Pavlova

I was first introduced to the “Pavlova” one and half years ago, at my partner’s birthday.  Though I had told Dave’s mum that I was making a rocket cake for the event, she brought a store bought pavlova, along with the traditional whipped cream and fruit toppings, for my education.  The store bought “pav” was tall, round, airy on the inside, and sugary crispy on the outside – reminding me of an angel food cake with the yummy overcooked parts all over the outside.  Kathy was sure to tell me not to expect such a tall concoction at Christmas lunch (just 1 week later), as most homemade pavs are notorious for falling and cracking (but still tasting good).  True to her word, the Christmas pav was quite a bit flatter; but that just meant there was more crunchy goodness of the outside and a less marshmellowing interior (which is good, but a bit too much for me when it’s as tall as the store ones). 

For those who don’t know (and that’s probably half my readers), pavlova is a type of meringue traditional to both Australia and New Zealand (don’t bring up the origin of the Pav when around more than one of these nationalities – they’ll both claim it as theirs…..though Wikipedia does credit New Zealand to having the first published recipe).  Pavlova is made using egg whites, sugar, vinegar, vanilla, and cornstarch (called corn flour over here).  Apparently (according to the same Wikipedia page) it is the addition of the corn starch that leads this meringue mixture to produce a light, marshmellow-like interior that nearly melts in your mouth. 

I’d been told that making a pavlova from scratch is not hard.  However, much like a lemon meringue pie, the thought of making one is daunting.  I had visions of a cracked, crumbling, and flat product.  Despite my fear, I’d been meaning to get around to giving this kiwi icon a go for a fair few months now.  I probably would have put off the attempt for a fair few more months if I hadn’t been thinking of kiwi dishes I want to serve during my visits back home.  While the pav is very often seen at Christmas lunches, I thought the airy dessert covered in cream, blue berries, and strawberries might make a nice addition to my Fourth of July spent stateside (red, white, and blue….get it ;). So, in an effort to present a reasonably accurate kiwi dessert, I’ve decided to make one pavlova a week until I depart (I’ve got 2.5 more weeks to go)…..

Here is my first attempt:

Dave and I had checked out the internet several months ago, when I first mentioned wanting to try a Pav.  He immediately went to the Cowell’s website, stating that they must know how to make a good pav – since they are in all the grocery stores.  Before we trusted our faith in Cowell’s (who knows, maybe they want me to fail so I buy their perfect pavs!?), we checked out the Joy of Baking’s recipe too.  In the end, we stuck with Cowell’s recipe but kept some of the helpful tips from Joy of Baking in mind (such as making sure the sugar was dissolved in the egg whites by rubbing the mixture between your fingers: gritty texture = not dissolved sugar). 

Next was the ingredients.  Cowell’s recommends using the freshest ingredients possible.  I know the cornstarch was pretty old (been in the cupboard since I moved in!), but I was more worried about the eggs.  We had a nice walk in the sun (and chilly breeze) to get some new eggs (we picked up some krantzky sausages to try for lunch too, but that’s off the topic).  Speaking of off topic – if a typical American was to get off the plane and go to a grocery store here in NZ, there are two things off the top of my head that they would notice:  1) there is no orange/yellow cheddar cheese to be found, and 2) the eggs, while most likely located close to the milk, cheese, and other chilled foods, are not refrigerated!  I’ve mentioned this to several couchsurfing Americans and we all think it’s rather bizarre.  However, I’ve NEVER gotten sick on unrefrigerated eggs.  In fact, I’ve never even cracked a rotten egg!  (Though Dave and I do tend to do the water test on our old eggs before using them…..if they sink, they’re perfect; if they half float, half sink they are good for baking; if they float to the top, chuck them before you regret a cracked shell).  After reading the pavlova tip of making sure the eggs are at room temperature before using, Dave wondered if that’s the reason kiwis don’t refrigerate their eggs?

Anyhow – back to the main story!  Well, there’s not really much to tell.  After being sold on how yummy krantsky sausages taste (they have bits of cheese in them), I got the beaters out and started on the egg whites.  I used the recipe from Cowell’s and eventually had a stiff mixture.  Dave concurred that I’d hit the “stiff peak” stage and was ready to bake.

I used the 23 cm (9 inch) diameter marks I’d made previously (per Cowell’s directions) and spread the mixture into a near circle, piling the mixture on top too.  Then (after a short delay to warm up the oven that I had in fact not turned on, despite having set to temperature) I put it in the oven.

15 minutes later I was delighted to see that my pav had raised ever so slightly.  I turned the temperature down 20 degrees (celcius) and put the timer for 75 minutes…… 75 minutes later, I turned the oven off but left the pavlova inside.  This was one tip I hadn’t seen mentioned, but had been relayed to me by our café cook – “Don’t open the oven door, EVER, until the oven is cooled”.  I wasn’t taking any chances, I left that oven door firmly closed for the next 4 – 5 hours.

After letting our delicious dinner (of thai pumpkin and chicken curry, thanks to a recipe on the pumpkin soup can) settle a bit, I finally opened the oven door.
I must say, I was a tad disappointed

that it hadn’t kept it’s puffed up size…. Perhaps it was only an illusion that the pav had risen in the oven, but what I took out was the same size as the mixture that went in.  On the upside, though, it also hadn’t deflated to the thickness of a paper plate!  It was a slightly crackled in texture, but it was not cracked or crumbling. 

