What we've been up to lately

Since the last post, Todd and I have been running all over Sydney trying to balance making this place feel like home while also working to take advantage of everything in this great city.  When the weather is nice (it's been a decently wet summer for Sydney), Todd and I take walks down to the water during the week and take longer trips around the city during the weekend.  Here are a couple of photos from some of our small adventures.  (Apologies for the crazy number of bridge photos--I take 1/2 the blame for them.)

Some photos from our evening walks:

From a park at the end of the street.

Sunset from the park at the end of the street.

Taking in the sunset...

During one of our fun trips to the grocery store here...finally found something Todd-sized.

On beautiful days in the city, I sometimes walk to the end of the point to read and send some emails.

This park is on the other side of the street from the point.  Todd and I go here to check out the boats.

A couple of weekends ago, we headed to the neighborhood next to ours and checked out the view from an old industrial area that has been converted into a reserve. 

Quite the windy day--we both wish we could have been on the water that day.

Big shocker--Todd looking at the bridge.

And again...

We have gone to a beach called Balmoral a few times over the past couple of weeks.  This is actually not on the ocean but on the harbor.  We are just a short bus ride away from this fairly secluded beach.

We both love being within a few minutes of the beach.

During a long walk the other day, I was able to take a quick pause for some Skyping with friends in Atlanta.  And, I was able to show them my view from the Botanical Gardens.

The day before Todd's birthday, we went to a cricket match.  There are a few different lengths of cricket matches and this was the shortest.  Now that I finally understand the rules of cricket, it is super fun to watch.  

We have had some crazy weather in Sydney.  They had to stop the match a couple of times for rain delays.

For Todd's birthday, I took him to an Indian restaurant down the street the overlooks the harbor.  Great food, great view and amazing company!!

Todd and I got to experience our first Australia Day together last week.  We spent the day under the bridge watching the boat races and hanging out with some of our friends.  And, we were treated to one of Todd's favorite things--a flyover!  

Still working on...

After being a for real Sydneysider for a week now, I thought I would share a couple of things I'm still getting used to here.

1.) Sidewalks--this one's a two-parter.  First, I cannot get over the fact the sidewalks never end.  (No, this is not a random reference to the Shel Silverstein book.)  Honestly, wherever you go in Sydney, there will be a sidewalk.  I grew accustom to sidewalks abruptly disappearing in Atlanta.  But, here I can walk and walk and there is always a sidewalk.  Second, I am still getting used to walking on the left side of the sidewalk.  I guess this is one thing that has become very ingrained in me and therefore difficult to change.  There have been a couple of times I have been walking down the sidewalk and I find myself veering off to the right.  It's a good thing I don't plan on driving while I'm here.  One of these days I will get the hang of it and stop almost walking right into people.

2.) Crossing the street.  In the same vain as the sidewalk, because they drive on the left side of the road, I keep looking in the wrong direction for oncoming traffic.  Because there are a fair number of sidewalks here, they actually have the words "Look Left" or "Look Right" painted on the street at the crosswalk.  But, when that's not there, I just spent the entire time crossing the road looking back and forth, left and right over and over again.  

3.) Commercials on TV.  Because much of the television here is American TV, we tend to watch shows we know we liked in the US.  (Except RBT, Random Breath Test.  I'll have to fill you in on that another time because it is decently hilarious.)  But, when they cut from the TV show to the commercial, I find myself almost jolted back to reality when I hear an Australian accent again.  Also, the only commercials I am used to that feature Australian accents are Aussie hair products (you know, "Add some 'rue to your do") and Outback Steakhouse.  For the first few days, I kept thinking that the Aussie brand was doing a ton of advertising here.  Then, I had to remind myself that it was likely for a different hair product.

4.) A/C--or lack thereof.  The majority of the places we looked at when we were apartment hunting didn't have air conditioning.  I never thought I would miss it quite as much as I do.

5.) Cricket.  I just don't get it.  But, people here LOVE it.  Todd has tried to explain it to me a couple of times, but it just seems a bit silly to me.  Todd bought us tickets to see a cricket match in a couple of weeks.  Hopefully when I see it live I will get the appeal a little more.

6.) Summer.  This is a bit of a silly one but I do enjoy reading fashion/lifestyle and food blog as well as checking out Pinterest.  All I see is fun winter layered outfits and yummy soups and stews and it's 75 degrees here.  (I should say 24 degrees here as another thing I'm getting used to is the temperature measured in Celsius as compared to Fahrenheit.)  But, I can't really complain about this gorgeous weather.

