First Week in Oz

I've been here one week; it feels longer. Maybe, it's because my brain hurts a tad...figuring out how to get around a city of 5 million, and working with a group that does things pretty much the same, but enough nuances to make a difference.

On the former, the busses do not let you know which stop is approaching. I took the bus to work on Monday, and asked the guy sitting next to me how people know when their stop is..."they don't." He was kind enough to let me tag along (he thought his stop was the same as mine, it wasn't). I haven't figured out how to get home yet since I was working late last week and was able to expense my cab, guess that'll be on my list to figure out this week. Good thing people speak English.

I did the tourist thing and rode the 'sightseeing' bus Sat. It was a nice way to see the layout of the city, and I jumped off at Chinatown (wanted a big, ole bowl of soup) and the Sydney Fish Market. Even though the Chinatown ramen soup was good, I wish I had saved room for the amazing looking seafood at the Fish Market.

Sunday was kinda crummy, raining off and on. I initially wanted to take the ferry to Manly beach, but instead, figured I would wander around the harbour, do the Sunday market at The Rocks (Sydney's oldest preserved colonial district), and do the Art Walk (18th biennial of Sydney). The markets validated that I am not a souvenir scooper, the only thing that was tempting was the jam and fudge :)

I stopped in for lunch at a restaurant near the wharf (Fratelli Fresh), it wasn't as good as the restaurants in Wellington, and it was definitely more expensive (grilled fish, brussel sprouts salad and a glass of wine - $50). I was trying to get a sense for Sydney people, and this spot (close to the city) seemed to be a place with money. It's funny, the people looked really dressed up, but their clothes don't look as modern as the states (this includes shop windows). The girls love leggings/jeggings and yes, they actually wear Uggs (typical Uggs look..leggings, baggy sweater).

The AU dollar is really strong right now and Sydney's not a cheap place to live. I was asking my co-workers what was inexpensive here, they mentioned meat and gas (saw a sign for $1.42 a gallon). Guess, I could try Atkins again, but last time my hair fell out in clumps, so I may need to pass on that.

After feeling guilty about my snack of flat white (pouring microfoam [steamed milk from the bottom of a pitcher] over a single shot of espresso) and carrot cake, I decided to walk home from the CBD (Central Business District). The walk wasn't that long (close to 7 miles) but they're kinda sparse with the street lights and the route isn't the most streamlined. I probably won't do it again, but passed some places that looked interesting.

I miss talking/texting my friends. I continue to research who offers free international texting, needs to be iPad, iPhone, Android, Australian friendly...think Viber may be the best bet. Let me know if any of you are on it. Oh, and the times I've tried to use Skype for calling, it constantly drops. This may be due to my wireless connectivity, but it drives me bananas.

Going to enjoy a glass of red wine, and watch the Blind Side. Hope you're having a good weekend, wherever you are.

Sydney Next Chapter

I've unpacked at my fourth place in six weeks. I received some recommendations from my co-worker, and ended up in Bondi. I wanted to be by the water and didn't mind doing a commute if it meant I'd have a community feel to where I lived. I've included a link to my new abode (it's adorable). http://www.stayz.com.au/98481 


I'm a five minute walk from the beach, and I feel safe living in a place that has three other apartments in the complex. I get to try out the bus system tomorrow and find my way to work (office is in the CBD [Central Business District]); according to the website, it should be 40 minutes from door to door. Right now, I'm slotted till August 5 to be in Sydney, then I could have the apartment extended or possibly go to Melbourne. I would love to see Melbourne, but don't look forward to making another move.


I'm worn out. I did the Coogee Coastal Walk today and have been up since 3:00am. Yawn.

Wrapping up Wellington

Hmmm...let's see, since I last wrote, I went to Queenstown the weekend of July 6. Yep, I bungy jumped! I also did a one day tour to Milford Sound. On the bungy jumping, I had signed up for Nevis (134 meters 440 feet 40), but wasn't able to do it due to 1) they had to fix something on it 2) we were the last group of the day so they were backed up. I figured I had to do something, so I ended up jumping off of the Kawarau Bridge (43meters, 142 feet), the first bungy. Suprisingly, once you can shimmy your way to the edge and jump, it's pretty exhilirating! Milford Sound was beautiful, but I actually enjoyed Queen Charlotte Sound more (on my way to Marlborough). I guess I'm getting jaded :)


The town of Queenstown reminded me a bit of Breckenridge, CO, and I actually enjoyed the place more once I got out of town. The scenery from town to Milford Sound was amazing. Every turn had a different landscape..beautiful..especially with the winter frost.


I was able to wrap up my Wellington time with a true NZ activity...I went to a rugby game! Loved it! It was really fast paced, and it only has 2 halves (40 minutes each) and we won!


I flew out this morning (Sunday, July 15) on a rainy, windy day (epitome of Wellington wind) and landed in Sydney around 8:00am for the next chapter of my adventure.

Earthquake!

Tuesday, July 3

"A strong earthquake has been felt throughout much of New Zealand, but there have been no reports of injuries or damage.