I put the knife in for the first slice, the outside cracked and flaked like a well cooked sugar coating should.  When I pulled the first slice out, it stayed nearly intact – breaking the quarter slice into an eighth.

The first bite?  Delicious!  Crunchy addictive outside, melty (possibly slightly too gooey) inside!  Dave confirmed that it tasted like a pavlova should, though I thought it was A LOT sweeter than I remembered.  I guess that’s why whipped cream and fruit is the traditional topping…..what else would you put on a cup of sugar carried in egg whites?!

Obviously, we didn’t eat the whole thing in one sitting.  While we were both somewhat tempted, the pure sugar rush was making me a bit ill and we were both full from dinner.  So, we put it back in the oven for the next day…..seemed like a logical place to put it, since that’s where it had spent so much time……

Of course, the next morning, when Dave got up for work, the pitfalls of storing pure sugar in a non-airtight environment became apparent……..

…….When Dave returned to our room after breakfast and lunch making, I asked (in a mumbly, sleepy voice from bed) “What’s burning?”.  His reply, “Nothing, I turned the oven on to get rid of the ants”!  Ooops!!!

Oh well, at least we weren't sick of my first pav!  We'll have a bit of help eating tomorrow's pavlova, we've got a couchsurfer from Germany staying for 2 nights.....wonder if she wants to learn to make a pav? :)  

Going home in a month.

So. I've been a bit lazy with writing lately....obviously!  I have had a few ideas, but never got around to getting my fingers moving.  I think I've been in a bit of depression lately.  Probably most of it is to do with my complete lack of exercise, but it's REALLY hard to get out of bed when it's cold outside!  haha  I've also had a hard time lately thinking about my dad.  It's weird how random scenes in the cafe will make me want to cry over missing him!  Dave knows I've been having a hard time lately.

However, I'm doing much better now. I'm still slightly unmotivated for doing anything, but I am typing aren't I? (probably because the Australian Tax Office website won't cooperate with my application to get my money back (it crashed and won't reload the page) and Koshka the cat is sitting on my lap (finally after thinking about it all morning) and I don't want to move her. LOL).  Anyway, I think the reason I'm feeling heaps better is because I'm going home in a month!!!!!

Yep, in 4 weeks and 2 days I fly out of Auckland and head to Boise.  I'm not really looking forward to the flight or the LAX airport, but I am so excited to see my mom, sister, friends, family, and MY CAT!!!!! I can't wait to cuddle Yang!  Unfortunately, the visit is only for 8.5 days (plus 2 days of travel) :(  I'm afraid I just can't afford more time off work, and I'm a bit afraid I wouldn't have a job to come back to if I could afford more time off!  I wouldn't have even made the trip for such a short time, except mom wants me to visit as much as I do and she jumped at the chance to split the cost of the ticket with me. Granted, she did pay more than her half!  I soooo very much appreciate her help!!

I'll be several weeks to late for the family reunion my sister has planned, but I don't mind.  I'll be there for the 4th of July, which sounds like it will be at a cousins cabin - where I've never been!  Plus, I'll be home with family when 6 July rolls around....the day dad died last year.  Not a date to celebrate, but one that is hard to ignore. I look forward to remembering him without all the immediate sadness of his death.  I look forward to seeing my mom's garden.  I look forward to the hot summer sun.  I look forward to seeing my niece and nephew.  I'm just really looking forward to a vacation!!!!

Still a little bit American

Despite having lived in Australasia for nearly 2 years, I still have some American ingrained in me.

While my friends and family may have laughed when I spoke to them last July, many Kiwi's can pick that I'm American right away.  A lot of times people wonder if I'm Canadian (people always have, even when I was guiding in Alaska) and occasionally people swear I'm Irish (if you've ever heard a true Irish accent you have to wonder what these people are thinking to hear me as Irish!).  An American couchsurfering couple we hosted didn't think I sounded American, but I certainly don't sound kiwi either (despite all the slang I use).

However, it's the little differences that remind me that I'm living in a country I didn't grow up in.  In all honesty, there isn't a huge amount of differences between New Zealand and America.  McDonalds and KFC are as popular here as they are there, we sleep on mattresses, have dishwashers, watch American movies/TV, and have a pretty similar set of cultural standards (education, economy, environmental debate, farming).  The largest, and most glaring, difference to a new arrival would be the driving.  We drive on the left hand side of the road here - with our steering wheel on the right.  I'll admit, I still wander to the wrong side of the car sometimes!  However, I rarely have to repeat, in my head, to myself "Stay left, stay left, stay left" when turning a corner anymore.  Trust me, I used to!

I've adapted pretty well here.  I almost always say biscuit instead of cookie now, but I'm probably still half and half on calling fries chips.  Ironically, I sound more Canadian than ever now, having picked up on the kiwi use of "aye" after many comments.....though I haven't sorted out the subtle nuances of making the one word have many definitions: question, exclamation, indignant affront to my intelligence.