7.) Smoking.  This is one thing I honestly do not understand.  Sydney is such a health conscience city.  You can't even find sunscreen with less than a 30 SPF and there are all sorts of ads about skin cancer on TV.  Most people are incredibly fit and a good portion of their food is fresh and healthy.  With all of that, I cannot get over the number of people who smoke here.  Smoking is banned in most, but not all, indoor venues.  And, they just passed an ordinance than you cannot smoke in outdoor restaurants.  So, luckily it's not in your face most of the time.  But, if you walk down any street in Sydney you will find people taking smoke breaks.

8.) Kids in the passenger seat.  There have been quite a few occasions when I have been walking down the street and I see a young kid in the left hand front seat and just about scream, "Why is that little kid driving that car?!"  Then, I realize he is just a passenger.  Even worse is when I see no one in what I have always known as the driver's side, "Who is driving that car??!!"

9.) This view/the sunsets.  I keep telling Todd that I have "I live HERE" moments during the day because it is still a bit surreal.  Every night I point out the sunset to him--I wish these pictures could do justice to just how pretty it is every night.  

Catching Up

To continue from the previous post--after I returned from a good little run across the bridge Friday morning, Todd was awake and a little jealous of my run, I think.  So, we had a quick little brekkie and he headed out to run across his favorite Australian attraction. 

By the time Todd returned, we had to get a move on up to Chatswood where he works.  Todd had planned to have us join the regular Friday lunch crew from his office so I could get to know some of his coworkers.  The group had already decided where lunch would be that week and Todd did his best to prepare me for what they refer to as "the hanging duck place."  True story--there are actual hanging dead ducks when you walk through the front door.  The amount of authentic Asian cuisines in Australia is unreal.  And, this place would fall into that category.  But, the food was really good and it was great to finally meet all of the people I had been hearing about for the past couple of months.  I ended up sitting next to one of the more talkative people from Todd's office.  This guy has been in Australia for his entire life but apparently really likes Americans and American culture.  Because one of my biggest fears here is making a total idiot out of myself by doing something "wrong" it was great to get the Australian scoop from him.  No matter where we go, Todd and I seem to talk to people (both Americans and Australians) about the similarities and differences (most differences) between the two cultures.  It makes me wonder if we will ever get past that point or if that will always be a topic of conversation. 

After lunch, we ran by Todd's office so I could meet a couple more people and so we could print off just about every piece of information about ourselves.  We were planning on going to a cell phone store that afternoon and in order to get a post-paid mobile account (a cell phone with a contract), you have to show them about 17 different forms of ID.  They also want to know all about your job, etc.  To me, this was one of those lose-lose situations because they won't give you a cell phone without knowing that you have a job here but it is awfully difficult to get a job without having a cell phone.  At the end of the day, it all worked out and now I have a cell phone with all of two contact saved in there.

That night, Todd and I met up with the only other person I know in Sydney (the other person saved in my phone besides Todd) and her husband for dinner.  They are temporarily living very close to us and are actually looking to rent a place very close to our apartment.  We had a lovely al fresco dinner and took an after dinner stroll around the neighborhood.  On the way back to our place, I snapped this picture on the new phone.

The bridge really is impressive at any time of the day, but I think it's truly at its best at night with the rest of the city lit up behind it. 

By Saturday morning, I was itching to go to the beach as it was another gorgeous day.  Todd and I ran across the bridge to the Botanical Gardens (a huge green space in the middle of Sydney just by the Opera House) and walked around a bit.  I mentioned this area before as it was the first place Todd took me when I visited back in September.  It is wonderful and as you walk from one area to the next, you get the feeling you are being transported into various locations--there are places that feel just like the parks we have in Atlanta and then all of the sudden you walk under some trees and you feel like your in a tropical jungle right down to the crazy looking birds then you exit on the street and you feel like you are in an urban city again.  That is one thing about Sydney that I didn't know before I got here--it is constantly surprising you. 

Later that afternoon, we headed out to Manly beach.  We took a short ferry ride to Circular Quay (pronounced "key") which is like the Grand Central Station for ferries.  Then, one more ferry to Manly.  It was PACKED! 

Everyone I've met here has been saying that this has been a "cold" summer and clearly we weren't the only ones wanting to take advantage of the warm weather that Saturday.  From there, we walked to Shelly beach.  Luckily, Shelly beach wasn't quite as crowded.

On the walk in between, Todd was all about some water dragon spotting. 

After taking in the sun, we head back to grab our two ferries home.  That night, we went out to eat at a cute tapas places just down the street with Todd's work bff and his fiance.  Todd's office is a bit like the UN--there are people from all over the world working there.  And, this guy was no different--he and his fiance and both from Ireland.  They just returned to Sydney from Ireland where they were for a couple of weeks and have lived in Australia for about 4 years.  It was great to get a little advice from them about how to deal with living so far from family and friends. 

