Aussie Rules!

Last night we went to our very first Australian Rules Football (AFL) game.  It was the season opener with the Brisbane Lions vs the Fremantle Dockers.  We had seen some AFL games on TV when we first arrived here.  We had a rough idea of the rules and  it seemed like a good way to spend a Saturday night, so we decided to get tickets and go. 

A beautiful night at Wooloongabba Stadium

The game was so much fun to watch.  The players are constantly moving and they can't throw the ball to each other, they can only kick it or "handball"  to another player (sort of like an underhad serve in volleyball), all while running at full speed.  The players score points by kicking the ball through the goal posts.  A kick through the goal posts at the side is worth 1 point, a kick through the middle goal posts is worth 6 points.  It is a very fast paced game, not without danger, as the players do not wear padding or helmets.  We saw three players helped off the field, two of them bleeding from head injuries. 

In the second half of the game we noticed that there was a big crowd gathering in the stands behind us and no one was focused on the game.  A lady sitting in front of us stood up to see what all the commotion was about and was very disappointed to see that it was a politician.  "Ken Bloody Rudd!  The real interest is down on the field!"  Kevin Rudd is the man who was Prime Minister before Julia Gillard and is now Foreign Minister.  Clearly, this lady was no fan!  As much as the crowd seemed to be interested in him where we were sitting (he was being mobbed like a rock star) he was resoundingly booed when they showed him on the big screen.  Like any good politician, he smiled and waved...any recognition is good.

Kevin Rudd in the centre of the photo, leaning down to shake hands

After all that excitement there was only about 20 minutes left in the game.  Brisbane had been ahead for almost the entire match but Fremantle was really starting to pour it on.  There were hits and kicks (mostly at the football) and with only 30 seconds left...Fremantle scored the go-ahead goal and Brisbane lost the game!  We were so disappointed to have such a sad ending to our first game.  Of course, as Calgary sports fans, we are very used to losing (ouch!)

Sydney, Part 2 of 2

The Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge

Sydney Cove and Circular Quay are amazing!  It doesn't matter how many photos one has seen of the Opera House or the Harbour Bridge, they are stunning from all viewpoints. 

Circular Quay is the main ferry terminal and the entire area is constantly buzzing with activity.  There are digeree-doo bands, street performers and throngs of people, all occupying the same space at the same time.  There are expensive hotels and Michelin starred restaurants, chic stores and junky tourist places.  There is something for everyone.

Sydney Opera House

The Opera House is huge!  There are multiple theatres, a smart restaurant and a gift shop within the building, plus a series of shops and cafes connected via a mezzanine level tunnel.  After a long day of walking it was nice to sit in the shade, enjoy a glass of wine and watch the crowds from the serenity of our cafe table.  It would be easy to spend an entire day there.

The Opera House profile, based on sections of spheres (not clam shells!) came to the architect while sectioning an orange!  There are 10 separate arches, each one covered in self-cleaning tiles that appear white from far away.  The tiles themselves alternate between reflective bright tiles and duller ones, that are closer to beige when viewed close up.  The tiles were created in larger sheets and then linked together in the final construction phase.

Close up of a roof section

Like most icons in Australia, the Opera House is lit up at night.  They play a light show across the sections, alternating between flashing colours and brightly coloured animation.  The entire area is active 24 hours a day.   

The Opera House at night

This is just one small part of Sydney, there is so much left to discover!





Sydney, part 1 of 2

Our 4 day mini-break in Sydney flew by, we can't believe we are already back at home in Brisbane.  We really loved Sydney!  As it is such a short distance, we decided that we would rather have a nice relaxing vacation, instead of cramming 10 days worth of tourism into 4 days. We took it easy and just visited what we could, with plenty of time to sit and people watch over a wine or a coffee.

Our first day we went to the Taronga Zoo.  The Taronga Zoo is situated across the harbour from Circular Quay and takes about 15 minutes by ferry to get to.  It is a very nicely laid out zoo, with very few cages (only for birds).  The habitats are well laid out and the animals seem to have plenty of room to roam around.  The highlight of the zoo for us was seeing the Indonesian Fishing Cat!  This is a cat that is about twice the size of the standard housecat, with large close set eyes and long claws.  It pats the surface of the water with it's paw to get the fishes to come to the surface and then WHAMMY!, good-bye fish, hello dinner.  At least that is what the sign on his enclosure said.  We went to see the cats twice and both times they were sleeping...someone must just bring them fish.

Fishing Cat

We also went to the Manly suburb, which was a fishing village (hopefully not run by the lazy cats at the zoo!) in the early 1800's and was gradually encompassed by Sydney.  It is now a quiet resort community about 25 minutes on the ferry from Circular Quay.  It was a lovely place to spend a day, we had a walking route from a guide book that took us through the village and part of the national park.  The beaches were pristine and it was easy to imagine being there in the height of summer and spending the day in the water.



Houses bordering the Manly marine walk

Saturday and Sunday were a little drizzly so we spent those two days walking around the city when it wasn't raining, and in museums and shops when it was.  We went to the Maritime Museum which was full of artifacts from Australia's maritime past.  There were relics from shipwrecks and old navigational instruments.  The highlight, however, was reading about how in the 50's and 60's the main way that most Australians vacationed was to take a cruise.  On the cruise ships there was activities for everyone and the children were looked after by the Children's Hostesses, affectionately referred to as Chilly Hos! 

