out of breath to lift my leg to get into the bath tub...depressing. (You will be happy to know that I am still not showering regularly. :)) The guy tried to tell us that we can get a 10% discount and no sign-on fee. I looked at a flyer and they are offering all companies a 10% discount so forget something special for EF. Then, we asked for freebies and you would have thought that I asked for his childhood blanket. He barely wanted to give us a free day. We got 2 free days after he cried about it. Simone got a call (I put down the wrong phone number) and he said that if we signed up that day he would give us 1 month free but there was a sign-on fee of $70. Hello?! That is not one month free. That is one monthe for $70. The gym is run by the mob. I swear it. I signed up for one month. paid cash. They wanted my cc details. I put down the wrong ones. I only wanted one month and paid in cash. It is ridiculous!
The gym itself was the nicest gym I have ever been too. Large, spacious, and everyone looks like they stepped out of a fitness calendar. I took a spin class and it was dark, with black lights, and neon pics on the walls. My shirt was bright pink of course so I stuck out like sore thumb with the wet sweat marks highlighting every curve. Thanks under armour. (I love how I just blamed under armour for my lack of activity over the past 2 yrs. Go ahead, you can do the same.) Then I took a body attack class. Basically, that is what Aussie's named aerobics. It just sounds cooler. My back hurt so bad the next day that I thought something was wrong with it. I am so unfit. Then I took a body pump class. The guy in front of me split his pants. The instructor called out, "Did we have a wardrobe malfunction?" No one would have known if it wasn't for her yelling in the Madonna headset about his tear in his pants. Naturally, I was in the back row so I switched spots with him. Stupid move and I paid the price. Squats, lunges, sit ups, dead lifts, whatever else they call it, I had to do it. That poor guy. I could hear Simone laughing in the back b/c it was so hard. She tried to tell me that her calves were getting too big after one yoga class. She is a size zero. Good one Simmy G.
I meet with the personal trainer on Thursday who I am going to explain how much I dislike the gym but have to go over it. I hope he has a degree in psychology and is patient. God bless Simon. What is up with me meeting people named Simone and Simon? I know this post is ridiculous but I just had to share.
The good news? I am getting my butt in gear. I will not lose any weight and you will not be able to tell the difference b/c I am consuming full fat yogurt, caramel koala's, and coffee made with a cup of cream daily. The yogurt here is incredible. Picture cheesecake with a yogurt consistency. To DIE for. I eat it by the pints. Yogurt is healthy...
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Winter Weekend in Oz
It's winter here in Australia so we figured... why not hit the slopes?! Yes, there is skiing in Australia. More snowboarding b/c I think it attracts the surfers and it is super cool. Why is ski gear so dang cool? I love the cool jackets and pants with bright prints that don't match. I am strongly considering buying gear and just hanging out in it. A new theme party perhaps....think about it.
We got a super deal through this company called Oz Snow Adventures and for $120.00 AUD we received:
We had a blast on this "spring break" adventure but I have to say that I felt a bit....don't say it...I am going to say it...oh no...here it comes.... old. Everyone was hammered on the bus. Come to find out our bus was tame because a girl was throwing up and another girl had an adult accident in her pants...#2. Yup. Gross. After 6 hours of the drunken debaucle we arrived to our modest accommodations. I slept in Jane's cocoon sleeping bag in fear of bed bugs and tried not to move a muscle all night. A diet of fried foods and brewskies is what I endured for the entire weekend which is why this blog entry is on delay. Detoxing from the mania. I was planning to stay in a hostel by myself in Cairns to go white water rafting but I am reassessing my accommodations after this trip. Thankfully, I was with fun, kind, and great co-workerbees so we made the best of it. Yes, Tricia is knitting...that may not have helped our nana cause but she is learning...god bless her. Isn't my hair getting long? All of a sudden it is like a weed. Perhaps it is the water...don't know.
Come to find out... I am not too shabby at skiing. I am a demon for speed of course and I can be a bit reckless coming down the slope but that is part of the fun. Check out my frigan' hat. (Aussie's call it beanie) It is Jane's and she said that is was so cool. It is basically as cool as a telephone cord belt. Once cool, now not. I made the best of it.
We were doing so well that we decided to advance from the bunny hill to the green hill.