But regardless of how comfortable and natural I feel here in NZ (pronounced "N Zed"), there is one thing that will probably always get me.......The light switches!  To this day, it still feels unnatural to turn the light switch DOWN to turn the light ON.  This point made me chuckle (and write this blog) when it became so obvious this morning how much I haven't let go of my American "up = on" philosophy.  We have two light switches in the kitchen right next to each other.  I had only turned one on to make my breakfast.  When I went to turn it off again I saw one switch was down and one was up....... Now, I'm pretty sure I mentally said "Okay, the switch that is down is the one that is on.....so you need to hit the upside to make it go off"........
What do I do?  I turn the other light on!!!  Ah hahahahaha Ah hahahahaha   hahahaha.  Aaaahhhhhhh
It really is the small things in life!      :)

TOTAL Freedom

Today I am COMPLETELY free!

I have a  list of projects I could choose to work on (puzzling, poking holes in an old hose to make a drip line, painting and sealing Dave’s valentine  box,  reading, etc, etc), however I don’t really feel like doing any for those projects. J  Not a one of them NEEDS to be done today… tomorrow…. or even next week!  Ha, all of those projects have  been around (plus one or two more) for a few days  anyway (hello, valentine’s was 2 weeks ago!).  So what makes me EXTRA FREE today?

 On 16 February (Tuesday), 2 weeks and a day ago, my passport was returned from Immigration New Zealand (ImmNZ).  In it was not the 1+ year work permit for which I had been.  Instead, I had a 4 month permit!  Whoa, wait, what?  4 months!  I’m not leaving in June!  Turns out ImmNZ want a copy of my United States police certificate.  Once they receive the certificate, therefore verifying that I am of good enough character to be in their country,  ImmNZ will extend my work permit to Nov 2011.  I plan to apply for residency by January 2011 – when I’ll have to obtain ANOTHER copy of my police certificate!

On 18 February (Thursday) I mailed my police record request to FBI headquarters.  I had filled out the request, included a set of fingerprints (taken by a Thames constable on an official NZ police fingerprint sheet), and completed a credit card form for the US$18 fee (fortunately I still have American debit/credit cards ;).  I also took the liberty of including a copy of my passport, certified by a court clerk.  I’m watching my debit card transactions to find when the FBI will have actually received AND begun processing my request.  The FBI website tells me it can take 8 weeks to process the request….. good thing I have 13 weeks!  That gives me 5 weeks leeway for ImmNZ to process my new work permit.  Thankfully, ImmNZ isn’t charging me an additional processing fee!!! 

So – again….. why am I EXTRA FEE today? 

Well….because I’m employed!!!!!!!  Yep!  The day I received my work permit, I started looking for a job. ( I didn’t dare look for work before I was legally employable; I knew I would just disappoint myself when I found the perfect field/lab technician position being advertised and I couldn’t apply for it).  2 weeks later (to the day), I had dinner and went to bed knowing that I was an employed person! :-D   That means, that not only am I free to NOT look for a job today – I am free to NOT WORRY about getting a job!!!!!!!  WOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOO

My first day employed – and I don’t have to work! How awesome is that?

What is my job?  When DO I work?  This Thursday (tomorrow) and Friday night will be my first training days at Rocco.  Rocco is a tapas and wine bar that opened last year.  I’ve been wanting to visit the restaurant for over a year – but I never have the money.  Since I’ve been back in town, every time we walk past the old house (with fantastic outdoor seating and landscaping) I tell Dave that “when I get a job, we’re going to eat there”.  Ha.  Now I’ll be working there! LOL.

However, Rocco will probably not be my main serving location.  The owner of Rocco is opening a new pub in Town.  It will be located in the historical Brian Boru hotel; along with a small art gallery (apparently selling very expensive paintings by a famous guy I don’t know!).  “Brew” sounds to be niching into a sophisticated, yet simple, café with fresh (mostly local or handmade) food.  But, I’ll let you know when I actually see the place.  I believe they are opening the doors next Friday (12 March).  Brew will retain the old pubs liquor license, creating a venue for dinners and shows.  Saturday (13 March), three New Zealand comedians will be performing at Brew – dinner optional, free beer tastings!  I’m very excited to be included in the team that will be working at Brew!

Short update

Hi.  In case your wondering - I have not been killed or incapacitated by any of Australia's myriad of poisonous animals ;-)  I've just been SLACK!

In fact, I'm not even IN Australia anymore!  I know, the last post I wrote was about the beautiful Blue Mountains outside of Sydney.  My mom hadn't even been a week into her 3 week visit by that time!

Mom has been very patient with me despite her really wanting to read the blogs of her trip.  However, she told me a few weeks ago that it was okay if I didn't blog the rest of the trip.  Obviously I was having a hard time getting myself motivated to tackle the epic trip, so she told me she would be happy just having me upload the best pictures to Facebook (FB) for her..... 3 months later, I still have our last week of the journey to post on FB!  See - SLACK.  However, I am tackling that project right now - between randomly typing this.

Anyhow..... I'm back in New Zealand.  I flew out of Australia the same day as mom.  It worked out well, I was just about able to walk her to her gate - just about, apparently flights going to the US have extra security now; the gate was blocked off and boarding passes checked.  Shortly after mom's plane left I flew "home" to Dave (greeted, as expected, with a big bouquet of flowers and a HUGE smile!).