In the capital, Wellington, homes shook as the quake rumbled for about 20 seconds Tuesday.

The U.S. Geological Survey says the magnitude-6.2 quake was centered about 105 kilometers (65 miles) south of New Plymouth on New Zealand's North Island. The temblor's epicenter was 236 kilometers (147 miles) below the surface, and the depth may have helped reduce surface damage.

Media reports indicate the quake was felt widely across both the North and South islands."

I'm sitting on my couch, sipping some wine, when the room started to shake. I first thought it was construction outside of my apartment (jackhammer). Then it kept shaking, and finally, my delayed response was, "oh, I think I'm feeling an earthquake." I felt like a little kid, excited by the whole thing. Especially, since it wasn't that big of one and no one was hurt.

Wednesday, July 4

My co-worker Catz (Catherine) decorated my desk with American Flag stickers..she really is the cutest little mom to our group.

Did a very civilized pub crawl (including dinner) with my co-worker Rob, we hit the following places:

The Establishment (decorated with July 4^th crap) http://www.theestablishment.co.nz/node/399

This is the kind of place that has drink specials for the Ladies..not my usual hangout, but Rob has a crush on one of the bartenders there, so we hung out for a beverage. The good thing was that they had champagne for the drink special.

Hung out at Malthouse  http://www.themalthouse.co.nz/ while we waited to get into the bar that I really wanted to try (The Library). If I was more of a beer drinker, I guess this is the place to be.

The Library http://thelibrary.co.nz/ Loved it! Cozy, dark sitting areas, with low key music and books all around. Hopefully, I'll be able to hang out there again.

Dinner at The Tasting Room http://www.thetastingroom.co.nz/ (once again, great service, food [squid for my appetizer and a burger] and wine..love Pinot Noirs from Central Otago)

I'm heading to Queenstown for the weekend. I've signed up for the Milford Sound tour (includes bus and cruise) and a bungy jump! Yikes! I'll let you know how it was.

Off to pack for another move. At least the next move is in the same apartment, but it's still a move :(

Martinborough and Misc.

I really just wanted to be mellow this past weekend, but I figured I didn't know how long I was going to be in NZ, so I just needed to suck it up and rally! I decided on Friday to take the train to Martinborough (Wairarapa region) to visit some more wineries. The train ride was short (approximately an hour), and it was another scenic ride.

Initially, I was the only person on the tour, and then after an amazing lunch (poached egg on a caesar salad and antipasto), we picked up two more people (a young couple from Wellington). I went to Te Kairanga, Schubert, Muirlea Rise, and Murdoch James Estate. Muirlea Rise was my favorite, purely based on the funny guy (Shawn) the owner of the boutique winery.

On Sunday, I had to move to a new apartment since Chews Lane (loved it) was booked for the next few weeks. This is an example of how ridiculously nice people are here. The realtor came to Chews Lane to get the keys as well as helped me move my stuff as well as my co-worker's stuff (he had to go to Sydney for the weekend for his personal apartment move) to the new place (Wakefield). And then, not only did he help me move, he also took me to a tourist spot (Mount Victoria lookout) to see a 360 degree view of Wellington...ridiculous, right?

I'm trying to make the most of my short time here, as well as, it's better being busy to not let my mental hamster over think things with Jens. Yep..he's gone. I was able to hang out with him the Mon., Tues., and Thurs., before he left on Fri. the 29. He had one day in Sydney to unpack from NZ and then pack for a 3 week trip to Thailand (sun, surf, shrines). He'll be back in Sydney on July 21, we'll see if we reconnect.

Right now, plans are for me to head to Sydney on either July 13 or July 15 for work, and then possibly splitting my time between Melbourne and Sydney. I would love to spend time in both places, and heard to get the most out of both places, stay away from the city in Sydney (not much going on there vs. the beach areas), and in Melbourne, the city was the best place to be (European feel, with great restaurants). My work contract ends Aug. 24, but I'm planning on spending an extra week for pure vacation time.

I just bought a ticket to Queenstown for this weekend, it wasn't super cheap due to my last minute decision, but I figure I may never be back here, so it'll be worth the splurge. I'll be flying there Friday morning and then return Sunday around noon to move to a new apartment (the current one was only available this week). I'm going to check on a day tour to Milford Sound (the Realtor recommended it, and the pics look amazing), and then I'll do at least one adrenaline-rush activity. Really not much time to do anything else (Milford Sound is 8am-8pm).

I checked the weather in Queenstown..it's in the low 40's...brrrrr....I'm sure those of you sweating right now wish they had a chilly day :)

Catching Up

Let's see, since I last wrote, I took a 3 hour ferry ride to the vineyards in Marlborough Sounds.The ferry ride was a little rough initially, I had to take several deep breathes, but once we got into the Sounds..everything was really calm, and the landscape is nothing like I've seen before. There are layers of mountains, and lush forests all around..absolutely the most beautiful place I've seen. It made me want to move somewhere with mountains and an ocean.