I should have known better. My previous ski experience (CC, Ash,...you remember) we got too cocky and went from green to blue. The next thing I knew I was going straight down the slope at lightening speed, tumbled, one ski popped off, and I was laughing so hard that I almost peed my pants. I look up and there is Courtney screaming and crying at the same time doing exactly what I just did but she managed to stop by the grace of God. Well, didn't learn from the time before. When we got off of the chair lift there was a ledge (like the road runner on the side of the mountain) that you had to ski along for a half mile and then you hit a slope that went STRAIGHT down. My dear friend Trish tried so hard to get down the hill but ended up hoofing it down. Me, I bombed straight down the hill non-stop and miraculously made it this time. It was awesome! Trish met me down the bottom and we embraced having lived to tell the tale.
Here is a picture of Trish before...
Here is a picture of Trish after....
What did we do after that fiasco? Drink beer. naturally...
The bus ride home was a bit rough. I had to pee so bad and they refused to pull over for anyone because it was spring break and everyone was too cool for school. I told the kid that I was pregnant. He looked at me like I had 6 heads. I said, I need you to pull this bus over right now. He looked at me with pure terror in his eyes. "Are you really pregnant?" I said, do you really want to find out? Guess you pulled over! I thought another fella on the bus was going to kiss me because he was 2 seconds from wetting himself. Gotta do what it takes sometimes. Disclaimer: I am not pregnant, not considering pregnancy, and I don't think immaculate conception is going to have another bout.
The next day we went up to the same slope on our ski lesson. This time Renee, our Italian instructor above, was with us. We made it down the mountain several times with very few wipe outs. Kiri tried snow boarding and Grace is the size of my left arm who tried both snow boarding and sking.
I think I may try to go to New Zealand to hit the slopes there because this was so much fun! Seeing that I am traveling only to places where there is winter year round I mine as well embrace the dang snow. Check out some pics below:
Gotta jet!
We got a super deal through this company called Oz Snow Adventures and for $120.00 AUD we received:
- Round trip transportation-Sydney to Thredbo (6 hr ride on the coach)
- 2 nights accommodation
- Ski rentals including ski pants and jacket
- 2 2 hour ski lessons
- lift pass
- free breakfast, lunch, and dinner
- free drinks on Saturday
We had a blast on this "spring break" adventure but I have to say that I felt a bit....don't say it...I am going to say it...oh no...here it comes.... old. Everyone was hammered on the bus. Come to find out our bus was tame because a girl was throwing up and another girl had an adult accident in her pants...#2. Yup. Gross. After 6 hours of the drunken debaucle we arrived to our modest accommodations. I slept in Jane's cocoon sleeping bag in fear of bed bugs and tried not to move a muscle all night. A diet of fried foods and brewskies is what I endured for the entire weekend which is why this blog entry is on delay. Detoxing from the mania. I was planning to stay in a hostel by myself in Cairns to go white water rafting but I am reassessing my accommodations after this trip. Thankfully, I was with fun, kind, and great co-workerbees so we made the best of it. Yes, Tricia is knitting...that may not have helped our nana cause but she is learning...god bless her. Isn't my hair getting long? All of a sudden it is like a weed. Perhaps it is the water...don't know.
Come to find out... I am not too shabby at skiing. I am a demon for speed of course and I can be a bit reckless coming down the slope but that is part of the fun. Check out my frigan' hat. (Aussie's call it beanie) It is Jane's and she said that is was so cool. It is basically as cool as a telephone cord belt. Once cool, now not. I made the best of it.
We were doing so well that we decided to advance from the bunny hill to the green hill.
I should have known better. My previous ski experience (CC, Ash,...you remember) we got too cocky and went from green to blue. The next thing I knew I was going straight down the slope at lightening speed, tumbled, one ski popped off, and I was laughing so hard that I almost peed my pants. I look up and there is Courtney screaming and crying at the same time doing exactly what I just did but she managed to stop by the grace of God. Well, didn't learn from the time before. When we got off of the chair lift there was a ledge (like the road runner on the side of the mountain) that you had to ski along for a half mile and then you hit a slope that went STRAIGHT down. My dear friend Trish tried so hard to get down the hill but ended up hoofing it down. Me, I bombed straight down the hill non-stop and miraculously made it this time. It was awesome! Trish met me down the bottom and we embraced having lived to tell the tale.
 |
| If you look to the left, you can see Trish walking with her skis |
Here is a picture of Trish after....
I think I may try to go to New Zealand to hit the slopes there because this was so much fun! Seeing that I am traveling only to places where there is winter year round I mine as well embrace the dang snow. Check out some pics below:
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