Search Results for: label/Australia

And we are off……

August 4, 2012 by Fran 2 Comments

The most commonly heard question over the last 4 months, “are you all ready then?” The commonly heard response, “not really.”

I always knew that what would be, would be and the rest would sort itself out. And after the longest raft of leaving parties/goodbyes/drinks in living memory, my liver was just about ready on departure day, even if my head quite wasn’t.

And here we are, at the end of my first day on Australian soil as a resident. Feels very surreal to say it like that, out loud, but I suppose that’s what I now am. Arriving here on my one way ticket (granted, a very comfortable business class one way ticket) it takes some getting used to the fact I’m here to stay.

So, you will see, if you are paying attention, that it is now Saturday and I left home on Wednesday. That’s because I had a great 2 nights in Singapore. I snoozed, dozed, nodded and maybe even slept a little on the way there, arriving in the Lion city early on Thursday.

I have been to Singapore a few times before and it’s a city I really enjoy due to it’s contrast of being a modern city that is a little rough around the edges.

You have all the bars, clubs and restaurants gleaming on Clarke Quay, yet on the neighbouring edges you have Chinatown and Little India, adding a little Asian authenticity and grubbiness. One example of the modernity of the city is the “Singapore Flyer”, the world’s largest observation wheel, dwarfing the London Eye by some 40 meters. I took my first visit on this, enjoying views as close as the Formula1 track that circles it’s base, to vistas as far as the outer edges of the island.

A highlight for me of any visit to Singapore is the cuisine, and particularly the high quality north and south Indian food. Down on Boat Quay there are a few favourites of mine, most recently enjoying a very simple dish of chicken fresh from the Tandoor oven, served just with a garlic naan.

Such pleasure in ripping chunks of naan bread off, wrapping around a piece of succulent, tender, Tandoori chicken and washing down with an ice cold Tiger beer. And all at prices that don’t break the bank.

Day 2 had me doing a sightseeing trip of the city, with the obligatory visit to Raffles hotel, named after Sir Stamford Raffles, the founder of Singapore. First time visitors should go to the Long Bar and try the legendary Singapore Sling cocktail. I say first time visitors as it’s not a drink that you could afford to have on every visit to the Lion city.

The evening was wrapped up in a Balinese restaurant where I had Nasi Goreng, a dish I had quite forgotten how divine it is. I first sampled it whilst backpacking through Bali, it became a staple of my diet, not solely as a result of the taste, but the price suited my backpacker budget also.

With the stopover done, it was now time to pack the bags again and head off for one last plane journey, to Australia, the place I first visited in 1994 and kept returning to. There was something that just drew me back. Was it the alluring smell of the ubiquitous eucalyptus leaves? Was it the wet t-shirt competitions in Cairns? (come on, I was only 24). Or was it just a love of enjoying the great outdoors in an amazing climate?

And so, after a couple of years effort, permanent residency secured, it’s time to see if the country Down Under still has the same draw for me.

Till the next time.

And so to Spring…

September 20, 2012 by Fran 3 Comments

They say that time flies when you are having fun. Well, as you get older, time just flies. It’s not that I haven’t been having fun. I have. Lots of it. But it’s not all schooners and burger deals at the Manly Wharf Hotel. (ed. point for readers not familiar with Australian hostelries, all pubs are called hotels for some incongruous reason.) I have seen off winter, hardly a drag, and we are now firmly in spring. Coming up to the end of month 2, seriously?!?, I thought it was time to update you on what this ex-pat has been doing.

There has been a healthy dose of real life thrown in the mix since we last spoke. And by real life, yes, I do actually mean real life. I have been trying to focus on one thing at a time, and in the order of my current priorities, that was apartment hunting, more of which later, and the mind numbing tasks of setting up things like utility accounts for said apartment. This dull, but essential role continues as I have yet to buy a television and procure broadband. For my internet fix I am currently relying on my nifty little Telstra mobile Wi-Fi device (not ideal for streaming the United matches online, as I discovered to my disdain after setting the alarm for 4.45am on Thursday to watch the Champions League match) and the Wi-Fi on offer in coffee shops.

The latter of which is not as ubiquitous as I had imagined. This came as a bit of a surprise having travelled the length and breadth of South America last year and never having a problem getting online. Apart from maybe in Salento, Colombia, when I arrived very late after being detained by the Colombian army, very grouchy and found out I would be without Wi-Fi for the subsequent 4 days. However, I digress.

