An Australian Christmas

New years day barbecue

Last year Kristin and I took advantage of the time off work around the holidays and high tailed it to New Zealand.  With my office closed for 2 weeks, it seemed like a natural time to escape the grind of the city and capitalize on our proximity to such an amazing place.  But this year we found ourselves in a different situation; having just been to New Zealand for vacation earlier in December and now living in a more relaxed, less urban beach suburb of Bronte (instead of inner city Potts Point), we thought we would stay closer to home and try something truly unique:  an Australian Christmas.

If you never set foot in a  mall in December, you would never know it was Christmas time in Sydney.  The usual clues of thanksgiving, snow and long chilly nights are noticeably absent, replaced by long sunny days, ocean breezes, and talk of surfing and boxing day cricket matches.

Without the usual clues to frame the season, the Christmas/New Year holiday takes on a completely different character in Australia.  Coinciding with school holidays (their summer break), the city virtually shuts down over the new year and it becomes much more quiet.  Many people take a whole month off to go overseas to travel, or in the case of many expats (like us), to visit family in snowier places.  But I would say the bulk of Australians stay closer to home.  They lather their kids up with sunblock, strap the surf boards to the car, and drive along the coast to a campsite or holiday house they’ve rented for a week or two.   The Christmas holiday here is about relaxing with friends and family, barbecuing, and playing in the water.

And that’s exactly what we did over our break.

Today marks the end of our two week holiday… our first (and last) Christmas in Australia.  It included a few days in a quiet beach house with friends Jen and Michael over christmas, a couple days in Hunter Valley wine country, and a week back in Bronte (our beach suburb in Sydney) with swimming, surfing and entertaining.

New years eve

It also included a memorable New Years Eve party at our friends Russell and Geoffrey’s apartment, with high rise views of the $6million fireworks display over the city and harbour.

While neither of us are ones to set new years resolutions, we did take advantage of the time off to establish new routines; most notably our morning swims in the Bronte rock pool… one we both intend to continue after work starts tomorrow.

Click here for the best of our holiday in photos.

Happy new year to you all.

A Move to the Beach

We have just completed our first week in our new apartment, new neighborhood, and what feels like a new chapter for us here in Sydney. We now live by the beach in the eastern suburb of Bronte (pronounced “Bron-tee”).  The neighborhood has a “village” vibe in that the locals are active supporters of the cafes, neighborhood schools, shops and beach that make up the little community.  We are a 5 minute walk down to the water, and we are only a bus ride, walk, or run (as Galen does to and from work most days) into the heart of Sydney.

Our new apartment feels like a significant upgrade from our old place. The space is a bit larger and this place has loads more character. Best features are the amazing amount of light we get here, the view, the kitchen and the garden. Just off of our back deck is a raised bed garden with just the essentials- herbs, cucumbers, tomatoes, salad greens and a papaya tree!

There are aspects about our old, more urban neighborhood that we miss, like the proximity to the botanical gardens and downtown, our favorite coffee and gelato spots… but our new place takes the cake.  Waking up to the ocean view and a fresh breeze blowing in the window is hard to beat. We are ready for summer.

Check out pics of our new place.

South Coast Road Trip

Easter is a big holiday in Australia.  Kids get a week or two off school and everyone else gets a 4 day weekend (and hot cross buns take over cafes menues for the preceding month).  The 4-day weekend is important, because no other holiday here receives such a designation (they obviously don’t celebrate Independence Day or Thanksgiving).  We took advantage by renting a campervan and driving down the south coast, stopping and camping at little beaches along the way.  Our favorites were Congo Point, which had a 4 mile long beach perfect for barefoot running and a shallow break great for body surfing.  And Pebble Beach, with wildlife that you couldn’t make up in the movies: kangaroos and giant goanna lizards mingling on the bluffs, colorful parrots swooping from tree to tree, and at one point, we looked up from our beach chairs to see 15-20 dolphins within 50 meters from the beach.  It was one of those experiences that knocks you over the head and reminds you you’re not in Kansas anymore.

