Manly Beach

Considering the fact that I grew up in a Chicago suburb and went to school in rural Ohio, I find it amusing that the first time I've ever lived in a city I moved to the other side of the world to do it. That being said, my day- to- day life in Sydney is similar to what my life would be like at home. I work four days a week, on one of my days off I try to be productive (i.e. grocery shop, do laundry, clean my apartment), and then other days I enjoy going to the beach. Normally, I go to Coogee because I can catch a bus in Newtown, but last week I decided to branch out and go to Manly, the most accessible northern beach. Even though it’s accessible, it’s still quite the trek. I have to take a 30 minute bus ride or a 15 minute train ride to Circular Quay and then hop on a ferry for 30 more minutes before I actually reach my destination. All in all I do think that the Manly area is charming, but I still favor the convenience and beauty of Coogee.

On the ferry ride to Manly, Sydney's most popular northern beach.

Some people say the northern beaches are less crowded. Those people are wrong.

The further you walk down the beach, the less crowded it gets.

The pavilion area with cute surf shops and cafes.

Last week, on Tuesday night I went Hikaru, a Japanese restaurant in Newtown with three girls from work. We enjoyed the food and conversation so much we were the last ones to leave! The next night I went out to dinner with the same group that I went to the Homebake festival with, it was a sort of going away party for Jenna because she’s going home to Coff’s Harbour (a good seven hours drive up the coast from Sydney) for the holidays. We went to the very popular Bar Reggio, an Italian place in Darlinghurst. I finally had my first delicious pizza since being in Australia—those slices at the kebob stands on George Street just won’t cut it anymore. The good food and great company was a real treat because I had been cooking for myself and eating alone since Rachel went to Melbourne for the week!

Courtney, Jenna, Andrew, Me, Kylie, and Kate enjoying our dinner.

That night I was lucky enough to ride on Mrs. Claus's bus!

Then this past Saturday night Rachel, Kylie and I went to a concert at the Coogee Bay Hotel. I had been there once before, the place is absolutely massive. It has a restaurant, a sports club, a beer garden, and a dance floor which is the area they used as the concert venue. The band playing was called The Beautiful Girls, but you’d be surprised to learn it isn’t a band made up of beautiful girls! It’s actually three guys on the guitar, bass, and drums and they have kind of a alternative/reggae vibe to them. Rachel and Kylie were already fans, and after checking out two of their CDs from the library, I am too! All three of us had a blast and we hung out in the beer garden for a bit before heading back home for the night.

The three of us at The Beautiful Girls concert.

This is not technically a music video, but it is my favorite song of their called "Periscopes"

King Street

I remember when I was in high school I wrote a column on the fact that there were over 30 dry cleaners on Waukegan Road in Glenview. Well, I could write a similar article about King Street in Newtown, only I would replace the dry cleaners with Thai restaurants. Additionally, King Street is also chock full of bars, second hand shops, and alternative lifestyles (I can’t tell you how many people I see walking around with their bodies COVERED in tattoos). I really never tire of walking down the street: there are often people singing, playing instruments, or even break dancing for money, a very talented artist sells his paintings right near my bus stop, and on Saturdays there is a small market outside of the community center. My only complaint is there is always heavy traffic that makes it more difficult to take pictures of the beautiful old buildings that line the street. Below are a few of the better ones I was able to get.

This is my favorite shop to browse around in. Lots of Buddha statues, colorful lamps, decorative rugs, and antique furniture to look at.

The local movie theater. Did you know that they assign seats for the movies in Australia? So your whole group of friends will go up to the ticket booth at the same time.

The public library... where I am right now uploading these pictures. Oh how I love free wireless internet.

A little bit random, but I love the brick next to the run down yellow and pink buildings. Everything in Newtown is so old, but I think it gives it character.

