On being upside down

While my northern hemisphere family and friends embrace autumn in all it's squishy fallen leafy glory, we southern hemisphere dwellers get ready for summer. Spring sprung about 2 months back, and the winter was pretty damn gorgeous, full of dazzlingly bright mornings but none of that frost crap and grey drizzle I'd have to deal with in the UK. I have high expectations of this summer. I want barbequed meats, cold beers and beach times. I want to wear a bikini and go to pool parties. This is the dream kids. Oh and music festivals without the threat of wading through six inches of slippy mud and standing in a pack-a-mac (try explaining the concept of a pack-a-mac to an aussie - its a crappy thin waterproof coat fundamentally required at festivals along with wellies) nursing an overpriced beer in the rain just to see a band. Yeah I still love it here. Sydney, you bitch, you stole my heart.

What I've been up to lately

Long time no blog. I've been writing a lot with work so I get a bit disenchanted about typing anything in the evening that's greater than a text message (and even then I end up just phoning. All hail the iPhone).

So, it was my birthday, my parents were visiting Sydney and so I had lots of parent interaction time. I did the tourist things I hadn't done previously / couldn't really afford, like walking over the top of the Harbour Bridge and going to Taronga Zoo.



I got an article published on my research...

Brisventures

Brisbane at dusk from the city cat as it sped down the river

Last weekend I went to Brisbane for a work conference and also to visit a friend from university who is now working at the Queensland Brain Institute. We went to the Lone Pines Koala Sanctuary so we could pester some marsupials, although I see stuff like kookaburras in Sydney (they are the noisiest birds ever), there certainly aren't kangaroos and koalas in the city! Koalas, though very cute, don't really do anything other than hang out up trees, and definitely aren't up for anything that isn't the easy life...



Kangaroos however seemed a bit more up for being harassed, or fed, by people.


Roo bothering



Kookaburra and up close and personal with a koala...

Life's a beach

Last night my housemate and I went for an evening stroll from Clovelly to Bondi (where we then gorged ourselves on burritos just to undo all the walking goodness), I took some photos on the way as the coast looked so pretty at dusk. It's such a novelty being by the sea, having never really lived somewhere with accessible beaches (Cardiff doesn't count!). It's quite a humbling feeling being able to see the ocean stretching out before your eyes.


Bronte Beach


Bondi

Niggles...

Ok... as I'm a whinging pom I have to express my irks, EVEN THOUGH Sydney is a BILLION times better than anywhere I've lived in the UK... so these are the weirdly annoying things about Sydney / Australia thus far:
. Crossing the road takes forever because the green man pedestrian crossings take FOREVER to change. No wonder people jay walk.
. Hummous tastes like ass. Seriously. I bought some the other day from Coles (pretend tesco) and it tasted like someone had put grease and peanut butter in mushy chick peas. Unacceptable. However, due to hummous being fairly pricy, I don't want to go through a whole taste odyssey to find an acceptable brand. No hummous for me.
. Woo girls at the gym. STOP WOOING WITH ENTHUSIASM WHEN IT'S REALLY HARD IN SPIN. You put all the lamers like me to shame. Plus I can't bring myself to say "Wooo!". Ever.
. Coles is horrible. I hate Coles. It's expensive but not nice. Like a derogate Tesco. Or an overpriced Iceland.

That's all for now.

Living well...

... is the best revenge.

One thing that has really stood out to me since coming to Sydney is how high the general standard of living is here, and how people really look after themselves. It's not superficial like in America, it's a way of life. You can run around the beaches and not feel awkward, because loads of people are doing the same thing. There are gyms on every street corner practically, and pretty much everyone has a gym membership and uses it. I go to body pump, body combat and spin pretty much 5 times a week and previously in britain I was one of the fittest people in the class... not here by far, they take it very seriously and although I can keep up, I definitely get a full work out in doing so. It's awesome the range of ages too, it's not just 20 somethings kicking arse, but middle aged men and women with figures most 25 year old brits would die for.

That being said, the sun here is strong, and if you don't SPF it up on your face and neck you will succumb to the aging UVA rays, I've noticed that the girls my age may have banging bodies, but I certainly look younger, mainly from working in a lab and not really getting out in the sun much in grey britain.