I arrived on the partner sponsored visitor visa.  I've pretty much been living the life of a kept woman ever since my arrival in November!  I pull my weight around the house - cleaning, gardening, etc etc - but I am starting to get antsy about having no money and Dave paying for everything.  Fortunately, I got my work permit last week!!! YAY!!!!!  So, the last week and half I have been desperate and antsy for a job!  LOL.  I've got my fingers crossed that the few leads I have will pan out in the next week or two.


Okay - I best get back to sorting through pictures for FB now ;-)  Here's my favorite out of the few I've sorted through already.....  It's my favorite because it is the epitome of our sunset picnic on the beach, our first night back from Tasmania.  It was such a lovely and relaxing evening after a LONG day of driving and wondering if we'd make to the park in time for sunset.... as it was, we were there ages before the sun neared the horizon!!!  And, we had nearly the entire beach to ourselves!

The Blue Mountains (outside Sydney)

The Blue Mountains begin approximately 50 kms northwest of Sydney’s central business district (Wikipedia).  The limestone plateaus and deep gorges are densely covered with tree ferns and eucalyptus.  In the warm air, supposedly, the eucalyptus oils evaporate and hang near the canopy, creating a hazy blue appearance in the distance (hence the name, Blue Mountains).

On the morning of 4 November, a Wednesday (as if actual day names have much use to a traveler who can rarely tell Sunday from Tuesday – except in how early the shops close; if they even open), mom and I woke in our Sydney apartment early.  I’m not sure either of us wanted to be up, but we had to catch our Blue Mountains tour at around 6:30 am (or was it 7:30?).

Anyhow, our bus was a touch late and, therefore, a bit in a hurry – a theme that was to prevail throughout the day.  We drove through the city and picked up a few more people before heading to our first stop.  While tours aren’t generally the way I travel when I’m solo (and broke or saving money), there is probably no other way that mom and I would have ever made it to “Olympic park”.  A stop at the 2000 summer Olympic site was not mentioned on the tour brochure, so we were pleasantly surprised.  The stadiums and sports courts are still used by teams and individuals – anyone can walk or cycle the area, though I’m not sure what the price is for using the tennis courts or pool.

The 2000 Olympic torch was converted into a fountain.  I have seen another girls picture where the torch is lit, but it wasn’t on this day.

The sculpture over the ticket office of the stadium was a double helix of bird feathers – each single feather sculpted after the national bird of each competing nation.

As we were trying to leave from this brief stop mom and I wondered if we would constantly be waiting on the same couples to board the bus at all our stops – of which there were many.  However, we had to have a bit of a chuckle a short bit later; mom and I ended up being the 2^nd to last to board after our wander about the town of Leura.  Thankfully, we weren’t THE LAST couple.  In fact, the bus even took a turn about town looking for the last couple – who did end up generally being the last to board each time.  In Leaura, we had a cup of tea and some MASSIVE “flower pot” scones (baked in terra cotta pots, bought some Australiana cookie cutters (alligator, koala, etc), and also a hat for mom (for our upcoming outback adventure).

Back on the bus, we continued to Katoomba.  One of the most well known landmarks of the Blue Mountains is the Three Sisters rock formation.  We were hoping the low clouds would lift by the time we reached “Scenic World”, but they didn’t.  We boarded the scenic train railway (once containing the steepest track in the world, but apparently an Asian country has since taken that record) and made our way to the gorge floor. We had been told several legends of the area, including the formation of the three sisters and the creation of the Lyrebird.    

The clouds draped themselves over the three sisters in a lovely fashion, however it was quite frustrating to miss the iconic formation – particularly from such a great vantage point at the lower train station. 

We continued down the path and into the bush.

The area was once mined for coal, so there were a few displays and overgrown relics left behind.

We kept an eye out on the forest floor for the elusive, ground dwelling, lyrebird. However, it wasn’t until we were near the end of the gorge walk that we spotted one – and that was only because I saw another couple intently watching the bush! LOL, some of the best wildlife spotting is found by watching other people and trying to find what they are seeing! Unfortunately, a couple of loud guys weren’t paying as close attention (or possibly weren’t interested) and went thundering down the board walk. While mom and I still got to watch the long tailed birds forage, they were scared up into the bush and far enough away to make a GOOD pictures impossible.

WOW!!!!  But here’s a fantastic Youtube link for great lyrebird footage and sounds…. Showing what good mimics these birds are (chain saw sounds!), but also great as showing their amazing tail feathers.

A couple other pictures from the gorge floor….

Mom getting ready to be tarzan on the massive vines of the bush.




A  large tree fern “koru” (aka fiddlehead)

Mom looking into a burnt out, still living, tree (turpentine I believe).

A termite mound

We took “The Cableway” gondola back to the top of the gorge and found that the clouds were lifting.  It’s not a fantastic picture because of the glass, but we had our first view of the “Three Sisters”. (Extreme zoom shot, but it saves you trying to see it through the crowd we were in).