The last few weeks have seen me secure an apartment, subjecting myself to the tortuous process that is followed in Australia when looking for rentals. Rather than phone the agent and make an appointment that suits you, you are “invited” to join all the other punters in a 15-minute open house. And in you all traipse at the same time, literally falling over each other to see if the modest abode will suit both you and your budget. Another quirk is that all rent is quoted weekly, another slight shock to the system when I discovered the flat I liked was not $450 per month, but rather per week. So for a calendar month, my rent is almost $2000. This translates to approximately £1300 at current exchange rates. I better get a job? No shit Sherlock!

That said, I moved in this week and love it. And it’s in a great suburb, called Mosman, a leisurely 10-minute walk to my local beach at Balmoral. You may even have seen some of the pictures I have been posting of it. OK, I’ll rein that in a little. Did I mention the fish and chips there? And the local pub (hotel) is a great spot. The Buena Vista Hotel. I’m sat in here now having a cheeky schooner on thirsty Thursday. Just wish the Mosman hipsters in the corner would keep the noise down a little, I’m trying to work over here. And for the city? Just a 20 minute bus ride away so convenient for when I get that all-important job. If I so wished, I could even jump on a ferry at Mosman Bay to the city. This could be a fun diversion some mornings to break up the daily commute.

My next challenge is just need to get used to living on my own again. It is un-unnervingly quiet. For the last month, I have been in a flat share, via the fantastic www.airbnb.com, with an English girl called Steph. I better be nice as I have a feeling she might be reading this. I knew we were going to get on when the first time we met, she poured me a large glass of wine. This was followed by a “quiet” night out, where we got slowly plastered. Being asked to leave the pub as they wanted to close, and then reconvening on the balcony of the apartment with more wine. Boom. We bonded. I think she was just relieved that I wasn’t Russian. Well Steph, what you gonna do? Sit in?

That’s about all for now folks but stay tuned for the next episode and updates on my new mode of transport (I’m sure most of you already know), how I’ve become a regular of a bar at Darling Harbour, my job search to date, and how I’m now playing 5 aside football on Saturday mornings with a bunch of Brazilians. Yeah, you read that last bit right.

Hasta luego amigos, see you soon!

An ode to Brighouse

October 15, 2012 by Fran 2 Comments

They say you can take the man out of Brighouse, but not Brighouse out of the man.

I say this is true. Having been a very proud resident of this great little Northern market town for most of my life, I am now residing in Sydney, Australia. And what I would do for a portion of fish and chips from the Dolphin (whoops, must remember it’s now Blakeley’s). A cup of tea and a slice or two of well buttered bread on the side. Or maybe one of Brayshaw’s famous pork pies. Taken home and served us with a portion of real mushy peas. Or perhaps even a slice of warm apple pie from the Merry England, making use of their newly acquired wi-fi to write my latest blog. Finish off the day with a couple of economically priced pints in the Richard Oastler Wetherspoons pub. I think even Brook’s restaurant is economically priced compared to Sydney.

You see, it is only when you become an expat that you realize just how much you miss these little creature comforts from home. Distance makes the heart grow fonder? It certainly does something, if I am coming over all misty eyed for “Briggus”. Yes, Sydney has a world class dining scene. One to rival the gastronomic capitals of London and Paris. But you try and find a good pork pie. Or a portion of chips that even slightly resemble the best that either Blakeley’s, or the Golden Hind serve up in yesterday’s Brighouse Echo without fanfare. Good luck is all I say.

Having left Brighouse only as recently as July this year, I know that these things will take some adjusting to. The delights of Brighouse may fade and become just a memory. Those balmy (really?) evenings meandering along the canal, feeding the ducks. That said, it seems I’m not alone with a fondness for Brighouse. It even has it’s own love song. Thanks to a good friend for recently pointing me in the direction of Roger Davies singing “Brighouse on a Saturday night” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Al5YWeBpDw

In the meantime, if anybody wants to send me a few pork pies…

You are in Sydney, now what to do?

October 28, 2012 by Fran 1 Comment

So, you have just arrived in Sydney and are raring to go explore this beautiful city.

What’s first?

1) Sleep and adapting to jetlag – don’t underestimate it. My first experience of it, with a flight not broken by a stopover was incredible. I slept like the dead. Even when I woke up, I couldn’t move any part of my body other than my eyes. Completely fruitless, all I could do was surrender and go back to sleep. First lesson, do NOT have an afternoon disco/nanna nap. Do NOT.