We had a bit of a quiet morning on Sunday and then met some friends to go to an area called Balmoral.  This little area is one of the cutest I have seen yet.  It is right on the harbor, has great little shops and restaurants and water access.  The beach area is all the way down at the bottom of a huge hill.  Luckily, once we walked down to join our friends at the barbeque, we realized that there is a bus that will take us all the up to the top of the hill.  Thank goodness Todd downloaded that transit app on my phone or else I might still be walking up that hill.  It was a bit of an overcast day.  But, it was perfect for sitting outside, enjoying some food and getting to know a few more people. 

On the way back, we hopped off of the bus to grab some groceries.  I was spoiled when we lived in Atlanta because I had access to some great grocery stores.  What they have here is not exactly Publix.  But, we went to one of the larger Coles (probably the biggest grocery story chain in Sydney) and were able to find just about everything we wanted/needed.  We have been able to find Australian equivalents to just about everything with a couple of exceptions.  For instance, the Greek yogurt here is not exactly the same and they don't have half-and-half, not to mention that it is impossible to read the nutrition labels. 

Yesterday, Todd returned to work and I started working a little harder on the job search.  When I needed a break, I wandered to the park across the street to do a little reading and had this as my view. 

Once Todd got back from work, we took a walk around the neighborhood and headed towards a park Todd had visited a few times. 

This time, instead of looking for water dragons, Todd did a little kookaburra spotting. 

I think the flight, the lack of sleep and change of weather has finally taken its toll on me.  So, instead of doing some neighborhood discovering, I ended up taking it a bit easy today and finishing cleaning up the apartment. 

So, that's it--our first couple of days in our new home. 

The First 72--plus

I started writing this post with the title “The First 24” but then it turned into “The First 48” but somehow the time has gotten away from me and here we are in Sydney already over 72 hours into our time here.  The first 72 hours in Sydney have been a bit of a blur.  Instead of overloading you with info, I thought I would include a few different posts about our first few days here.  We arrived to an empty airport around 6:30 a.m. on Thursday and quickly cleared customs (after having to declare our "buffalo sauce"--something they don't have here in Australia).  It was such a relief to be able to come back to our apartment instead of heading to a hotel as we did the last time we arrived together.

We spent a little time unpacking just the essentials and headed out to grab a flat white (coffee) and run a couple of errands up the road.  We headed back towards the apartment and I suggested walking across the bridge as we didn't do that the first time I was here.  Todd wanted to change his shoes and grab our new fancy camera.  But, I knew if I went back to the apartment, I would be too tempted by the couches and bed and would absolutely crash.  While Todd ran up to the apartment, I waited outside taking in the beautiful day.  All of the sudden I look to my right and saw the only other person I know in all of Sydney walking up the hill.  As many of you know, just after Todd and I decided to make this move, I found out that someone who worked were I did in Atlanta was also moving to Sydney. She moved here about a month ago and has spent her time trying to decide which neighborhood she liked best.  Well, it turns out that one of her favorite areas is where we live.  We stopped to have a little chat and introduced her to Todd once he came back downstairs. 

After this random meeting, Todd and I made our way to the Sydney Harbor Bridge and walked across to the south side of the bridge.  Of course, we took numerous photos.

Then, we headed down to an area called The Rocks.  This is where the majority of the old bars (or hotels as they are called here) are located.  Side note--the reason these bars are called hotels goes back to the days when liquor licenses were only given to bars that provided alcohol to travelers.  These bars had to have hotel rooms in order to appear as though they were following that rule.  And, the name just stuck.  Some of these bars still have rooms you can rent but for the most part, they are all just pubs now.  So, we headed to one of the hotels in The Rocks to grab a quick bite--potato wedges--the same first meal we had here the last time I was in Sydney--and a drink.

After one drink each (more than enough for me after 24 straight hours of traveling), we headed back over the bridge to a neighborhood called Kirribilli.  We looked for an apartment in this neighborhood when I was here last time but couldn’t quite find anything we loved.  Todd has been spending a fair amount of time in Kirribilli over the past couple of months because one of his good friends from work lives there.  We walked under the bridge and sat for a bit by the water.  It was easily one of the most picturesque days I have seen in Sydney.

After that brief stop, we made our way back to the apartment through an area called Lavender Bay.  One thing I must point out is that Sydney has got to be one of the most hilly areas I have ever been.  And, I don’t know that I have ever climbed so many stairs in my life.  I’m hoping that I get a little more used to it so I don’t always reach the top of the hill huffing and puffing. 