Once at the top of the gorge again I struggled to find another view point from which to take pictures of the formation.  Unfortunately, being a theme park like area, the only good views were either on the gondolas or at the train platforms.  I managed to find this interesting shot as the clouds began descending again.  We all hoped that they would lift after lunch when we were at another view point.

While I agonized over the lack of a tree trimmed viewing site, mom occupied herself with trying to capture the sulfur crested cockatoos of the area (lured in to delight tourists with a nice big bird feeder).

After a lunch at the Katoomba RSA (returned and services’ association) we stopped at a few lookouts giving us a view of the high limestone plateaus and cliffs for which the Blue Mountains are famous.  The clouds were gracious enough to lift and even clear away, giving us a beautiful view of the lush bush and orange/grey outcroppings of rock.

Mom took this picture of the rock outcropping that looks like a dragon’s head.

When we reached the Three Sisters lookout the clouds had fully lifted and the sun was VERY warm.

There was an Aboriginal guy playing the didgeridoo at the lookout.  Our bus driver had told us he was in one of the “Crocodile Dundee” films.  I barely had the courage to ask for my picture with him (after putting a gold coin donation down), let alone ask him what character he had played! (LOL, it’s rather funny that such a shy person has traveled half way around the world!)

All of us tourists congregated around the bus at the appointed time, we had been grilled on how close we were cutting our timeline at the moment.  So I had to have a laugh that the driver was the one that was late!  By the time he showed up half the bus was off getting ice creams – despite the fact that food was not supposed to be on the bus.

We ended up at the Featherdale Wildlife Center with 30-45 minutes viewing time.  The first section of the center was an open area where wallabies and birds wandered at their leisure.  Most were hanging out behind the wooden dividers that kept us humans from harassing them, but one lone wallaby was patient while we all lined up to get our photos taken as we petted it.

While several of the wallabies seemed to have swollen bellies, telling us they had joeys in the pouch, only one gave us a great view of wallaby motherhood…… It appears to be painful, or, at the least, uncomfortable!

Most all of the birds were free to come and go.  Mom got her first view of the pelicans I’d been telling her about…. She was surprised at how big they are (enormous!); she had thought I was just over exaggerating their largeness compared to the US pelicans I’d seen.  The ibis, egrets, and ducks all seemed quite happy though.  Even these kookaburras weren’t bothered with a photo opportunity.

There were HEAPS of other animals, but most all of them made me sad – as their enclosures just seemed too small. Most of the wombats were sleeping, but one poor guy was just pacing one section of wall.  It was amazing to see a sea eagle in person, but all the bird cages – particularly the raptor ones – just seemed TOO SMALL!  This is the reason I don’t go to zoos anymore.  I don’t mind the free roaming wallabies or even the koalas in a tree, I don’t feel their lives are massively different from the wild (while koalas do have territories and move around in the wild, they are generally sluggish animals that will sit in one tree as long as there is food).

The cool part about this wildlife center, was that we actually got our picture taken with a koala this time…. For Free!  Koalas look extremely cuddly and soft, but their fur is actually really wool-like and a bit stiff.  Plus, they do have some pretty mean looking claws!

Since we were there we did look at the captive birds, dingos, and (my favorite) bats.  We took pictures of the albino wallaby and peacock.

Mom caught a great shot of a regular peacock with its tail up – it did a full display rotation before settling them back down.

Closing time found us all out in the parking lot – once again waiting for our bus!  Our guide must have been slightly stressed about getting us to our ferry on time, but he didn’t show it.  We pulled up to the terminal just as the ferry was arriving!  Whew, I hate to think how he would have entertained us for an hour until the next ferry! LOL

We had a nice, even if a little cool and breezy, ferry trip on the Parramatta River to Circular Quay.  We had good views of downtown in the distance as well as the riverside residences and their blossoming jacaranda trees.  I staked out my position at the front of the ferry as we closed in on the harbor bridge.  Afterall, I didn’t have any photos from THIS angle! LOL

Once we landed at Circular Quay we had the same problem as the day before – no free bus running L  I still hadn’t sorted out which bus took us by the hotel (easy question to have asked the concierge, I know).  So, despite a long day of getting on and off of a bus we again walked through the city to our rooms.  At least, this time, mom had a good idea of how far it was!

All in all, it was a great day.  We didn’t take a tour that took us to the Jenolan Caves, but neither of us minded at all.  I had seen several caves with Dave on his visit to Western Australia and I had caught one cave on Kangaroo Island with Kathy (Dave’s mum).  Mom said caves weren’t her thing, so we didn’t worry.  I think our smiles are telling of the day.

Mom’s Australian Experience - Sydney

I wrote this first bit of blog on the night of 1 November, fully intending to keep up with recounting the day’s events every night. Unfortunately, I was generally dead tired at the end of our adventures, so the details may get a bit hazy after our first day (which might make for less tedious reading anyway)

Sunday, 1 November

Mom arrived at the Sydney airport this morning! We had a great day. After a nearly 14 hour flight from LA (with a 3? hour flight from Boise), she arrived quite awake and ready for the day. Her flight landed 20 minutes early, so I was more than pleased that I had arrived even earlier! After arriving late to the New Zealand airport in January, I wasn’t about to miss greeting her in Australia!