2) Get out and walk the city. For the first time tourist, all roads lead to Circular Quay, the transport hub and also home to the beautiful Port Jackson harbour, better known as Sydney Harbour. Well at least I thought they did but a friend who recently arrived from the UK seems to have problems navigating the city and when heading there, usually ends up at the other side of town completely. Framed on one side by the Harbour Bridge and the other, the Opera House (opened by Queen Elizabeth II on October 20, 1973), Circular Quay is a magnet for tourists.

3) Watsons Bay – being English, fish and chips is something of an obsession. Finding good fish and chips is very difficult in Australia. Believe me, I’ve tried. And tried. And keep trying. Doyle’s takeaway shack at Watson’s Bay is probably the closest I’ve come. And the trip there is amazing alone. Get the ferry from Circular Quay, take in world beating views of the harbour, and join the queues on arrival. Once you have your food, go and sit on the grass like all the locals, eating your fish and chips, looking back across the sparkling azure waters to the city. When you are ready to return, jump on the bus and try to count the number of homes fit for millionaires as you journey through the suburb of Vaucluse.

4) Manly beach – very popular, for good reason, Manly is one of the best beaches in Sydney for tourists to easily get to. Once again, head to Circular Quay and jump on a famous green and gold ferry for the 30 minute ride across to Manly. On arrival, don’t make the mistake of somebody I know who thought the tiny strip of beach he could see on arrival at the ferry wharf was the “famous Manly beach” Utterly unimpressed, he spent a short time soaking up some rays before deciding it was the most overrated beach he had been to. Now, had he walked from the ferry, across the Corso, he would have arrived at the “real” Manly beach, surely garnering much improved memories of his little day out.

5) Bondi to Coogee coast walk – The easiest way to get to the start of this walk is a “train and bus” combination ticket. Train to Bondi Junction and then a bus from the interchange to Bondi beach. Usually a 333, 380, or 381 bus. Don’t hang around in the very faded elegance of Bondi, but head along past the fabulously located Bondi Icebergs outdoor swimming pool, and onto the coastal path walk to Coogee, taking in delights such as Tamarama, Clovelly and Bronte on the way. All worthy of return visits in their own right. On arrival in Coogee who can resist fish and chips (I told you I was obsessed) at Chish and Fips on the beach. Washed down with a cold schooner from the Coogee Bay hotel.

6) The Blue Mountains – take the train from Central station out to the Blue Mountains, a journey of just over 2 hours from Sydney, but a world away on arrival in Katoomba. Do a walk, jump on one of the tour buses, explore. Discover why it is in fact called the “Blue” mountains, which is as a result of the blue haze given off by all the eucalyptus leaves. Breathe in the fresh mountain air and marvel at the thought you are so close to a bustling city yet so far away in the mountains.

7) Spit to Manly walk – If you are feeling energetic, do the 10kms Spit to Manly walk. You will not be disappointed. If you were paying me for this recommendation I would give you a “no quibbles” money back guarantee. Get the bus to Spit bridge from the city and start the walk along the Middle Harbour shoreline. See the Heads, north and south, from a different perspective. Visit a historical site of Aboriginal rock engravings. Make friends with one of the many iguanas you will inevitably see on the way. Reward yourself at the end with a cold cider at the New Brighton Hotel on the Corso and lunch at one of the many cafes and restaurants lining the sea front.

8) Taronga Zoo – And we are back to Circular Quay again for the ferry over to Taronga Zoo. I told you Circular Quay would be an important spot for the visitor to Sydney. Now, some people like zoos. Some don’t. I’m in the “do” camp and not just because Taronga surely the best view from any zoo in the world. It also has an overall experience to rival that of even the great Singapore Zoo. Believe me, even the animals look to be smiling. And as you meander through the many exhibits, seeing all the animals, looking back across the water, seeing the sun reflected off the sails of the Opera House, you will understand why.

9) Harry’s Café de Wheels – Another food related recommendation, but who doesn’t like a good pie and peas? And where better to get them than the world renowned Harry’s Café de Wheels, at Woolloomooloo. Really. That is not made up. Google it and check. You can either walk here, through the Royal Botanic gardens (recommended) or jump one of the very frequent Sydney buses. Treat yourself to a Harry’s Tiger, which is your choice of pie, served up with peas, mash and gravy. They even have HP sauce to complement/finish the experience. Feeling like a bit of exercise after? Cross the road and tackle the very steep, very numerous steps up to Potts Point and have a wander through some beautiful leafy streets, lined with Victorian architecture.

