Erin and Kevin Visit!

Erin and Kevin, friends from business school visited Australia for a little over a week. While we were not the main attraction (a wedding in Perth was) we loved to see them and hang around Sydney! Having friends around is just what the doctor ordered!

We packed a lot in the few days they were here! Christmas Eve drinks with our neighbors, Manly, Bondi, Coogee, Sydney to Hobart race start, well really it was just the longest ferry ride EVER, Chrissy with Jules and Oscar, Speed Boating, exploring the city. We also got to meet with with Curtis and Allison who were enjoying a Sydney holiday for a BBQ on Boxing Day at our apartment.

How is this the only photo of all of us I have????

Walking around Bondi! 

Bone Crusher says, DON'T LEAVE!

Thanks for visiting, we miss you guys and can't wait to see you again soon! XOXO

Happy Chrissy (even if its a bit late)

When we first moved here we both wondered when we would get homesick. We figured it would happen around the holidays. So, I braced myself for thanksgiving, but we were both working and no one here celebrates t-giving (duh), so we didn't really have time to think about it. I've been much more homesick in the states not being with my family than I was here - since no one is with family you're reminded you aren't, if that makes sense.

We talked about leaving Sydney for Christmas for this very reason. Instead we opted to stay in Sydney and I have to say it was the best decision we made. Here is what our day looked like:

Everyone enjoys the sun and goes to the beach. On our bus to the beach (at 10 AM) there were two English bros rocking out to Bob Marley and drinking vodka slushies. #stralia

Started off at Coogee beach with the Pisca's 

It was a picture perfect day. And I got to Skype with my mom from the beach :)

Everyone was in santa hats and red 

People set up with their Christmas trees on the beach

In true Australian fashion Christmas is actually just a drinking event. As you leave the beach and walk up to the grass you see where the real parties are. This was about 11:30 and people were going hard already. This takes planning because EVERYTHING is closed on Chrissy - I mean everything, you can barely even get a coffee. And that goes for Boxing Day, the day after Chrissy as well.

These guys were crossing the street to get to their party with all the important things, cases of beer, propane and a BBQ....no shoes, no shirt, santa hat, check.

Then we heeded to the Dean's for a proper family Christmas celebration. We ate dinner outside, thats right, Christmas outside!

The Chrissy spread - seafood on seafood! 

No Christmas celebration is complete without poppers 

The table aftermath 

Then we transitioned to the backyard, where we played some games and continued generating with sparkling red wine. The Australians were outnumbered out there - only 2 of 8. So we had an American country sing along. It was great fun!

The "kids"

Fun with Lollies aka candy 

Love these guys! Wine teeth much?

As always, thanks Oscar & Jules and their families for welcoming us into their homes and making us feel right at home in Australia! And I can't forget that Greg had an Australian Quiz prepared for all the Americans, which was awesome!

Exploring the Northern Beaches

A few weekends ago we decided to rent a car and take a day trip to some of the hard to get to Northern Beaches. The Northern Beaches are across the harbor from the Opera House and are definitely less crowded. We traveled about an hour North of downtown Sydney. We visited West Head Lookout in the Ku-Ring-Gai Chase Notional Park, Church Point bay for lunch, Clareville for a coffee and Palm Beach to relax on the beach.

Here was our route

Chris made me drive most of the time and I am happy to report that I did not drive on the wrong side of the street once. I did, however, run over a massive snake, which I did not like. I thought this was very Aussie, but apparently its rare and I should feel special about it.

Here are a few photos form our little day trip. Its definitely worth the trip if you visit!

Lunch in Church Point Bay 

Coffee stop in Clareville

View of Palm Beach from the National Park 

Palm Beach

Thanksgiving Down Under

Thanksgiving week was a big week in the Speelman household! I started work that Monday and then we hosted a party on Saturday to celebrate. It was strange to start week after all of my time off on Thanksgiving week! I was definitely not planning on drinking until about midnight on Friday with new co-workesrs, grocery shopping at 1 AM and then waking up at 7 AM to cook....but hey you only live once. #YOLO as the kids say.

Of course we celebrated in style. We wanted to really give the Australians a true thanksgiving experience, that meant fancy dress. (Fancy dress is what Australians call costumes, it still gets me a bit confused, fancy dress = cocktail in my head)

The whole family 

The cutest turkey out there!  

We had a mix of American and Australian friends over and one Frenchmen. The food all turned out well, it was my first turkey. Most of the ovens here are fan forced, I am not sure if I like them more or less. It does cook faster. We took the turkey out to baste and discovered it was already done in only 3 hours (it was a 7kg bird). Please also notice the baster - we could not find one anywhere, so we used a tomato sauce bottle, empty of course.

Chef Oscar made an appearance and I forced him to wear this apron.

Our kitchen is soooo small - three of us in there was intense!

The spread - thanks to Hayley for the photo I stole from her blog.

And of course there was a drinking game, it was called chug a beer as fast as you can. This consultants have a way with coming up with creative games.

We had a great day with great friends! My only regrets were not taking a picture of everyone and not saving leftovers for Jules :) This is sure to be an annual event!