Homebake

Some people might think a festival called “homebake” would be about buying and selling baked goods… those people would be wrong. It is in fact a music festival that’s been going on for fifteen years supporting all different types of bands from both Australia and New Zealand. I attended this last Saturday with my friends Kylie, Jenna, and Courtney whom I met at the races about a month ago. These festivals are so popular in Australia, it almost seems there is one happening every weekend. Homebake took place in the Domain, which is a park close to the Royal Botanical Gardens and the Art Gallery of New South Wales. There were about four stages with groups playing simultaneously resulting in more than 40 performances that day. The gates opened around 11 am; we arrived fashionably late around 12:30pm and stayed till about ten o’clock that night. I’ll admit, I only knew one band and of that one band only knew three songs that they played- but that didn’t stop me from having a good time. I really enjoyed listening to Gin Wigmore & The Cardinals, Red Riders, and my personal favorite Sia. I had a great time with the girls and really enjoyed meeting more of their friends; I definitely picked the right country to come to all by myself because they are the most warm and inviting people I’ve ever encountered in my life!

The crowd outside the main stage at 12:30pm when we arrived...

and about seven hours later... it got somewhat crowded.

Kylie wanted to make sure I was having fun the entire time. Mission accomplished!

Jenna, Courtney, Kylie and me goofing around.

We were actually very close in the crowd when Sia performed, but I thought this was a very cool pictures of her face plastered against one of the three big screens behind her. She was beyond talented and very fun to watch because she really interacted with the crowd. I googled her afterwards and it turns out she's good friends with Christina Aguilera and even wrote a few songs for her new album.

Although the ride looked fun, I wasn't sure the heat + spinning would be the best combination for my head.

Jet was probably the most main stream band at the concert, not to mention the only band I had ever heard of before. Did anyone else know that they were Australian? Because I sure didn't.

On the walk home we passed by St. Mary's Cathedral. I'm not sure if these lights are a year- round display or the church is just getting into the Christmas spirit, either way it was beautiful.

On Sunday night, Rachel and I joined Tamsin, Kat, and Adam (Kat's boyfriend who's visiting) for a moonlight movie in Centennial Park. They were playing 500 Days of Summer, which is quite fitting considering summer is just beginning in Australia...

Happy (Belated) Thanksgiving!

Well these tidings come about a week late, but I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Rachel and I decided to host dinner for our English friends Kat and Tamsin and our Australian mate Chris. Kat actually celebrates Thanksgiving every year with her family because her father is American; it was Tamsin and Chris’s first turkey day experience. Speaking of turkey… we didn’t actually have one. We decided it would be easier on us (and our kitchen) if we bought a delicious pre- cooked chicken instead. And for those of you that think this was a cop out, I will say to you what I said to my sister Jackie: When you have your first Thanksgiving thousands of miles away from home we’ll see how you do. We did cook all the yummy sides like mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, and a sweet potato dish. Our delectable feast was followed by an amazing episode of “Glee” which I much preferred to a football game and dark chocolate brownies Kat and Tamsin made from scratch. All in all, it was a great Thanksgiving.

The lovely bouquet courtesy of Colin.

I wish every dinner was a Thanksgiving feast!

The self- timer really comes in handy in times likes these.

This past Monday, I went scuba diving at Gordon’s Bay with my friends Jay and Thijs. I had been there before to take pictures of the fishing boats and search for sea glass on the shore, but never to dive. The water was incredibly rough and we were walking into it from a rocky area. While I successfully made it into the water, the way out proved to be a bit more difficult and I unfortunately was smashed up against the rocks. I survived with a few cuts on my feet and a bruised ego. While underneath, Jay and Thijs used their dive knives to cut a sea urchin open and used that to feed a friendly blue grouper that has become quite accustomed to divers treating him. I know I haven’t posted any scuba diving pictures yet, but that’s only because disposable underwater cameras are expensive and I’m trying to make the 28 shots last as long as I can. Once I do get the developed I will most definitely post them.

I realize I haven’t written about work much and that’s only because it isn’t the most exciting topic- that’s not to say I haven’t been enjoying it though. I work mostly with my manager Katie, who I love and my day consists of assisting customers, making sure the store is tidy, and putting new merchandise onto the floor. The past few shifts I’ve worked 1pm to close, which is 7pm and relatively early compared to American stores. Even though I’ve worked in retail before, I feel so much more important at Reiss because I’m literally closing the entire store by myself whereas at Anthropologie or Nordstrom there were always a few people with me (that of course is because both those stores are enormous compared to Reiss). I expect to more hours as the Christmas season approaches, so I will hopefully have a nice amount of money saved up by the time I start backpacking in February.