10) The North Shore – Yes, there is life across the water too. Get out and explore some of Sydney’s lesser seen, and lesser known North Shore suburbs. Neutral Bay with it’s great bar and dining scene. Mosman with achingly cool cafes and Balmoral Beach just down Raglan Road (one of my favourite Sydney beaches). Kirribilli and Milsons Point with it’s eclectic mix of places to eat, and also home to the excellent theme park, Luna Park, a throw back to a more innocent time, when fun was fun. Take a bus up the Northern beaches. Check out Curl Curl (so good they named it twice), Narrabeen and beautiful Whale Beach. Finish up at Palm Beach, made famous by “Home and Away” and have lunch, drinks, or both at the Boat Shed café. This, my friends, is a gem.

What have I missed off your quintessential SYDNEY EXPERIENCE? What are your “go to” activities on arrival in this beautiful harbour city?

Let me know.

Drinks, art, football and drinks

November 12, 2012 by Fran Leave a Comment

As I promised in my last blog, there are a few things that I was going to update you on. Things I had been up to since my last dispatch. Not that much of it has been overly exciting but my mum seems to enjoy reading about it. And it saves me the cost of a stamp, sending her a real letter. So mum, this is for you, but you may be sharing it with many of my other friends.

A couple of weekends ago saw me attending the annual beer festival at the Australian Hotel (pub, remember) in the Rocks. I met up with a mate from England who was over here with work. Budget constraints within Lloyds Banking Group means that they can no longer afford to provide biscuits for team meetings. However, they can fly a couple of people business class to the other end of the world for beer festivals. I was assured by Steve that he was also here to work on some other stuff, but I’m not so sure. I think Steve thought I wanted to meet up with him as we had not seen each other for a while. Actually, the real reason was that I was hoping he was going to return the box of Lapsang Souchong tea that I lent him in 2003. I ended up very disappointed. That said, we had an excellent day that seamlessly segued into an evening bar crawl around some of Sydney’s less touristy pubs.

With a head that was as tender as a heavily worked over steak, I again met up with Steve and Andy on the Sunday, to do the Bondi to Coogee coastal walk, along with Scott and Kelly. It was like “Yorkshire’s day out”. All we needed was for one of the cafes along the way to start selling Yorkshire Puddings. It didn’t happen. We picked a good weekend for the walk as it was the “Sculptures by the Sea” event. A random collection of art pieces placed along the walk; some better than others in my humble opinion. But then, I’m no art critic. I can’t tell a Manet from a Monet.

Tuesday of the following week saw me attending my first ever Spanish class. Something that I have been threatening to do for years. For a long time I have been dipping in and out of Spanish language books, listening to Spanish language podcasts, and even immersed myself in Spanish for 3 months last year whilst travelling around South America. For the first time I am now formalizing my learning and have started an 8 week, level 1 course. I have grand intentions of continuing post this course and taking my learning to a level where I could actually have a conversation in Spanish. Some cynics have suggested that it is my way of trying to meet dark haired, buxom senoritas. Me?

My weeks really are beginning to develop a structure, and this continues on Thursday nights with me signing up to an outdoor 5 a-side futsal league. Futsal is an extremely popular sport around the world, just not so in the UK. It is essentially “normal” 5 a-side but with a small, less bouncy ball, large goals, and mainly no contact. The no contact thing is the hardest to get used to, especially with a referee as fastidious on the rules as the one we have each week. That aside, it is great fun and I’ve met another bunch of lads, both European and Australian.

Two other events of note have been Balmoral Uncorked and the Air BnB party. Balmoral Uncorked is an annual event at my local beach. Various wineries of the Hunter Valley set up stall and allow you to taste, and subsequently purchase their many fine drops. Complemented by stalls selling cheeses, olive oils and various other foods, you had everything you could need for a fabulous Sunday afternoon.

For those not familiar with Air BnB, it is a global website whereby people advertise rooms in their homes to give traveller’s a more authentic experience than staying in a faceless hotel. I used the site for my first month in Australia, which is where I was ~~unfortunate~~ lucky enough to have met Steph. Based in San Francisco, the founders of Air BnB held a party on Cockatoo Island in Sydney for hosts and their guests. So I went along with Steph, together with Darrol and Claire, two more guests that have stayed with Steph.