After BIG hugs at the customs exit, I guided mom through the airport and to the waiting area for our shuttle bus (tickets pre-bought while I was waiting!). We picked up a couple of mochas, and a shortbread cookie each, to get ourselves prepared for the upcoming day. We were both a bit knackered – she for traveling, me for going out on Halloween the night before (After having a few glasses of wine during the OZ/NZ rugby the previous night, I headed into “Kings Cross” to meet my friend for a few drinks. Aurelie (the French girl I worked/lived with in Cunderdin) and I had a good catch up while watching the various ghouls, playboy bunnies, and occasional mime pass through the bar and street. Yep – it was Halloween in Sydney. While I didn’t have a costume, and the concierge couldn’t find me a haunted house, I enjoyed the efforts of the locals.)

Mom and I finally loaded onto the bus and headed to the Wyndam Sydney Suites where we had

a one bedroom apartment for the next 5 nights (it had a foldout couch for me). I had stocked the place with wine, fruit, veggies, cheese, and chocolate (including a lovely bar of dark chocolate on the bed, topped with the sandalwood lipstick I picked up for her in Western Australia during my journey with Dave). Mom took a refreshing shower while I read the cards and letters she had brought to me from family.

We continued our non-stop talking as we walked from the hotel to the Queen Victoria Building (QVB). We did a bit of window shopping – where diamonds and crystals adorn the wrists and throats of those wearing the name brand labels. I was too tired to raise my camera and capture the Christmas tree of lights and the wrought iron railings of the balconies within the old historic building, but it was an appropriate introduction to the historic and stylish city. (I wish now I hadn’t been so lazy!)

After completing an impromptu survey regarding our experience of the QVB (earning us a free coffee certificate – which we never did cash in!) we caught the free shuttle bus to the circular quay (pronounced key….. I know, the strange Australian (& kiwi) language). I had scouted out the free circuit the day before, so I knew that the quay would hold entertaining buskers as well as the BIG city icons: the harbour bridge and opera house. A perfect place to spend an easy sunny day.

We had a lovely lunch by the water (Portobello Café) while viewing the world famous architectures.

We then had a good wander around the opera house and through the market stalls at its feet. It was at one of these stalls that I recognized the girl perusing the stone necklaces –

Aurelie had made it down to meet us for coffee. I led us around in a circle looking for a coffee shop, but I missed the steps leading us to the umbrella tables. Instead, we got a fantastic view of the backside of the house. When we came full circle, we caught the stairs to the café’s but I couldn’t make a decision on where to get a coffee. We passed up the noisy crowd and live music to catch a cheaper take away coffee.

Despite the fresh caffeine infusion, we said goodbye to Aurelie and caught the free bus past

Hyde Park and to our hotel. We started to have a nice relax, looking at brochures and trying to figure out our plans for the week. After sorting through our pictures of the day we loaded up a wireless carrier with $5 to spend an hour on facebook posting the selected photos. Our entertainment quickly turned to blood boiling frustration, for me, as I tried again and again to load the pictures. I held my tongue in check for as long as I could – but after several more crashes I was nearly yelling curses at the computer and the internet provider! LOL (laugh out loud) I think it’s safe to say that I will be using library computers from now on!

Before giving up completely on the internet, I was able to find weather forecasts ranging from a cloudy and hot Tuesday (we are going to try the beach that day) to possible thunderstorms on said day! LOL Both reports believe it may rain on Wed, but hopefully we will still attain some decent views when we visit the blue mountains (hopefully low clouds will create dramatic landscapes?).

After a cold shower to sooth my blazing red shoulders (and chest – with a highly stylish white stripe running across it from my camera strap! Ha ha), we worked on some wine tasting before heading to the nearest restaurant (Vibe) for dinner. The cost of the lovely sweet potato and feta lasagna may just have tempted me into trying to figure out a few dinners to create in our small kitchen! Though, at the moment, I have NO idea what! Hahaha

Monday, 2 November

I believe mom and I had a decent sleep in on this morning, one of the few we enjoyed.

We didn’t plan a lot for the day, a trip to the wildlife center followed by some shopping. We wandered over to “World Square”, a market with an interesting dragon like metal sculpture. From the market we purchased day passes for the monorail; running a one directional loop around Darling Harbour.

We disembarked near the Sydney Aquarium and Wildlife World. While we purchased a discount group of tickets for the wildlife world and aquarium, we toured only the wildlife center this day. It was great too! It took us ages to navigate the corridors and levels of the building. They had heaps of displays, including:

A butterfly room

(we saw this butterfly

laying these eggs on the leaf! – unfortunately I couldn’t get an action shot). The room was FAR too humid and hot to do more than walk through though. Both mom and I have been to butterfly houses before, so we weren’t bothered with missing it.

Obviously there was a fantastic snake display, highlighting the poisonous and harmless species of Australia.

The carpet python is safe to handle and touch,

while the eastern brown (2^nd deadliest in the world) was displayed behind glass.

There were creepy displays of massive bull ants; large, gangly spiders; enormous cockroaches; and various other crawlies of Australia.

While the massive perenties were something to see (Wikipedia says perenties are the largest monitor lizards (or goannas) in Australia – 4^th largest in the world), the Koalas were the star of the show.