Despite my best efforts, I completely passed out upon returning to the apartment around 4:00 p.m.  I really did want to stay awake all day our first day, but after sleeping very little on the plane, I just couldn’t fight it anymore.  Todd (who was able to stay awake all day) eventually woke me up around 6:30 and we grabbed a quick bite to eat at the restaurant about a half a block down the street.  Because this place is so convenient, apparently Todd got in the habit of grabbing dinner there by himself over the past few months when he didn’t feel like cooking.  At dinner, we kept joking that all of the staff members at the restaurant must have been shocked to see Todd with another person. 

We were both able to get a fair amount of sleep that first night, but I woke up around 5:30 a.m. knowing that I wouldn’t fall back to sleep.  Though unpacking would have been the most logical thing to do at that point, I didn’t want to wake up Todd with all of that commotion.  So, after doing what I could to tidy up around the rest of the apartment, I decided to go for a run.  It was a nice day but a bit overcast.  The most logical route was back over the bridge--I knew where I was going, knew it would be difficult to get lost and knew that I would have a great view the entire way.  It really was wonderful, but the wind on the bridge can get a bit brutal.  There were times when I felt like I was almost running in place because the winds were so strong.  Sydney is a pretty health-conscience city, so they running path across the bridge is a popular spot--not to mention all of the tourists walking across. 

More on the rest of our time here tomorrow...for now, here are a few more photos of our first day. 

DISHWASHER! And, how the UPS man saved me.

That's right, our apartment now has a dishwasher.  (I'll get to the UPS story in a minute.)  Todd and I were talking via Skype (how did people survive before this?) and he took the camera into the kitchen to show me this new addition.  I could not be more pumped!  Don't get me wrong, I feel like we hit the apartment jackpot when we found a place with a stove/oven, fridge (and a large one at that), washing machine AND dryer.  During our week and a half search for an apartment, we certainly did not find anything with the number of amenities our current place has.  But, we did spend almost an entire day just washing dishes and silverware when we moved in and were unpacking.  Bye, bye nail polish after that day.  Todd can attest to the fact that I am a little bit of a germ freak when it comes to dirty dishes.  (I did used to have color-coded cutting boards to avoid any cross-contamination.)  If I had my way, I would put everything in the dishwasher.  So, this was quite the early birthday present for me.

On another note, this was Todd's first full week of work.  The transition and the new job seem to be going really well.  I think there is a definite sense of comfort in the fact that he is returning to a company where he knows people.  Though it sounds like there are certainly new people working there that he had not met, it is nice that he knows some of the people working there already.  I know he misses the people he worked with at his last job, but I think this situation is ideal for a smooth transition. 

I had a bit of an funny week.  Preface to this story--Todd and I decided it made the most sense for each of us to sell our cars before we left.  Todd already sold his car (which worked out better than we had even hoped) and I have been planning to sell my car in December.  My car, though older, has been good to me since I got it just before senior year of college.  Prior to this Australia plan, I was just going to drive it until it died and then get a new car.  Well, this week, I thought my car might have other plans.  On the way to dinner with some wonderful people from work, my car just would not start.  Thankfully, after a jump from a sweet coworker, it started up again.  I went to dinner as planned and drove home.  At first, we all thought the lack of starting was due to some corrosion on the battery.  But, after cleaning off that corrosion, my car would not start.  Because it was still relatively early in the evening, my plan was to jump it again and drive somewhere that would replace the battery.  As my mom and I stood in the garage about to use her car to jump my car, a friendly UPS driver showed up to help up with this process.  Thank goodness, because I have a feeling things might have gone from bad to worse if the two of us were left to our own devices in this situation.  I don't know why UPS has its drivers delivering packages so late at night, but I am certainly thankful he showed up when he did.  I drove the car to a Pep Boys down the road and got there just in time for them to replace the battery before they closed for the night.  I also got the flu shot this week and kept up my 5 year streak of getting sick from it. 

These are definitely just little hiccups during the week.  All in all, they are nothing to write home about and certainly nothing that I could not handle.  But, it's odd to have these things happen without the ever-calm Todd to help.  And, it's even more weird to have to wait 5 or 6+ hours just to tell him these stories.  I think we are very used to everything being instantaneous, particularly information.  I can know what pretty much all of my friends (and people I haven't seen since college) are doing at any one time just by clicking on Facebook.  But, with the crazy difference in time, it is usually at least 6 hours before Todd and I can talk about anything that has happened. 