Australian Idol

On Sunday night Rachel, Kat, Tamsin, and I all went down to the Opera House to watch the season finale of Australian Idol. It was between a blond rocker named Hayley Warner and a soul crooner named Stan Walker. It’s difficult to describe Stan's voice but as Michael Bublé told him, "It's like God kissed your throat." We were all cheering for Stan, and he won! That's not really why I went (after all I had only seen one episode before last night), I went to see Michael Bublé perform. He sang "Feeling Good" with Hayley and Stan and then “Cry me a River” a single off his new album. Needless to say, he was unbelievable… not to mention oh-so-debonair in his designer suit. The event took place outside the Opera House and although we didn’t have tickets we found a spot were we could hear and see the performerances on the big screen. To top it all off there were more fireworks than I’ve ever seen on any Fourth of July in America, making me excited to see what Sydney has in store for New’s Years Eve!

Let the Idol madness begin!

I'm convinced Australia has the most beautiful sunsets in the world.

The four of us managed to get our hands on one wristband, we voted for Rachel to take it since she has the nicest camera and would be able to get the best shots. She didn't disappoint.

I was there standing in a crowd of hundreds when our eyes met, he pulled me onto the stage and then confessed that he had written his hit single, "I haven't met you yet" about me... so obviously now he needs to change the lyrics.

I also cannot take credit for these amazing fireworks shots seeing as my camera died just before they began.

Sightseeing in Sydney

I had a few days off this week, so I took it upon myself to do more sightseeing in Sydney, thus the witty entry title. My first stop was the Sydney Tower, the top of which is the highest point in the southern hemisphere. The views were breathtaking and I would love to go back again one night to catch the city at sunset. Next, I took a stroll through The Rocks, one of the city’s oldest areas and ended my fun- filled day with a walk across the Sydney Harbour Bridge. A piece of advice to anyone who might walk across the bridge in the future: wear pants, it tends to be quite windy up there and holding down your skirt while trying to take pictures proves to be a difficult task at times. I hope you enjoy the pictures, while I have visited many of these sites before it’s always fun to see them from a different angle.

Darling Harbour

There are parks all over the city, Hyde Park is by far the largest and most well known.

This is King's Cross, that Coca- Cola sign is said to be as famous in Australia as the Hollywood sign is in America.

The start of the pedestrian bridge walk.

Sydney Harbour from a different angle.

The north side of Sydney, how amazing would it be to live on the water and have the next two pictures as your view...

The front facade of the Opera House.

A day at the races

Last week, my manager Katie asked if I would like to go to a horse race... An afternoon filled with cocktails, gambling, and donning a pretty dress? Count me in! So the day after I got back from Newcastle I joined Katie, her husband Pete, her little sister who is also here on a work and travel visa, and some of her friends from her previous job at the Rosehill Gardens. Races go on all summer long, the biggest one is Melbourne Cup, held at the beginning of November and known as “the race that stops the nation.” Perhaps the only difference between an American horse race and an Australian one is that ladies wear “fascinators" in their hair instead of hats. As far as gambling goes, I’ve had good luck in the past (I even helped my friend Michael Brill win hundreds of dollars at the Kentucky Derby a few years ago) but it seems that lucky streak has come to an end. Still, I had such a lovely time and was so happy to meet everyone.

The race track was beautiful, and you could even seen the Sydney skyline in the distance (although I couldn't quite capture a good picture of it).

My manager Katie and me.

What a great day out with the girls!

And now for exciting and slightly random updates:

- My parents have officially booked their flights and are coming to visit at the end of January. I’m so excited to spend three whole weeks with them. I think it’s safe to say I’m officially their favorite child…

- They won’t be my only visitors while I’m here, my little brother Alex is also coming! We’re planning on backpacking after he’s done with school in May and then we'll go home together in early June.

- Colin goes golfing almost every weekend now with friends from work and this past weekend he got his first eagle! The head honcho of Olympic National Park happened to be with them that day, talk about a good impression. Way to go Colin!