Barefoot Bowling

If I could sum up my time in Sydney since my last post, I wouldn't. No wait, what I mean to say is that I can't really sum up my time since my last post, so I will just keep talking as though you were right next to me the whole time (you creepy bastard).

My Mom (Mum) is out to visit and we have been having just a grand old time. She has been such a good sport with the things I have taken her to do and, to be honest, she really needn't be. She could just as well tell me that I am way off on what I consider a "fun" afternoon and that I really need a reality check. Take, as an example, her first Saturday in Australia - I took her to barefoot bowls (or for the lay-person "lawn bowling in bare feet").

Now, you may think that barefoot bowling is a boring activity in which the elderly partake. You may think my judgement was on leave when I offered up this activity to my decidely un-elderly mother. You would be right on both accounts, but you also would have missed the point.

On the first account, bowls is an activity for the elderly, sure, but here in Australia it is also a swell afternoon for an any-ager to share with some mates. On the second account, yes, my judgement is off, but not because I have insulted my Mom's age, rather because I shared this particular afternoon with my beer drinking, foul-mouthed footy mates. On paper it doesn't sound like a great afternoon for my Mom, but paper's got it all wrong, man.

Details of the bowling are a bit hazy, but suffice to say that we won't be going back to Camperdown bowls in any official function any time soon. We had a few schooners, some things were said, yadda, yadda, yadda, we went to the pub. Some more things were said, so on and so forth, we went on a pub crawl. All the while, my Mom was the star of the show meeting the guys, having a laugh, pounding a drambuie while being sung, "Here's to Meg, she's true blue. She's a piss pot, through and through...", and attentively listening to glassy-eyed drunks oh-so-sad stories. And she had a great time, smiled ear to ear, and now has a story to tell. What a legend.

Here's to my Mom - she's true blue.

Byron

Does it get any better than Byron Bay? Doubtful.

Cock-a-roaches

I wasn't going to write anything about the cockroaches because I didn't want to come across as a wuss, but I have never been one to keep my word and last night was a bit ridiculous. The little buggers are just a fact of life here and they seem to stay out of the bedroom, so I don't mind them too much. I have even gotten over them to some extent. They don't bother me too much anymore. However, they are still big and gross and last night was just stupid.

Carrie and I were having a hot tub outside and came inside to get ready for bed. I am walking into the bathroom and Carrie says, "watch out!" Too late: I stepped right on one of those little bastards! With my bare foot! It was so sick, but had this happened a couple weeks ago I would have probably coughed up my heart. Like I did last month when I was taking out the recycling to find a two inch one on my arm! Who needs a defibrillator? (Yes, I had to look up how to spell that.)

Oh well, what worse could possibly happen with cockroaches than that?

Pics to come! (Joking)

Beer Review: Knappstein Lager

I have just started to explore the Aussie world of beers and this was a great introduction to their boutique beers. Made in South Australia by a wine producer, you can see Enterprise Brewery takes great pride in the process. Light in colour and very hoppy on the palate at the start, the hoppy flavour gives way almost immediately. It was interesting as I took the first sip Tree Brewery's Hop Head came to mind, but then poof! It died right off and gave this more acidic citrus fruit flavour that was really refreshing.

They say they use special "Sauvin Hops" to give it characteristics of Sauvingnon Blanc. You can definitely see what they are going for. The citrus flavours are the big notes here. If nothing else, the beer is packed with flavour and I think it would be worthwhile to explore this beer more than once. To be completely honest, I was surprised all that taste could come from such a light beer: not what I am used to, but it certainly was a pleasant surprise.

I don't think I could have had more than a couple of them at a sitting as 1. they are expensive and 2. they are a rollercoaster of flavour that I am sure would diminish with more than a couple of them.

What a ride!

Rating: 8.5

The Taronga Zoo

This has got to be in one of the most stunning settings of any zoo in the world. It looks over the Sydney Harbour and is really a motion picture postcard. It truely is an event to go there. Departing from Circular Quay, the catamaran goes across the harbour giving ample photo options and it is really hard to resist taking shots at every turn.

The zoo itself didn't disappoint either. I think we saw just about every animal in there and spent most of the day scouting the place out. It was great to see a lot of the Australian animals as well, as I admit I didn't know what even a wallaby was before the trip there. We did get to see a platypus which was one of the highlights definitely.

Footy

Australian Rules Football is something to behold. It has a reputation of being a bit tough, but damn it looks like fun, so I decided to give it a try. I met up with the Inner West Sydney club for some training at the University of Sydney last night to try it out for myself. And I have the bruises to prove it.

Actually, they should call the game "Running" because that is mostly what we did. It was certainly a good time and there were some great guys out training. Lots of beginners too, which was good for me as I wasn't alone.

I have, on the other hand, found my chiropractor a replacement. While running with the ball I got tackled nicely and the benefit was a spinal adjustment. After a little game at the end of training I discovered that I had a bit of a black eye, a few scratches and scrapes, oh ya, and I can barely walk today. I can't wait to go back.

Botanic Gardens

Australia really is a different place. Trees, animals and sounds are all so exotic. Even now, as I write this, the hum of the Sicadas are constant in the background and the sun is in the northern part of the sky. It is all enough to remind you that you are a long way from home. It is like living life in a mirror, where your left is your right and right is left.

So to orient myself a bit and get to know some of what I am seeing and hearing all the time, I headed out to the Botanic Gardens near the Sydney Opera House and checked out some of the flora and fauna of the area. It is definitely an oasis and is well-used by the locals. I was there at lunch and walked along the water where many people were on lunch-time runs and families were picnicing on the grass, playing some rugby or cricket.

I walked by the government house and through the lower gardens where I learned to distinguish the ficus and eucalypt trees. The thousands of residents of the ficus trees though, were a bit disconcerting even if they just eat fruit (click on the pic for a larger view).