We walked all around the city and through the parks.  There are so many parks in Sydney, the biggest park area that we saw was the Botanic Gardens and Hyde Park.  There are also smaller parks and green areas everywhere.  The parks are very well kept but still retain a natural feel.  The gardens are planned but not very formal.  Hyde Park has a massive fountain that is across the street from the fantastic St Mary's Cathedral.  We got there too late to go in, but will definitely hit it next time.

Statue in Hyde Park

There was so much to see that there is no way that we won't be going back soon.  It was easily as picturesque and vibrant as many of the European cities that we have been to, and the gorgeous weather makes it that much better.

Mini break

Sydney Opera House

We have come to Sydney for a mini-holiday, and so far we absolutely LOVE it!  It is only a 1.5 hour flight from Brisbane, so we left after work on Wednesday and arrived at our hotel just before 10pm (Sydney is one hour ahead of Brisbane, even though it is to the west...very hard for us to get used to).  We spent our first day here at the Taronga Zoo and exploring the harbour areas.  It is also St Patrick's Day and, Sydney having a very strong UK influence, every pub is full to the spilling point.  We had a Guiness in a pub in The Rocks suburb around 2pm and saw a few people who clearly were not on the first drink, but probably should have been on their last drink.  It is a really fun atmosphere.

We have lots planned for the next couple of days so we are really hoping the weather holds.  It does feel like fall here, the air is crisp and cool, and just a little over cast (relatively speaking of course, as it is 25C and still shorts weather).  This is the coolest weather we have had since we left Calgary in August, so it feels nice to get away from high humidity.  We are sure some Aussie's think it is cool, but we are pretty good with it.

The next few days will be full of walking and seeing the sights, it will be hard to leave and go back to work on Tuesday.  Lucky for us it is only 90 minutes to fly here, we are already planning our next trip!

Venturing out

Now that we have been in Brisbane for 6 months, we realize that we really only know one small area around where we live, and the CBD.  We are trying to get to new neighbourhoods not only to get to know the city a little bit better, but also because our lease is up on our townhouse in mid-July.  We need to decide if we want to commit to living here for another year.  There isn't anything wrong with where we are but we do feel like we need to get out and see more neighbourhoods before we decide to stay.  The rental market is really tight, so we need to start looking now for a place in July.
On Friday we went to the West End suburb after work.  It is a little bit edgy and artsy.  There are a lot of independent shops and artisan studios and the main street has every kind of ethnic restuarant you could want.  We ended up having dinner at a fabulous bistro with a hidden courtyard.  This neighbourhood had many Greek and Italian migrants at one time and they planted Cypress trees, giving the area a Mediterranean feel.  The whole suburb is just a little different. 
Before dinner we went into a Japanese themed tapas lounge.  It had a really funky ambience and we probably weren't cool enough to be there.  The real attraction for us were the light fixtures.  It isn't everyday that we get to see a chandelier made of Barbie doll heads! 

  Barbie doll head chandelier (not the clearest, taken with a Blackberry)

Aussie-isms

We are slowly adjusting to the Australian way of speaking.  The most common thing with the Australian language is to shorten a word and add the letter Y  or IE to the end.  Relatives become relies, sunglasses are sunnies, the grocery chain Woolworths is known as Woolies and, of course, Australians become Aussies.  There other terms that are less obvious: speedo bathing trunks are "budgie smugglers" (an excellent term), chickens are called "chooks" and a picnic cooler is an "eskie".  The best term that we have come across is "bogan".  The term "bogan" is similar to the North American term "white trash", but has a much broader definition.  Bogan can be used for people who are tacky (such as the girl that we saw walking down the Queen Street Mall, spraying her underarms with deodorant as she walked along), it can be used for people who have mullet haircuts and wear singlets and shorts as formal wear.  Most commonly it is used for celebrities who are unbelievably tacky and walking proof of the saying "you can't buy class". 
There is also a fabulous use of the letter "o" in so many place names and the secret is that they aren't actually pronounced as "o" or they are not pronounced at all.  Indooroopilly is pronounced Inderpilly, Mooloolaba is Moolulaba and Toowoomba is Tuwumba.  The secret is to say the word really quickly.  It gets confusing and our attempts at name-place pronunciation leave the Australians doubled over in laughter, but we are slowly getting better.

Sold!

After many-many months on the market, we have accepted an offer on our house!  We are sad to let go of a house that we truly loved, but it was time to move on.
It is a very difficult experience, to be living in Australia and trying to sell a house in Canada.  We had to rely on the kindness of our neighbour Dave to check the house everytime there was a showing, and JB's dad to drive over every couple of weeks to check the mechanical and to make sure there were no problems with plumbing, electrical, etc...  Calgary winters are hard on houses and this old house was built in 1920!  She just needs a little extra love.
It is also really tough to be so out of touch with the real estate market.  We were constantly checking news sites, real estate reports, forecasting of oil and gas prices and every other source that we could think of.  The worst part is that we really loved the house and we couldn't understand why it hadn't sold the first day!
We aren't planning on buying in Brisbane right now, the market is just too hot.  We have only been here 6 months and we really only know a small part of the city.  It is too soon for us to buy.  Plus right now we really don't want to think anymore about real estate!