Good Food Month

October was good food month in Sydney. The marquee event is the Noodle Markets. It's the equivalent to Taste of Chicago, except you don't have to look over your shoulder for gang bangers with guns. You do have to look out for camera bandits, like this guy, at a moments notice he might snap a photo of you.

The markets are in Hyde Park, which is right near the CBD (Central Business District). There are tons of people and tons of vendors - all asian inspired. The food was delicious. And you can buy a bottle of wine, awesome.

A converted shipping container into a bar

Some sort of Korean fried potato.

The dumpling machine. So many dumplings.

Interesting desserts.

October has been a good month in Sydney, that's for sure! 

Museum of Contemporary Art

I've mentioned it before, but there are a ton of museums in Sydney and for the most part they are free!  Right next to the harbor bridge is the museum of Contemporary Art.

I was lucky enough to go when there were two visiting exhibits - contemporary aboriginal art and young Australian breakout artists. The former I can't get enough of; the later was interesting, but I just don't get some of it, you will see why. The aboriginal art is so colorful and there is so much to look at from far and up close.

Here is a close up shot of this painting, its a complex web of tiny dots on top of dots.

This painting was laid out on the floor. It is depicting traditional landscape with the modern world coming in with cars.

Here is an up close of a simple painting. Even the black background are dots. Its amazing the time and detail that goes into these!

And now on to the young Australian artist exhibit. Ummmm, what? I mean I get it, kind of, but why? Grandma's of the next generation will start making quilts like these as family heirlooms.

Again, why? This "quilt" had to have taken some serious time, but it is seriously strange. I bet the artist is a preppy blond girl.

 And this, art. Some people just don't get it.

The permanent portion of the museum has a lot of fun and thought provoking exhibits. I like this superman, but it's a woman!

This one made me laugh. I don't think Americans would hang something like this in their museums, I could be wrong.

I would definitely recommend stopping by this museum when you are exploring the city!  

Sculpture by the Sea

I've been frequenting museums while I still have some free time. (Did I mention yet that I have a job?!?!?!?! I start 24/11!) Most museums here are free, if there is a pay portion it is generally a special exhibition. The culture geared toward learning and making museums available to everyone is pretty incredible.  

Currently the event Sculpture by the Sea is happening in Sydney near Bondi, one of the famous Sydney beaches (did I mention it is FREE). We had heard about the event from many different Australians and it sounded cool, but I didn't realize just how amazing it really was until I experienced it for myself. If you haven't planned a trip and you want to visit us, I would recommend this time next year - its late spring so the weather is beautiful and if your visit coincides with this event you will have a great Sydney experience! 

There are over 100 sculptures along the coast between Bondi and Tamarama beaches. Its about a 2 km (a little more than a mile) stretch. The walk is beautiful on its own, but add the thought provoking and beautiful sculptures and its stunning. 

The start of the walk, The Iceburg's at Bondi

I'll post some of the photos I took here, but do your self a favour and google image search "Sculpture by the Sea Bondi" and see some of the previous years works - melting ice cream truck, massive toothpaste tube, faucet flowing into the ocean - the creativity is pretty amazing. 

These were my favourites. I was so into this one that I didn't even really focus on taking a photo. The wood it is carved out of is massive. I have a hard time imagining the amount of work that went into completing this. 

This one was also beautiful. Walking around it the reflection would change. The circle actually changes directions and there is other unpolished detail in the closer photo.  

I had seen pictures of this one online before I saw it in person. It reminded me of a slinky. As you walk around it, you see a new and different sculpture.  

This is the perfect place for this wooden whale.

I almost didn't see this peacock. It almost blends in with the bright sun. Its tucked in a tiny corner of Tamarama beach. My Grandma used to have peacocks, so I of course know my family will love this one. 

 

Now on to the experience. This is an overview picture toward the end of the walk toward Tamarama beach. You can see just how many sculptures there are.  

I love this rhino on the beach. 

This is a fan favorite. A big fry pan that really makes you think about what all those bronzed beach goers are doing frying in the sun. Its pretty cool.  

My 10 year old humor loves what number this older man is going to represent :)

Looking though this sculpture you can see the massive rainbow sculpture at the front of the beach. 

I like this one, I wanted to love it, but I just couldn't. I do think it is creative and funny. Its made of lipstick. 

Which way is the horse going???

I was talking to a staff member and these dudes were one of his favourites. The sculpture is called "what you looking at" but we think it should be called "bogans." It makes me laugh too. 

This one was also really cool. Its a massive rock cut into pieces and polished in some areas. 

So simple, but beautiful.

I love this one - the saltwater pools are everywhere in Sydney and so Aussie (at least I think they are). 

There is one stretch that has these massive piles of colorful trash. These are bottle caps all strung together with other trash and filled with trash also. It really makes you think. 

This sculpture sits right on the point looking out across the ocean. I am sure it is beautiful at night, sunrise and sunset. 

Last one, these are everywhere on the side of a cliff. There is something to look at every time you turn a corner.  

I'll definitely be going again so that Chris can see it. I think I might try to get out there for sunrise one morning - 6 am yikes, but I feel like I need to experience a sunrise at the beach before I start working and why not see this again also.

I hope the artists and organizers know how special this event is!