I was excited about potentially spending my wine tour with some fun Australian's or Kiwi's, but nope..the only other person in my van was a uh..softball playing looking woman named Julie from Michigan. Yep, Michigan of all places. Regardless of the company, the ride to the wineries was beautiful and I finally got to see some sheep! The tour was only for half a day, but I went to; Hunter's, Allan Scott, Seresin [Michael Seresin's estate -cinematographer] and Saint Clair. It's the first time that I enjoyed Chardonnay.


I spent the next day (Sunday) wandering around Picton, there wasn't much to see, but I enjoyed a long, leisurely walk around the small town, (started with an amazing breakfast of a "rasher" of bacon and eggs..the egg yolks are so yellow/orange here) and then took the 6:30pm ferry ride back.


This last week, I got to experience some amazing restaurants. Considering the city isn't that big, the restaurants are so diverse and really good. I went to Foxglove last Thursday for a going away party. The place has this wardrobe (literally) that you walk through to get to the back bar...loved it. Then on Friday night, I hung out with Rob and Luke - we had dinner at Public where they have a weekly show. The show consisted of a trio of women (looked like the epitome of 'cougars' - a word that I don't love, but it really fit them) singing doo-wop. It was the craziest thing, when they started singing, a bunch of middle-age, white people came out on the dance floor. It was as if I was dropped into a wedding party. We left there and headed to Mighty Mighty. Even though the place was too heated, and there were uh..interesting smells - translation b.o., the house music was fun (e.g., Tom Jones song in German), and I heard some live music. The first act was atrocious. The lead singer was a big belly middle-age man that was trying to sing heavy metal..just sad. The second band was better, or at least the lead singer thought it was.  


Last night (Sat), I went to dinner with Jens at Southern Cross, where the food, live music and company were all great.


Speaking of Jens..I found out that this is his last week in Wellington. He told me last night that he had been trying to meet me since the first week, but either the boys were in the space so he couldn't talk freely or when he tried to catch me before the first weekend, I got in the elevator right as he was trying to approach. Then the second weekend, I was gone all weekend. All that to say, he said last night, "I can't believe that I could have enjoyed 3 weeks with you". Sweet. Good thing he introduced himself, otherwise, I would never have taken the initiative, he figured as much.


I'm sleepy. A co-worker invited the boys and me over for dinner and to meet her family. We had a fantastic home-cooked meal of; chook (roasted chicken), potatoes, kumara (sweet potato), carrots, broccoli and for dessert, pavlova (meringue based dessert...such a lazy dessert..you can just let it melt in your mouth and then swallow).


Had a text from Jens when I got home, which made me happy. It would have been nice to see him, but we're both tired, so we passed on meeting up. Speaking of..can't stop yawning..heading to bed.

Lunch Date

Being a silly American, when I found out that Jens is German, I Googled German men traits. Who knows, maybe Jens Googled Asian women traits :)The article said that for the most part, they are not big flirts. With the minimal interaction I've had with Jens, this doesn't seem to be that far off base. He's more direct (not like "nice rack" direct), and also takes charge in a confident way. Examples:

• When he confirmed the lunch time, he said we could pick up my mobile sim card then (love that he remembered I needed one, and was willing to help me with the process)
• When we got to the phone store, I was absolutely clueless what I needed, so he asked all the questions. It's kinda nice playing "little lady" every now and then
• As we were heading back to the office, he said there's a restaurant he wanted to try (Korean bbq- he already knows I only speak English and a little Spanish), and wondered if I'd want to go sometime. What's nice with his "sometime" is that it seems more than just a vague timeline
• Told me to text him once I got my phone working. He offered to help set it up, but I didn't have it on me. Plus, he was giving me grief about me not understanding all the steps I needed to do, which he apologized about, asking if he was being harsh...something about that German trait sometimes comes out. I didn't think it was harsh, and if anything, I teased him about it

We had an easy going conversation; talking about all the different places we've lived. He did exchange programs in Portugal, Argentina, CA, Spain...he may be younger (not sure how old he is), but I like that he seems well traveled. He lives near the beach in Sydney, and does water stuff in NZ too (kite surfing, sailing). I guess he does look surfy.


The possibility of having someone to do stuff with would be so nice. The people in the office are friendly enough, but there just aren't many girls, and the ones that are there just kinda stick together. Perfect example of "it's easier being a guy to meet people"...Jens is going to a co-workers bachelor party this weekend. He asked if Luke (other co-worker) was going to be in town and extended the invite to him. I don't even think they know each other very well.


Ok, enough boy stuff...I'm booked on an 8:15am ferry from Wellington to Picton tomorrow (Sat). I'll be picked up at my hotel (Beachcomber Inn) at 1:30 and drink my way through Marlborough Sounds until 5:30...I'm excited :) I then have a ferry ride back Sunday at 6:30.


If I have internet access, and am not blotto (ha, j/k..kind of) I'll update the blog. Otherwise, I'll fill you in on my weekend Monday.