Not knowing what to expect I have to admit I was blown away. Ferries were laid on every 30 minutes to shuttle us to the island from Circular Quay. The bar was free all night. It was, I kept checking! And with a great selection of bottled beers, wines and cocktails. There was free food served up from the excellent food trucks that have been doing the rounds of Sydney recently. And once the guests were suitably inebriated, there was a DJ spinning some quality tunes, allowing us all to make idiots of ourselves on the dance floor. Brilliant. Oh, I did I mention the beautiful actress, Mila Kunis, was there too? And her eyes are even more captivating real life. She was with some fella called Ashton Kutcher who is mates of the website founders and did a little speech on their behalf.

The last couple of weekends have been very quiet and tame in comparison, but judging by the number of shops getting in the festive spirit, I guess Xmas is just around the corner. That being the case, I better start consolidating my finances and make sure I have enough to celebrate Xmas in style, have a rocking New Year’s Eve and usher in 2013 and all it holds.

Til the next time amigos…

You have a choice…

November 20, 2012 by Fran 2 Comments

Too much choice!

“We are our choices”, said Jean-Paul Sartre.

Which would be OK, if we were actually able to choose. But that is where the problem starts.

You want to go out for dinner. A restaurant would be the logical place to start. But what type of food do you want to eat? This used to be a simple decision, a process of eliminating a couple of choices and off you go. Now things are much more complex. Not only do you have the age-old dilemma of nationalities, curry over chinese, or maybe the English stalwart, fish and chips. Now you have the problem of nationalities joining forces and creating “fusions” of each. The word fusion and it’s morphing into a genre of food probably originated in Australia. A cultural melting pot in which many foods converge, and then merge, giving fusion cuisine.

A great concept. To begin with. But has it gone too far?

Quite possibly when we have Japanese/French, or Australian/Mexican fusion restaurants amongst others. I don’t want sushi on my pancakes. If I order a few bbq’d shrimps or a bit of tender kangaroo, I don’t want it in a taco. Stop!

Technology is as bad. Not many years ago, going into a shop and asking for tablets would usually result in the question, how strong sir, is it for a migraine. Now you are more likely to be asked, what screen size? Retina display? Do you want jellybean, ios or a google based one? Help, shoot me now. The market seems awash with tablets and not many a month goes by without either a new launch, or a “refresh” as they are euphemistically called.

And mobile phones? Don’t start me on mobile phones. Seriously. Don’t.

I recently was looking at ways of organizing the paper based notes I’m making in my Spanish classes. This proved to be a minefield. Evernote? OneNote? Useless note? (OK, I made that one up). And where to store them? The mythical cloud seems to be the place these days. In Skydrive? Apple’s cloud? Dropbox? The irony of DropBox is the tagline, “Simplify your life”. Argh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Is it too late to want to go back to when the world was a simpler place? We all had the same Nokia phone? People weren’t messing with my food. My capacity to save documents was determined by the memory available on whatever device I was using.

Am I kidding myself? I fear the answer is yes. Have we gone too far in western society? Have we gone too far full stop? There are books written on minimalism. In fact, there are dozens of books on minimalism. Appreciate the irony in this?

And coffee shops. Further irony. The more independent coffee shops we have, offering more choice, they all suddenly look the same. What was once the homogeneity of the big chain coffee shops, has now morphed into homogenous streets of endless independent coffee shops, all offering the same arty flat whites, or lattes with a pretty little flower made in the milk on the top. The only way they can differentiate themselves now is by going to such extremes as offering overpriced vacuum made coffee (also called siphon), as seen so long ago as 1945 in the film “Brief Encounter”. And people are paying for this. It’s complete nonsense. Give me an Italian espresso house any day. Without menus and silly offerings such as skinny decaf soy lattes. You want coffee, you pay your euro and you get a shot of pure gold. You want a ridiculous concoction that involves messing with the heart and essence of coffee making? There is the door.

Well, that’s my rant over. I just suppose I am going to have to deal with the abundance of choice, despite how it makes me feel.

In the meantime, fish and chip pizza anyone?

And if you want proof that too much choice paralyses our decision making abilities, Google “the jam experiment” which details a study by an expert in the field, Columbia University Professor Sheena Iyengar. In 1995 she conducted an interesting experiment that highlighted just how difficult we find it to make a purchase when given too much choice.