On the top level of the building under glass and netting,

were several fake trees in which koalas were perched – all asleep of course! Fresh eucalyptus leaves (of the particular variety that koalas eat) are brought in several times a day and put into vases around the fake tree trunks. In the wild, apparently, koalas only leave trees for finding a new food source and mating, so having small fake trees to live it wasn’t much different for these captive animals than wild ones.

We “oohed” and “awed” at the cute little animals before enquiring about having our picture taken with one. Of course, it was a bit spendy, but we were sold – we had to have a pic with one! However, the koala of the day (they rotate which ones get photos (and therefore touched) so that no one animal is constantly stressed) was not cooperating – he was sleeping high up in his fake branch. We were told to come back at feeding for some action.

Big informative display signs gave us several curious facts about koalas:

They have two thumbs! They still have 5 fingers, but there is a gap between 2 and 3 of them; giving them extra gripping power. Koalas sleep with their heads tucked down to allow water to run off when it rains. The first solid food that a baby koala (called a “joey” – just like baby kangaroos) eats is it’s mom’s poo!!!! This is so it can ingest the bacteria necessary to digest the semi-poisonous eucalyptus!

The kangaroo enclosure let us watch a few male roos feed (I believe all the roos were male to prevent fights between/within the sexes). Outside the enclosure, glass separated us from the area so we could watch the hot roos laying around in the sand.

A statue of a red kangaroo allowed us to experience how massive the animals can get!

I had never heard of a cassowary before, but they had one behind glass –

plus a statue to give perspective how large they are! They appear to be a more colorful version of an emu – but with a large bone Mohawk on their head!

We didn’t get a very good look at the wombat (closest relative to the koala – as koalas are nowhere near related to bears), but we did find another sculpture to pose next too.

Mom got her first look at a kookaburra through the glass. I believe that the two in the enclosure were injured and could not be released. The “laughing” kookaburra makes a funny call that reminds me much of monkeys in a tree.

After a less than impressive lunch of fish and chips at the café, we returned to the koala display. We had an ice cream bar each while we waited for feeding time – and hoped the picture koala would come down.

Some woke up with a yawn,

Others just started eating the fresh greens

While still others (our picture koala) continued to sleep.

In the end, quite a few of the koalas woke up and treated us to a show of them munching leaves.

Our picture koala woke up and had a good scratch and did eventually come down for a nibble. However, we were told – as they were feeding – that in the state of New South Wales it was actually illegal for a person to hold a koala. Apparently they are fairly fragile animals, and their bones are easy to break. The best way to pick up a koala is by the wrists!

I have to admit that we were both disappointed

with not holding a koala - what was the point of paying for a picture if you weren’t holding the thing? So, we decided to save our money. We were both pleased with the view we had gotten; plus I took this picture with a koala behind mom!

Here’s a few choice video bits meshed together from our visit…..

After all the animal excitement, we caught the monorail to “Paddy’s Market”. The concierge had told me this was a good place to get discount souvenirs but also had good clothes. I needed to buy a dress for the performance we were attending at the opera house. Mom had brought a little black dress, but I was living on backpacker clothes. I didn’t feel in the least like trying on clothes – I was hot, sweaty, and had nothing to hold my hair up in. However, I gave it a go anyway. I tried on a few dresses at the first store, and LOVED the first one. However, we knew it would be silly to buy right away, so we continued to some other stores. Once I got a rubber band for my hair I became much more excited about new clothes (as the ponytail made me feel heaps cooler). I tried on several great items and very much fell in love with a perfect fitting red dress. However, I would have even less reason to wear the more sophisticated red dress in Thames, New Zealand than I would the more flowing and fun blue one I had first tried. So, we went back for the blue!

Our next mission was shoes. I fell in love right away with a stunning, strange pair – half boot, half open high heel. I tried on pair after pair and tried to convince myself to buy a cheaper pair, but in the end mom agreed that the expensive ones were stunning – plus they were easiest of the high heels to walk in. I felt okay with a large price tag on the shoes, as the dress had been quite cheap (far cheaper than the red).

With the important bits sorted, we headed to a pub for some beers. We were under the impression that the monorail closed early, 6pm (which made no sense, as mom said it would be interesting to ride at night and view the lights). So we finished our beers and headed to the station – spotting a perfect black scarf to complete my ensemble.

When we arrived at the station I read the hours of operation-until 10 pm! We asked the attendant, he confirmed we had plenty of time yet. So, back to the markets for a few last items.

We finished our shopping with make up (which I haven’t worn in YEARS), as I couldn’t dress up

like a lady and then have a naked face! I was completely stunned when we went to a make up counter and they applied liquid foundation to one side and powder to the other – they looked the same! I always thought powder makeup looked cakey! Shows how much I know! We had to buy some new eye shadow too of course! I had my own lovely shade of sandalwood lipstick to wear already (Dave had enjoyed seeing the girly Mel in Australia as I tried shade after shade! LOL).

We disembarked the monorail for the night back at “World Market”, where a grocery store and, more importantly, a bottle shop (liquor store) could be found. So, we picked up some food for dinner (roasted chicken) and more wine. While I think our intent had been to go back out and see the lights (maybe on the monorail), we didn’t make it!