After 4 days on the coast we turned inland and drove into the mountains of Kosciuszko National Park.  While their “mountain” classification would be a stretch by Colorado standards, they nevertheless offered cool autumn air and beautiful scenery.  Also notable is that Mt Kosciuszko is the tallest in Australia, and therefore one of the seven summits of the world (tallest mountains on each continent).   So of course i had to run up and tag the summit while Kristin went for a nice run/hike lower on the mountain. A campfire that night provided a wonderful ending to our first road trip in Australia.

A few photos here.

Byron Bay

Every country has a few iconic places that manage to encapsulate the true essence of the country, or at least a slice of its people,  culture, or  attitude.  These are the places you refer to when saying “you haven’t been to X country until you’ve been to Y”.  (For example, I would say you haven’t truly been to the US until you’ve been to New York or Chicago, the deep south, southwest Utah and at least 2 or 3 national parks. Obviously totally subjective, but you get the idea.)

Well, we went to one of those places in Australia this weekend that we felt truly embodied the country we are living in… a little slice of australiana, if you will.  Byron Bay.  It’s a 1:20 flight north of Sydney on the east coast (hooray for $49 internet fare sales!) and is known as a surf haven.  At 28 degrees latitude it has a climate similar to say, south Florida, so the nights are balmy and the ocean is warm.  It’s a small town and the vibe is decidedly chill.  Lots of beat up old vans with surf boards, fish n chips shops, outdoor bars, and the dress de rigueur is board shorts, sunglasses and flip flops.. Super casual, friendly people, slow pace… it was great

The highlight was taking a surf lesson with a guy named Marco (i wonder if any surfers go by their real name?).  Happy to say we both got up a dozen or so times in our 2 hour lesson and are craving more. Let’s hear it for slow waves and long boards.

I think what we are starting to understand is that even though Sydney represents 1/5th of Australia’s population, it’s not necessarily a proportionate representation of the culture or attitude  (it feels rushed and fast paced here in Sydney, a bit of a rat race at times.)

So it was nice to experience a more easy-going, fun-loving slice of this country… with many more yet to come.

One reason why I still prefer running

Sharks Rampage in Australia

A surfboard with a shark bite in Binalong Bay, off the Tasmanian coast in Australia’s far south, on Jan. 12 (Tasmania Police / Reuters)

Running will never be as sexy or as cool as surfing.  Ever.   I often wish I was blessed with incredible surfing abilities as I admire surfers gracefully riding the waves out in the break.  But at least this will never happen to me in my running shoes.  (unless i get bit by one of the ten deadliest snakes in the world that also happen to live in this country)

Read the story

Thanksgiving

Needless to say, it was not a typical thanksgiving weekend for Kristin and I.  For starters, there was not the usual fanfare surrounding the holiday (they obviously don’t celebrate it here), no Detroit Lions on TV, no frosty nip in the air, and unfortunately, no 4 day weekend.

But not wanting to completely let go of tradition (we are still Americans after all), we celebrated in our own special way, including a big dinner and pie.  Several differences of note: We made roasted lamb instead of turkey because it seemed more appropriate to our location (there are approximately 100 million sheep in Australia), and does anyone actually like turkey anyway, except in leftover sandwiches? Next, being the indecisive individuals that we are, we couldn’t decide between chocolate pecan pie and pumpkin pie, so we deiced to make both… in one pie.  We think we have stumbled upon a lucrative new marketing gimmick that we plan to exploit when we return to the US.  We call it two-face pie.

We capped off the weekend in typical Sydney fashion: spending the day at the beach followed by a cold pint.  It was a good weekend.

Two-face Pie: Chocolate Pecan and Pumpkin

Swimming at Manly Beach

Thanksgiving Beer at the Bavarian Bier Cafe

Bondi Beach

One of the great things about Sydney is the number of fantastic beaches within striking distance.  So on Kristin’s second day in Sydney, we spent the day at Bondi, the most famous of them all.  A beautiful coastal walkway connects Bondi to a half dozen other beaches to the south.  We’ll be checking out all the other beaches over the course of the summer and reporting back.  Check out some pics from our day at the beach.