I promise that once I get to Sydney, I will start posting pictures of amazing scenery and stop getting all philosophical about our move.  In the meantime, here's another picture of the bridge (from our apartment).  I can't wait to climb it--eek!

Trip to Sydney in Photos

Entirely too much has happened in the past week and a half for just one blog post.  And, seeing as my body is still trying to figure out what time zone/hemisphere it is in, I thought it might be more fun to share some photos from the two weeks I spent in Sydney.

Here is my first flat white.  Australia doesn't really do drip coffee--everything is espresso-based.  A flat white is pretty much a latte.  It is delicious, but like most things in Sydney, it is expensive.

This little baby was $3!!

This was the view from the first hotel we stayed in--not too shabby.

During the first day, we walked around Sydney and did some sight-seeing.  We stopped at a place called The Opera Bar were we had our first Australian drinks.  One of the few things you can get for a reasonable price in Sydney is wine.  Again, not a bad view.

At The Opera Bar, I was introduced to one of the more simple but delicious stapes at most Sydney restaurants...potato wedges.

They are just baked potato wedges with sour cream and sweet chili sauce.  Pure genius.

Being in the parks in Sydney is almost like being in the zoo.  Because many of the animals (birds in particular) are not common to Atlanta, we couldn't help but try to chase them down.  I will spare you the photos of the eels, though.

During one of the few days we took off from apartment hunting, we headed to Darling Harbor.  Though very touristy, it is still wonderful and worth seeing.  Earlier in the week, I had seen a news report on one of the morning shows about a new playground being built in Sydney.  Without meaning to do so, we stumbled upon this new playground while walking from Darling Harbor.

I had to share this photo because neither Todd nor I could get over the fact that kids were just climbing up this structure without any supervision/net/safety precautions.  In the US, this would be a lawsuit waiting to happen.  But, I guess when you live in a country with the most deadly animals in the world, a little climbing is no big thing. 

As I mentioned in an earlier post, we did eventually find an apartment.  Todd knew right away that this place was a gem.  I, on the other hand, took a little convincing.  It is so incredibly clear now that this apartment is perfect for us.  I already miss it and am excited to get back to it.

The apartment is at the top of a hill and in walking down to the end of our street, you will hit water and see this view.

The apartment is in an older building and has been somewhat refurbished.  There are two bedrooms, a pretty decent kitchen and a wide open living room area.  Much to my surprise, not all apartments (even furnished ones) have a fridge, oven/stove, washer/dryer and dishwasher.  In fact, some places have none of these.  Luckily, we have all of the above with the exception of a dishwasher.  After spending an entire day washing dishes, cups, glasses, etc. by hand, Todd is looking into renting a dishwasher for the place.  Here our a few photos of this humble abode.

Our living room--don't you love the one tiny photo on the HUGE wall?  We are working on fixing that.

Another view of our living room area

Our kitchen--this is HUGE compared to most of the kitchens we saw

Extra bedroom/storage room

Guess who loves the view from the living room...

Because we were constantly rearranging things and doing two weeks worth of laundry, we did not get around to taking a photo of the bedroom.  Hopefully Todd will be able to upload a photo or two.  We are fortune to have some great closet space in the bedroom which will come in handy when I move the rest of my clothes over in January.

After checking out quite a few neighborhoods, hunting for apartments and finally working to get settled in our new place, we didn't have much time before I had to head back to the US.  We spent my last day in Sydney walking from Bondi Beach to Bronte Beach.  It was an absolutely gorgeous day and it was nice to finally be able to relax a little.

The day after our beach trip, Todd and I headed to the airport to say goodbye.  It certainly wasn't easy and not knowing exactly when we will see each other again makes it worse in some ways.  I know that he will be back in Atlanta for Christmas but we aren't entirely sure how soon before Christmas we will get to see each other.

Todd started his job the day after I left and said it could not have gone better.  He has been hanging out with people from work outside of the office and getting to know our new neighborhood a little better.  I think it makes all the difference in the world that Todd knows quite a few people in Sydney already.  And, I know they are thrilled to have him back.  Within minutes of posting something to Facebook at the Atlanta airport about his return, Todd received numerous phone calls and messages from people in Sydney telling him how excited they were that he would be returning. 

Coming back to work for me was bittersweet on so many levels.  I love my job more than I thought anyone could love something called "work."  And, I absolutely adore the people I work with everyday.  I am trying to trust that this move will include finding something as fulfilling as I am doing now.  On the other hand, I miss Todd immensely and am counting down the days until I can return to our adventure together in Australia. 

Hopefully this wasn't a picture overload!!