Tuesday, 3 November

I was about to write that we had another lie in on this morning, but then I remembered that we were both up bright and early. Our resort wanted us to have breakfast with them so they could ask how happy we were as owners (roll eyes and groan). I scheduled it for 9am, thinking 7:30 or 8 would have been to early. However, we were up and wishing we had the earlier time scheduled. We got all antsy and I HAD to try on my new shoes, again. Mom had bought a fantastic pair herself (sorry no pictures), so she put hers on too. I thought we were having breakfast in the café of the hotel, so we decided to wear our shoes out. Oops, it was across the street! Ha ha, at least I got some practice wearing the very high heels before going out in a dress! LOL. While they aren’t uncomfortable shoes to wear, I was quite glad to get into sandals for the beach after breakfast!

Our breakfast was rather nice. Our guy was personable enough, but I wish he had gotten down to the question asking while we were actually eating (I went back for cereal I knew I wouldn’t be eating for ages again – coco krispies!). While the breakfast was supposed to be an easy discussion to rate ownership, it of course turned into a query of “why don’t you upgrade”. While there was no pressure, there was also no easy way to say no – these guys just keep reasoning and reasoning. In the end we finally got to leave (mom’s hardly had time to adjust to being a widow, let alone sort out her finances for such a large investment).

We went back to our room, put together our beach gear, and headed back to Circular Quay. Our breakfast guy had suggested we visit Manley Beach – more family friendly than Bondi Beach and a nice ferry ride to boot (I never did find Bondi on the map, but I think we would have been on the bus). We stopped at the library and bought plane tickets and rented a car for post-Sydney journeys; then we picked up some sandwiches and headed to the ferry ticket booth. Talk about perfect timing. I bought tickets, collected mom from the side, and rushed us up the loading deck. 5 minutes later we were watching the opera house slide by on our way out of the harbour!

We ate our sandwiches on the ferry and enjoyed the water views of the city. We popped over to another cove and unloaded. It wasn’t hard to figure out where the beach was; if you couldn’t follow the signs then you could easily follow the heaps of people dressed for the beach! A short walk down pedestrian mall ended at a lovely sandy beach. Manly really was nice; crowded (as all Sydney beaches would be), but nice. It was also the perfect day for the beach – HOT.

Mom and I found ourselves a spot and sat down. We went for a wade in the non-patrolled area of the beach, and I told mom about swimming between the flags (where the lifeguards patrolled). It was fairly entertaining to watch how often the life guard would wave people out of the water and then point to the no-swimming sign before pointing out the flags. Wow – I would not enjoy that job everyday!

We put on our sunscreen and had a read for a bit – waiting for our skin to heat to the point that the cold water would feel refreshing. Mom and I took turns going out into the patrolled, safe swimming, area to cool down a few times. Unfortunately, I’m not really much of a beach person. I don’t enjoy sitting in the sun boiling my brains out, even if I do have a good book to read. There was no shade for miles either! I LOVE rocky beaches, with splashing waves and tide pools and I do enjoy the sound of waves on a sandy beach – but really, crowds, heat and sand that sticks everywhere just isn’t my thing.

However, this wasn’t my vacation – it was mom’s. So I pretty much kept myself occupied with a book and put a long sleeved shirt over my shoulders to prevent a reburn. I did enjoy bobbing around in the waves, along with 3 or 4 dozen other people, but really didn’t want to get my hair wet or sand in my ears, so stayed above. Eventually, mom decided she was good on the beach too so we changed our clothes and headed back through the mall (where we had picked up a cone of ice cream each on the way to the beach).

It was a relaxing trip back to Sydney, until we realized that we had missed the free shuttle bus L It only ran until 3 on weekdays! (except late on Thursdays). I didn’t know what other number busses ran past our hotel and I was sure it really wasn’t a very far walk (I had done it the day before mom arrived), so mom agreed. I had, however, forgotten that the initial bit of walking was a bit steep. Mom was pretty patient though and I tried not to walk too fast.

When we reached Hyde Park

I suggested a detour – I knew she would like to see the ibis. I had seen them before her arrival and figured they were pretty much always there (like seagulls at the beach). Yep, I was right, the fountain on the corner had several ibis around it. We both enjoyed a seat on the bench and watched them wander and drink. One had a stick in its mouth, which for some reason just seemed strange – since he kept putting it in the pool. Mom wondered if it was soaking it for later bending, but I thought it just didn’t want to lose it while it drank.

We wandered through the park for a bit, enjoying the softer grass after pounding pavement. At the end of the long park, we spotted a Starbucks across the way. Mom was ready for a pick me up by then. We drank our beverages on a bench in the park. It was several days later that we realized we left our beach bag somewhere along the line. Whether it was watching ibis, waiting for coffee, or on the bench after our drinks we ended up donating our swimsuits, towels, my cap, and mom’s shirt to the homeless population – leading to another fast shopping session later.

It sounds rather boring, but once we got home we didn’t leave again. The sun had done us in – and we hadn’t realized we had a bag to chase down at the time – so we had another mellow night before our big adventure into the Blue Mountains the next day…..