The economy here is good too, I can get a coffee from any number of independent cafes rather than a faceless starbucks or costa coffee (this makes me very happy, having been denied a local independent cafe where you can get a panini and a decent coffee in Birmingingham). The food is genuinely eclectic - a huge number of south east asian, japanese and deli-style cafes and restaurants can be found everywhere. I've become a big fan of a big bowl of laksa soup for lunch, sat eating that in the sunshine beats sitting in Wagamamas slurping some overpriced noodles whilst surrounded by fat people's arse cracks. Seriously, there are backs on chairs so people don't have to look at strangers muffin tops and arse cracks whilst eating.

Yeah sure people go out drinking, the beer is cold and served in 3/4 pints. So far I'm quite a fan of the James Squire beers, chancer golden ale in particularly. Wine here is good too, I've had some very nice fresh, crisp whites, in particular Hidden Hive Verdelho by Two Rivers winery, at about $16 it's a "middle range" price, but on a Sydney wage it's hardly breaking the bank...

I think I've used the word arse too much.

Whiskey time

Last night I went out for some drinks in the CBD at the Baxter Inn which is one of the "small bar" scene in Sydney. Basically along the lines of a nice british bar, with about 200 different specialist whiskeys, bar staff who aren't hard on the eye and cocktails that don't skimp on the booze. In fact my cocktail was basically just whiskey (Old Fashioned) and I felt like I was channeling my inner Dom Draper drinking that bad boy.



Went to Glebe Markets to have a mooch through all the various vintage stalls, didn't buy anything as nothing really caught my eye (plus it's really expensive here...), still it was nice to visit another bit of the city (the inner west) that has a very different vibe to the eastern suburbs where I'm staying which is more yummy mummy than edgy fashion.



Hmmm. Australian's really do love beetroot. As someone who once ate a whole jar of pickled beetroot I can say I am something of a beetroot enjoyer, however, I'm not sure about it in burgers. Not that I'm going to eat at Maccas anyway...



Maroubra Beach... surfers at 8am, enjoying life...

Hitting the ground running

I've been super busy with work basically since I got to Sydney. UNSW is a fantastic university with incredible resources. I've felt really inspired intellectually by the psychology department, today I was sat with one of the other postdocs just bouncing ideas about learning theory and associative learning in the morning, and then in the afternoon talking to another postdoc about immunohistochemistry and methods of understanding molecular and cellular changes in the brain. And UNSW has an amazing coffee cart with the sweetest baristas who mock me every time I ask for a "latte"... apparently I say latte funny. Oh well. I also say "elevator" funny, I pronounce it "lift".



Australian magpies are weird... and the ultimate Australian past-time.

Like a duck to water

I think it is hard to miss Britain when you're in a beautiful place like Sydney, the sunshine here seems to make everything so much more bright and vibrant than even on a sunny day in the UK. It's like the contrast has been turned up on every colour. Yesterday I went to Cockatoo Island to look around at the contemporary art displays for the 18th Biennale. The island itself was really interesting, with a crazy history and the views from the ferry of the harbour and CBD were stunning.



Ate lunch at the Three Blue Ducks in Bronte, I had an immense steak sandwich which tasted soooo good. Must go again...

Today I've been feeling a little under the weather, I suspect the aeroplane germs have got the better of me and I've got the sniffs and a bit of a sore throat going on today. Still a nice long walk along the beaches (Clovelly beach, Gordon's Bay, Coogee beach) in the sun perked me up a bit. I feel so fortunate to have all this just a few minutes walk away from where I'm living...

She flew away...

I arrived in Sydney this morning at some ungodly hour (5.15am), although I actually felt ok as I got upgraded from economy to club world, which on BA means you get a little booth seat all to yourself which reclines down into a bed! Super cosy and comfortable, none of this "I've got no leg room" torture... oh and the champagne! There is something super decadent about sitting sipping champagne whilst miles in the air! I felt like a (slightly disheveled) rock star. I got a decent amount of sleep which meant I didn't feel too jetlagged today.



My Kir Royale and the trashy novel I'm ready (50 Shades of Grey, pure smut, not even well written)



I've been for a quick wander up to Bondi Junction (mostly to sort out my bank account, and also because I needed milk and a hairdrier) and have been texting people I know in Australia with my new mobile number...